I’ll be honest: there was a period in my life when I could debug a nasty production bug at 2 a.m., push a hotfix while half-asleep, and still feel like a fraud. I remember staring at a slide deck before a product demo, palms sweaty, wondering if anyone would call me out as “not enough.” Then I taught a kindergarten workshop one weekend (long story my niece roped me in), led a simple classroom game where kids celebrated a tiny win, and watched a child beam with real pride. That tiny, unforced moment of confidence felt like a superpower and it made me see how self-assurance works, whether you’re shipping software or helping a kid speak up in class.
Self-assurance isn’t swagger. It’s quieter and steadier: the ability to trust your judgment, take imperfect action, and come back from setbacks. In tech, in parenting, and in life, it’s the single most practical gift you can give yourself.
What self-assurance really is (and what it isn’t)
Let’s clear something up: self-assurance ≠ arrogance. It’s not the loudest voice in the room; it’s the calm one. It sits under the surface and lets you:
· Own a decision without needing to be right all the time.
· Admit “I don’t know” and then go learn.
· Fail publicly and recover privately.
When people say they “lack confidence” or suffer from “low self esteem,” what’s often missing is not skill but steady belief a muscle you can strengthen. Think of it as self healing for your professional and personal wounds: you patch, you learn, you iterate.
Why self-assurance matters in an IT career
If you’re exploring a career in IT, this is where the payoff shows up:
· Interviews: Self-assurance turns fumbling answers into honest, structured responses. Hiring managers notice calm clarity.
· Code reviews: Confident engineers can both give and accept feedback without ego, which accelerates team learning.
· Product decisions: When you trust your analysis and intuition, you make decisions faster and that speed compounds.
· Learning new tech: The moment you stop fearing “not knowing,” you actually learn faster because you’ll ask questions and experiment.
I remember a team lead who once told me, “I’d rather you ship a reasonable feature than a perfect one next quarter.” That permission to be imperfect was an act of self-assurance that freed the whole team to iterate.
Daily practices to build quiet confidence
You don’t need a nine-step program. Start with tiny, repeatable habits:
· Practice micro-wins: Ship a tiny side project, speak for five minutes at a meetup, or pair-program for an hour. Each small success adds fuel to your self-confidence.
· Keep a “done” list: At the end of the week, list what you completed not just what’s left. It’s a simple antidote to imposter syndrome.
· Reframe mistakes: Treat bugs and failures as experiments with data. Ask, “What did I learn?” not “Who failed?”
· Grounding rituals: Before a presentation, breathe, review two facts you know cold, and remember that people want you to succeed.
These are the same muscles used in parenting and teaching. That’s why confidence building activities for preschoolers or even classroom games for kindergarteners are not just for kids they’re templates for adult practice. Celebrating a small win in front of your family is practice for celebrating a feature launch with your team.
If you’re a parent (or a peaceful parent in training)
Balancing an IT career and parenting? The overlap is beautiful. When you teach your child through simple Self Esteem Activities for Kindergarteners, you’re modeling self-assurance.
Try low-effort, high-impact ideas:
· Role-play social interactions to practice saying “hello” or “can I play?” (boosts social interactions and self confidence).
· A weekly “I did it” jar where each child drops a note about something they tried (classroom activities that reinforce risk-taking).
· Classroom games that focus on teamwork rather than competition (helps academic performance and reduces low self esteem triggers).
If you search online, you’ll find pages titled self-esteem-activities-for-kindergarteners they’re full of preschool activities and activities for kids that are easy to adapt at home. These confidence building activities for preschoolers feed directly into a child’s academic performance and social skills and when your kid learns to face small failures, you, as a parent, get to be the peaceful parent who watches, supports, and steps back.
Stories that stick: a short case study
A junior dev on my team used to avoid demos they “didn’t want to mess up.” We created a safe mock demo run during weekly standups and gave structured, kind feedback. Within three months, that developer led a customer demo and handled unexpected questions with composure. That progression wasn’t about polishing technical skill alone; it was about building self assurance through repeated, supported exposure.
How to measure progress (without obsessing)
Self-assurance is fuzzy, but you can track signals:
· You volunteer for one more responsibility than you used to.
· You recover faster after criticism.
· Your “lack confidence” moments shrink in length.
Celebrate these signals. They’re the ROI of the internal work.
Conclusion a small plan you can start today
Give yourself permission to be a beginner. Pick one of these next steps:
1. Ship a micro-project within two weeks.
2. Start a “done” list and review it every Friday.
3. If you’re a parent, try one self-esteem activity with your child this weekend a simple classroom game or a praise-focused “I did it” jar.
Self-assurance isn’t a destination. It’s a practice that smooths career transitions, improves social interactions, and creates a home life where kids feel safe to try. That quiet confidence will show up in your code reviews, your interviews, and the bedtime stories you tell. As an IT professional and (maybe) a parent, giving yourself self assurance is the most practical, lasting gift you can offer.
Comments