Confidence is often fear wearing a mask, arising from dependence on others’ approval and judgment. The fear is not of speaking or acting, but of how people will see us. True freedom comes not from building confidence, but from self-knowledge, where identity no longer depends on praise, rejection, or borrowed images.
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Originally published in Deccan Herald on 11 sep '25
Fearlessness is not noisy. It is not a performance. It is a silent freedom. It arises when you no longer wait for the world to tell you who you are, but begin to live from your own centre of self-knowledge.
If you are alone in a room, speaking to the mirror, you never ask for confidence. But the moment you stand before an audience, the question arises: “How do I become confident?” Strange, isn’t it? The act of speaking hasn’t changed, the words, the voice, even the body remain the same. What has entered the room are others. It is their eyes, their judgment, their opinion that unsettle you.
You are not afraid of speaking. You are afraid of people. And this fear goes far beyond public speaking: it runs through every corner of life. What you call a lack of confidence is simply the fear of how others see you. The right question, then, is not “How do I gain confidence?” but “Why do I fear others at all?”
