confidence

Major cheat code in life: Be the one who reaches out. Text first. Call first. Plan first. Initialize first. Most people wait to be chosen. Be the chooser. Connection requires initiative. Friendship requires effort. Love requires action. Stop waiting to be picked. Start picking. Initiative is attractive.

Confidence comes from taking action and taking care of yourself, because no amount of positive feedback or reflections from others can replace the way you feel about yourself in private. It needs to make sense in your own frame and experience for your identity to be transformed.