what's that?

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The Confidence Gap is a theory that explains why the Leadership Gap exists. It states that for many women, it is confidence holding us back, not competence. We are skilled and talented and hard-working, but we lack confidence in ourselves. Feel familiar?

 

According to The Atlantic, "There is a particular crisis for women—a vast confidence gap that separates the sexes. Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology.

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A growing body of evidence shows just how devastating this lack of confidence can be. Success, it turns out, correlates just as closely with confidence as it does with competence. No wonder that women, despite all our progress, are still woefully underrepresented at the highest levels. All of that is the bad news. The good news is that with work, confidence can be acquired. Which means that the confidence gap, in turn, can be closed."

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For those of you fascinated on the topic, check out this other awesome article in Forbes.

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Anyways, we digress.  At SHINE, we are on a mission to close this gap. We want to build your confidence - and after years of research, practice, and over 1,000 lives changed, we are confident we can change yours.

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how to close the confidence gap

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We are closing that gap the only way we know how... One person at a time!

 

We believe in the ripple effect - like dropping a rock in a pond of still water, when we help one person transform their confidence, that individual will go on to positively touch all the people in their communities too.

 

All big changes starts small. SHINE started because our Founder Jess wanted to transform her own confidence. In the process, she shared about her journey. That got other people talking about confidence and inspired to make changes in their own lives. 

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We can't eliminate the Confidence Gap entirely (although we wish we could), but every time we help someone transform their confidence, we close the gap little by little.

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what is confidence?

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Confidence is defined as the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.

 

Therefore, self-confidence is a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgement (Oxford American Dictionary).

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In essence, it means believing in yourself. It means knowing you worth. It means having faith that when you are faced with hard things, you know you will be able to get through them - and you will rise to challenge. 

 

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Confidence originates on the inside, and carries outward. It comes from two things:

1. Mindset

2. Manner

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Mindset is how you think about yourself. What you think about yourself is a direct outcome of how you speak to yourself. It is a culmination of stories you tell yourself about what you can or can't do, as well as you are are or are not. When you break the cycle of attaching your worth to a number, status or image, that changes your confidence. 

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Manner is how you carry yourself. When you believe in your inner worth, you carry yourself differently. You speak a little louder, you stand a little taller, and you are not afraid to take up space. You advocate for yourself - and others too. 

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how to build confidence

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Changing your confidence means changing your mindset and your manner. Changing how you think about yourself, and changing how you carry yourself.

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After studying confidence, and the factors that contribute to it (or take away from it), we chose to use fitness training to build confidence. Our programs are so effective at building confidence because we work on both mindset and manner simultaneously. 

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We change your mindset through our positive cueing approach. Throughout your classes, you will hear encouragement about the types of things to say to yourself. Things like, 

• Yes I Can

• Keep Going

• You are so much stronger than you think 

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We change your manner through exercise. Our functional movement training helps you re-train your muscles to improve posture and build strength so you can conquer day-to-day activities with physical ease. The social nature of classes encourages you to WOOT WOOT (i.e. cheer) out loud and bust dance moves like nobody's watching. As Jess loves to say, "We do burpees for strength, and dance breaks for confidence"

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How We Do This

• Action Based - we don't just talk about what confidence is and how to build it. We make you physically push yourself out of your comfort zone, and doing so successfully makes you build confidence.

• Physically Challenging - our workouts are designed to challenge you no matter what fitness level you're at. When you do something physically hard that you didn't think you could do, that builds confidence. 

• Positive Motivation - we already believe in you, and we want you to believe in yourself. By encouraging you to do 1% better every class, we take an approach to fitness that is judge, shame, and guilt free. 

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are you Ready to transform your confidence?

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