Confidence Without Performance: Showing Up Without the Need to Prove - Newsletter #35

Welcome to Maven Musings! I'm thrilled to connect with you. Biweekly, we’ll discuss Global inclusivity, technology, women’s empowerment, and healthy workplace culture through my unique and joyful lens. Join me on a journey of inspiration, positivity, and creativity.

Let’s talk about confidence. Not the loud, polished, perfect kind. The real kind. The kind that doesn't come with a highlight reel.

We live in a world that applauds performance. Applause-worthy deliverables. Likes. Promotions. Gold stars.

It’s easy to feel like you only have value when you’re doing something impressive.

But what if confidence didn’t have to be performative? What if confidence looked like showing up messy, unsure, curious? What if it was grounded in knowing who you are—not just what you can do?

Confidence that Stays Even When the Applause Stops

Here’s the thing: performance-based confidence is fragile. It disappears when the lights go off, when the feedback goes quiet, when the room doesn’t clap.

And that version of confidence? It burns us out.

I’ve had to unlearn the idea that confidence is earned only when I’ve delivered something flawless. And let me tell you—that was a hard habit to break.

Confidence without performance looks like:

• Trusting yourself even when you’re still learning
• Speaking up even when your voice shakes
• Not needing to outshine someone to feel worth

• Helping without kudos and because it is the right thing to do

You Don’t Need to Hustle for Your Worth

Somewhere along the way, we got the message that our value is tied to our productivity. But real, rooted confidence is quiet. It’s steady. It doesn’t perform.

You don’t need to be the loudest in the room. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need to wear your burnout like a badge of honor.

You are enough, full stop. Not enough once you do the thing. Not enough because you hit a goal. Just—enough.

How to Cultivate Non-Performative Confidence

Here are a few ways I’m practicing this in real life (it is absolutely a practice):

• Let yourself be seen in the process. You don’t always have to wait until it’s perfect to share.
• Redefine what “success” looks like. Maybe it’s not the stage—maybe it’s making someone feel seen in a meeting.
• Rest without guilt. Confidence says, “I trust that I don’t have to earn my downtime.”
• Celebrate the quiet wins. The boundary you held. The walk you took. The honest no you said.

And Also—Let’s Get Sh*t Done

Now, here’s the twist. Confidence doesn’t mean floating above the work. It means being in it—with clarity, purpose, and presence.

There’s something powerful about being part of the crew that moves things forward. The board. The club. The team. The project. The community. The movement.

In every setting I’ve been part of, the 80/20 rule shows up—20% of people do 80% of the work. But what if we flipped the script?

What if more of us showed up with steady confidence and a willingness to do our part—not for recognition, but because that’s what community looks like?

No need for burnout. No gold stars required. Just real people, doing the work, together. That’s the Get Sht Done* club. Not hustle culture—just humans contributing, creating, completing.

Let’s normalize follow-through. Let’s value showing up. Let’s finish what we start. Even when we are afraid. Especially when we have something to lose. Together.

A Personal Note

Some of the most powerful people I know are the ones who lead with compassion and empathy. Who walk into a room and make space for others. Who show up for their people, not just their performance loop metrics.

That’s the kind of confidence I’m always reaching for and chasing.

So this is your invitation to lay the performance down. To step into rooms (virtual or real) as your whole self—not just your polished self.

You don’t have to impress. You just have to be real. And when it’s time to contribute? Show up. Join the GSD club. Do your part. Lift the load. Move the mission forward.

Confidence isn’t about being the best. It’s about being you.

Still learning, Still showing up, Still here.

For your community.

For yourself.

Make sure you never miss an issue by clicking the “Subscribe” button in the upper right corner of the page. 

To follow me on my speaking and travel journeys, connect with me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn,  and my Podcast!