In this episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Jay Shetty and Lisa Bilyeu explore the nature of confidence and its role in personal growth, goal-setting, and relationships. They discuss how confidence is not a prerequisite but rather develops from practicing and building competence over time.
Bilyeu and Shetty highlight the importance of self-validation, overcoming the fear of failure, questioning beliefs, and aligning on core values for healthy relationships. The conversation touches on open communication, honesty, flexibility, and adaptability as essential elements for navigating challenges and sustaining long-term partnerships as individuals evolve together.
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Lisa Bilyeu explains that confidence is not a prerequisite for taking action, but rather develops as a byproduct of practicing and building competence over time. She illustrates how starting from insecurity and actively engaging leads to confidence growth. Bilyeu compares confidence to a muscle that needs constant exercise for each situation.
According to Jay Shetty and Bilyeu, confidence comes from self-validating one's abilities instead of seeking external validation. They identify overcoming the fear of failure as crucial for pursuing ambitious goals. Bilyeu emphasizes questioning one's frame of reference and beliefs to propel progress.
Bilyeu discusses aligning on core values through open communication of wants and boundaries as essential for healthy relationships. Shetty highlights practicing self-awareness to lead based on strengths and understanding attraction trade-offs.
Both stress determining personal values and non-negotiables to find compatibility. They advise avoiding assumptions by clarifying expectations to prevent conflicts rooted in differing values.
Bilyeu shares how radical honesty, even when uncomfortable, allows couples to constructively navigate challenges with a growth mindset. Shetty notes apologizing only when genuine leads to deeper resolution.
They underscore maintaining flexibility and adaptability as partners evolve over time as vital for sustaining long-term relationships.
1-Page Summary
Lisa Bilyeu unfolds the often-misconceived nature of confidence, emphasizing its development as a byproduct of action rather than a prerequisite for it.
Confidence is frequently misunderstood as a necessary condition to begin any endeavor, while in truth, it is something that grows gradually as you face new challenges. Bilyeu shares her own journey, where she initially believed that she needed confidence to chase her ambitions. Through her experiences, she realized that confidence actually emerges as a result of taking action, even when that action starts from a place of insecurity.
Bilyeu illustrates that by actively engaging in something and practicing over time, despite insecurities, a person can develop competence. This competence, in turn, fuels confidence. She insists that confidence follows action; it is not something that must be present at the outset.
The nature of confidence and how to cultivate it
Confidence, as described by experts, is a crucial element in personal development and the realization of one's ambitions. Jay Shetty and Lisa Bilyeu explain how embracing self-validation and overcoming fear can have a transformative effect on achieving success.
Jay Shetty defines confidence as an acknowledgment of one's own abilities, skills, and qualities. This self-validation, according to Shetty, is instrumental in enabling individuals to recognize and affirm their competencies internally, without the need for external approval. Lisa Bilyeu echoes this sentiment, explaining that transitioning to self-validation propelled her in building confidence and shifted her away from the stagnation that resulted from seeking validation from others.
Bilyeu discusses the need to surmount the fear of judgment or mockery, which often prevents individuals from exploring new endeavors. Both Shetty and Bilyeu agree that the fear of failure, and sometimes the experience itself, can be paralyzing. The key to personal growth and the pursuit of ambitious goals is to rise above these fears. Bilyeu's insight in "Radical Confidence" emphasizes how handling one's internal negative voice and learning from failure are essential steps in this process.
The role of confidence in personal growth and achieving goals
Lisa Bilyeu and Jay Shetty delve into the significant impact that confidence and alignment of values have on the sustainability and happiness of romantic relationships.
Lisa Bilyeu discusses a period in her marriage when she was profoundly unhappy with her role in their relationship. She describes how confronting this issue required open communication, honesty, and the willingness to address difficult subjects, including their wants, such as the potential conflict over wanting children. Bilyeu recognizes the necessity of aligning on core values, emphasizing that even uncomfortable truths, like the decision not to have children, need to be discussed openly. Both she and her husband have found it crucial to align on their system of support, despite it sometimes leading to uncomfortable compromises, like adjusting his demanding work hours.
Jay Shetty talks about the importance of humility and using self-awareness in a relationship to allow each partner to lead based on their strengths. Bilyeu adds to this by reflecting on her needs for a tidy environment as part of coping with ADHD and how this contrasts with her husband’s view of time as a non-renewable resource.
Both Bilyeu and Shetty stress the importance of deep introspection to determine personal values separate from external influences. Understanding one's non-negotiables and finding a partner who respects and complements them is essential. Similarly, Bilyeu underscores the need for transparency in long-term commitments, sharing how her husband was upfront about not sacrificing ambition for family.
Shetty encourages recognizing what you are attracted to in a partner and understanding the trade-offs involved, insisting on the need for clear boundaries and priorities. For example, ambition in a partner might mean less time for the relationship.
How confidence and values impact romantic relationships
Open and honest communication is the cornerstone of a healthy relationship. Lisa Bilyeu and Jay Shetty reveal the transformative impact radical honesty and a growth mindset have in nurturing and sustaining deep connections.
Lisa Bilyeu discusses a pivotal moment that could have bred resentment but instead brought her and her husband closer due to their strong relationship foundation. Lisa recognized she had been using gratitude to mask her unhappiness, a realization that led her to assert her desires and needs openly. By choosing honesty over suppression, Lisa and Tom could confront and work through issues collaboratively.
Jay Shetty reflects on the common trap where individuals hold in their unhappiness until it bursts out, often leading to a counterproductive, accusatory blame game. However, Lisa’s experience demonstrates that a mindset oriented towards growth can lead to resolution instead of conflict even if there's no certainty of a positive response from a partner. Jay Shetty, embracing this principle in his own marriage, shows that facing uncomfortable truths through communication is vital to personal and relational growth.
Lisa talks about the necessity of asking direct questions like what her husband needs to feel empowered, ensuring that both partners' needs are understood without assumptions. She shares that not having children with her husband was a decision that further highlighted the importance of radical honesty in protecting their marriage.
Shetty and his wife, Radhi, also stress the value of open dialogue in their relationship. For example, Shetty shared his need to move homes due to anxiety, a conversation that required addressing discomfort to find a collaborative solution.
The conversations reveal that a meaningful apology contributes more to conflict resolution than one made to simply defuse the situation. Both Lisa and Jay underscore not saying sorry unless it's heartfelt, which encourages a deeper understanding of each ...
The importance of open and honest communication in relationships
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