Embrace your challenges with Confidence and use them as milestones for Success
Confidence is an issue that affects many girls especially when it comes to building self-confidence and boosting their self-esteem. Lack of confidence robs us of very many opportunities despite significant efforts employed to empower girls.
A recent study by the Australian Gender Equality Council (AGEC) has revealed that girls have the same level of self-confidence as boys do and that the the difference in confidence levels between boys and girls is NOT biological. If that’s the case then, it’s safe to say “What a man can do a woman can do BETTER”. The ground-breaking research means that the differences we see in confidence between girls and boys and men and women, especially in the workplace, are not biological or natural. In fact, if we create the right situations for young girls, there is no difference in confidence levels at all.
In this episode of the #BeautifulTogetherMentorshipProgram we have Mariam Ndaba a.k.a @missiepopular who is a Public Servant working as , Lifestyle Blogger and a Fashion Enthusiast in Tanzania. Her focus was on “How to embrace your challenges and use them as milestones for Success” and the whole concept of owning your journey. If she wasn’t confident in herself, then she wouldn’t have the 10+ years experience in marketing and events. Here are few trips from Mariam on how to build your confidence;
- Know what you want to do
Mariam always knew what she wanted since when she was young and that was to be a public servant just like her father. “I wanted to work for the government so after finishing University I started looking for opportunities from Government Institutions. I applied for a “Personal Assistant” job for the Director General. I got employed at National Housing and while there, I created the first Marketing Strategy alongside planning events.”
According to Mariam, kids nowadays want to do whatever they see on social media. She gets messages from girls who want to start YouTube channels, appear on TV and so forth and she thinks that those can be side-hustles. There has got to be more than just being a vlogger on YouTube. Girls should also aspire to be women like Getrude Mongella who have been for years, iconic and phenomenal women in the society.
- Be Passionate about it
Confidence comes with passion too. “My passion in planning events gave me an opportunity to be invited in career fairs but then, I felt like I needed to more with my career. In 2016, I transitioned to UONGOZI Institute, a place I am currently working at as an Event Coordinator alongside organizing trainings and creating Policy Forums” Mariam added.
Mariam managed to command respect and also build her personal brand as “Missie Popular” which began in 2011 through her blogs. She invested her time and energy in attending other events where some she paid for and later on started getting opportunities to plan or host events as well as running social media campaigns for other companies. In that way her brand became popular.
One major advantage of our live sessions is that girls get to ask questions which they would love the mentors to address. Here are some of the questions and Mariam’s responses.
- Confidence one of the biggest issues to youth when it comes to building yourself, how do we build our confidence?
“It all starts with the foundation of one’s upbringing. When a parent supports their child, it builds the child’s confidence and now that I am a parent, I can see the impact. Society says that a girl shouldn’t be over spoken but that wasn’t my case. My dad always pushed me and encouraged me that I can do anything that I desire.
In addition to that, you also have to believe in yourself, know your abilities since you can’t be confident if you don’t know what you can do. Find that one thing that you can do that it doesn’t feel like work. Build your abilities and be humble in learning.”
- How do you stay calm/focus with constant challenges?
“Challenges are always there in life. One important thing is to analyse the challenge and look at it as an opportunity. After that, believe in yourself and be ready to accomplish anything. Embrace your challenges and move forward always.”
As a girl child, we believe that there is quite a lot of helpful insights you have gained. For more lessons and advice, follow our Instagram page @beautifulyouinitiative and catch us Live every Satruday from 10:00am to 11:00am for the Beautiful Together Mentorship Program sessions. Feel free to DM us your questions and we will make sure that all your doubts are cleared. We also believe that sharing is caring and hope that you are kind enough to share this article with your friends.
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