The Confidence Code summary

There have been countless books about the difference between men and women, and most of us agree the differences are there. It’s no surprise, then, that when it comes to confidence, we find that women display this in a different manner to men.

Particularly in the workplace, men are dominant, so their characteristics of confident behavior, such as acting aggressively, are sought and even expected.

Living in a man’s world is hard, but working in a man’s world is even harder.

Due to a lack of confidence, women tend to accept worse work conditions than men do. Many women simply don't feel confident enough to put themselves out there: for instance, even if they have good ideas they are less likely than men are to propose them to the boss.

Even when women are absolutely capable, they often don’t feel confident. This not only interferes with their attitude, but it also prevents them from progressing.

It’s crucial to distinguish between confidence, the belief in our abilities in general, and competence, the knowledge of our qualifications in a certain field.

Today we know that nature as well as nurture determines our character. We have discovered that character traits such as aggression or alcoholism are heavily determined by our genetic code.

Interestingly, the same goes for confidence. In fact, scientists found that our genetic make-up determines up to 50 percent of our confidence.

Our environment, then, determines those other 50 percent of our confidence. This is partly because our environment actually influences our genes. Indeed, scientists have found that life experiences actually physically alter our genes’ shapes and cause them to function differently.

Upbringing in particular can be an important factor in our gene development and is therefore crucial in determining what kind of person we become.

We've seen how important confidence is, and how we're not always in control of how our confidence develops. But it is possible to break the cycle that makes women less confident.

Even as adults, we can still alter our brains, as they possess a wonderful quality called brain plasticity. This means that, through certain thought patterns, we can actually cause a physical change in our brains.

In the first of these blinks, we saw how being less confident causes you to remain inactive and how simply taking action boosts your confidence. Sure, sometimes you’ll fail, but that can be a good thing!

Unfortunately, women tend to overthink things and not to act. But we must understand that taking action is essential to confidence.