Sprinkling Confidence
Less proving, more living.
I didn’t expect confidence to feel like this.
I thought it would be loud and bold. Cue the trumpets and big announcements.
Instead, it feels like opening the windows in the morning and letting the ocean air move through the house. It’s refreshing, like taking a deep, satisfying breath.
Leaving my 40-year career was not a small thing. It was more like rearranging all the furniture in a room I’d lived in for decades. For a while, I kept stubbing my toe into the edges of who I used to be.
But lately, something has shifted.
There’s a softness to these past few months. A steadiness. The kind of confidence that doesn’t need applause. It just quietly says, You can try.
And so I am.
I’m trying watercolors without worrying if it’s “good.” I’m buying the art supplies—all of them. Pens, pencils, watercolors, collage materials, journals… all ready to go. I’m mixing the colors that feel like sea glass, roses, and fog. And I’m letting myself stand at the very beginning without rushing ahead.
This all feels very coastal grandma of me, honestly. Barefoot in the kitchen. A little flour on the counter. A canvas drying by the window.
Less proving.
More living.
I used to think confidence came from mastery. From being the one who knew what she was doing. Now I think it comes from permission.
Permission to change.
Permission to experiment.
Permission to surprise yourself.
What I didn’t expect was this: when we walk through one brave doorway, the courage doesn’t stay there. It follows us into the studio. The garden. The conversations. The quiet mornings.
It spills.
Journal Prompt
Where in your life have you recently been braver than you give yourself credit for?
If you let that courage spill into one small, creative corner, what would you try this week?
From one brave experiment to another,
Less proving. More living.
🌻 Tamara
About the Author:
Hi, I’m Tamara. I live on California’s Central Coast, where the ocean sets the rhythm of my days. After 40 years in one career, I’m exploring what comes next — tending a rose garden, showing up for my aging parents, cheering on a daughter abroad, and experimenting in ways that feel intentional and alive. I’m learning to give myself permission to try new things, to be a beginner again, and to sprinkle courage into every corner of life.
If you’re in midlife and quietly building your next chapter too, I’m so glad you’re here.
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I see myself in you.
Love this journaling prompt :)