timidity

1 fear of the unknown or unfamiliar and of making decisions [syn: timidness, timorousness]

2 fearfulness in venturing into new and unknown places or activities [syn: timorousness] [ant: boldness]

English

Pronunciation

Noun

1. shyness

The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.

Compare:

• confidence (often equivalent to self-confidence)
• hubris (excessive self-confidence)
• self-esteem (conceit, or favourable opinion of oneself, or self-acceptance).

Lack of self-confidence is called timidness or timidity. Being afraid of failure is a sign of this.

Signs of self-confidence in human beings

• A pleasant demeanour
• A cheerful outlook on life
• A wide circle of friends
• Satisfaction with one's personal life

Source of self confidence

Professor Raj Persaud says that true self confidence comes from an attitude where you "promise yourself, no matter how difficult the problem life throws at you, that you will try as hard as you can to help yourself. You acknowledge that sometimes your efforts to help yourself may not result in success, as often being properly rewarded is not in your control."

Footnotes

afraidness, bashfulness, chicken-liveredness, chickenheartedness, confusion, cowardice, cowardliness, coyness, demureness, demurity, diffidence, embarrassment, faintheart, faintheartedness, fear, fearfulness, henheartedness, jumpiness, lily-liveredness, milksopism, milksoppiness, milksoppishness, mousiness, pigeonheartedness, self-consciousness, shamefacedness, shamefastness, shrinkingness, shyness, skittishness, softness, stage fright, stagefright, stammering, startlishness, timidness, timorousness, unmanfulness, unmanliness, weakheartedness, weakness, yellowness