Live Original (Sadie Robertson) by Sadie Robertson Read Free Book Online Page B

Now when something happens that might cause me to lose my confidence, I can see the dip coming: I know my confidence is about to sink. Maybe someone says something rude to me, or maybe I make a big mistake or don’t perform as well as I would like at school, in sports, or at my job. As soon as I recognize the temptation to lose my confidence, I have to fight against it.
    Defending my confidence is kind of like defending my team’s goal in a basketball game. I play a lot of basketball, and unlike football, it’s a sport in which every player has to play both offense and defense. When it’s my turn to be a defender, I work hard to make sure the other team does not score. I try not to foul, of course, butI try to get in their way or force them out of bounds so they cannot be successful against me.
    In the same way, I don’t want anything that would steal my confidence to be successful against me either. Most of the time, preventing a dip in confidence is not about physical or athletic skill; it’s about a battle I fight in my mind, with my thoughts. If someone says something about me that I know is not true, I just tell myself what is true. If I make a mistake or feel like I have failed at something, I tell myself I had a bad day or was not as prepared as I needed to be—but I will do better next time. I have a sign in my room that says, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START THE DAY OVER. I love that sign because it reminds me that even if I mess up, I can start over right now and do better next time. No matter what happens, I remind myself that God created me, He loves me, He is with me, and He is on my side. All those things are true for you too. And if you believe them, they will make a big difference in your life.
    A GUARANTEED CONFIDENCE BUILDER
    When I was in eighth grade, I had to make a decision about whether I was going to be confident or not. A girl started picking on me for some reason. This was about the time Duck Dynasty first started, so maybe she was jealous of that. I’m not sure, but I definitely got a little hate from her.
    During that time, I felt more insecure than ever before, and Istarted getting quieter—a little reluctant to speak up or stand up for myself with the kind of strength I’d had in the past. I knew that the Bible talks a lot about standing up for what’s right—and sometimes that means standing up for ourselves. The only way to be bold and stand up is to have confidence. I talked to my mom about this. She always seems confident and does not seem to worry about what other people think. My mom told me she dealt with girls who were mean to her when she was in junior high school too, just like most girls do, and that it was not really about me.
    Sometimes we get in our own little world and think, I’m the only one going through this . That’s why I think it’s important for girls to know that almost everyone goes through something like this in her life. If something like this is happening to you, you are not alone and it really is not about you. When people say or do mean things, it’s not because you have something wrong with you; it’s because the other person is struggling with their own insecurities. My mom reminded me of this and helped me to see that maybe this girl was going through some tough things in her life and projecting them onto me. She also told me that all I could control was how I acted and how I let the girl’s words and actions affect me. She encouraged me to be as kind as possible in return, but at the same time she helped me to be strong and told me that speaking up for myself when necessary was okay, just to do it with love.
    Mom turned out to be right. Later, this girl and I sat down for a heart-to-heart talk, and she shared with me some tough things she was going through in her life and apologized for the way she had treated me. I was proud that this girl trusted me enough to share these things with me. I knew the only reason she was able to trust me was that I