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self-critical and think that they are not to imitate their state of mind because
Operation:
Self-Confidence
Jointly reported by:
Eanne Khoo Jr1Z(1)
Lee Xue Rui Sr1ScF
Illustration by Chew Ni Jie Sr1ScA
We arrived at the library and settled
down for the interview session while
the sounds of students playing volleyball
still lingering in the background. We
moved into the glass room located on
the first floor of the library. My team
and I got ready for the heart-to-heart
conversation we were about to have with
our interviewee, Teacher Teoh Sim Boon.
Our interviewee, Teacher Teoh graduated
from UPM with an Education in
Psychology and Counselling. Life wasn’t
all smooth sailing for her in the initial
stages. She faced some challenges and
eventually strayed further from her dream
job related to psychology, instead ended
up doing more administrative work.
After eight years of bumping around and
almost losing sight of her initial goal,
Teacher Teoh finally became a school
counsellor. She started this journey at Jit
Sin Independent School before the strings
of fate brought her to Kuen Cheng this
January. As if the fates themselves had
planned this, Teacher Teoh has proven to
be an exceptional teacher and counsellor.
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M i s co n cep t io n s a b o u t s e lf-co nfiden ce
Misconceptions about self-confidence
a n d s e lf-es t e em
and self-esteem
Self-esteem refers to whether you
appreciate and value yourself. Your self-
esteem develops and changes as a result
of your life experiences and interactions
with other people. Self-confidence is your
belief in yourself and your abilities. This
can change depending on the situation.
It’s normal to feel quite confident in
some circumstances and less confident in
others. In this article, we will be focusing
on the aspects of self-confidence.
Characteristics of Someone Who Lacks
C h a rac t er i s t ics o f S o m e o n e W h o L ac ks
Self-confidence
S e lf-co nfiden ce
People who lack self-confidence usually
are quiet; Teacher Teoh mentions that
they are mostly shy and introverted. They
won’t speak out or share their opinions
although they might be well versed on the
topic, mostly in fear of getting judged by
other people in the conversation. They are
also usually perfectionists who are very
good enough no matter how much they
achieve. Taking academics as an example,
no matter how high of a mark they get,
they will think that it is not enough and
that they should be able to get higher
marks if they just worked harder, just put
in more effort. They would start blaming
themselves and the perpetual cycle of
self-hate and self-doubt would continue.
Those with low self-confidence can be
easily stressed and are usually stressed
because they believe they are not good
enough. Again, they critique themselves
in a harsh and unrealistic way. Being
pessimistic in most situations, they
always assume the worst of things and
focus on their failures. They are socially
awkward, which probably causes them to
have few friends. On the other hand, if
they do have friends, they would always
agree with them on things even if they
have their own opinion, and in general
will become a “Yes man”. In actuality,
being a “Yes man” just makes people not
appreciate them and take them lightly,
worsening the relationship.
F ac t o r s R es u l t in g in L o w S e lf-co nfiden ce 3. Write something good that
Factors Resulting in Low Self-confidence
Most cases of low self-confidence are
usually caused by family culture. How,
you may ask? As young individuals, we
lack the ability to think on our own,
often relying on the people around us to
help in the process. Eventually, we start
they are the perfect role models from
our point of view. For example, we could
take the stereotypical “Asian Family” as a
reference. Infamously, Asian parents tend
to criticise the decision-making of their
children. The child, now influenced by
their parents, will set very high standards
in order to please themselves, resulting in
self-doubt and self-confidence problems
accompanying them into adulthood. It
sounds like a never-ending nightmare set
on a loop, but we can break the chain if
we realise that it’s unhealthy for us.
With this in mind, let’s check
out a few ways to up your
confidence with Teacher Teoh!
1. Say positive words to yourself
(or deduct the number of
negative thoughts day by day)
2. Appreciate yourself
you’ve done on a sticky note
and paste it somewhere visible
4. Surround yourself with
positive people
Lastly, believe in yourself. You
can do it!
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