7 Comments

This was a great read, Haley! Your language is so vivid and rich. I felt the same vertigo as you and I'm not even a climber (to the dismay of my Seattle friends).

This part stuck with me in particular: A bigger circle outlined my previous circle of potential. In this new circle was new potential for my body and mind, new resources, and new possibilities. The self-help books told me to tell myself that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to (bounded by physics of course), but they didn’t give me a reason to believe I was. The power of my mind was limited by what I knew. I had to go out and DO."

I truly believe confidence is only developed through actions that align with your values and desired identities. And the expanded circle of potential will stick with me. Thanks for writing this.

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Haley, you masterfully nailed the circle metaphor in this article. Your article should be the new standard for what it means to go outside your comfort zone. Your climbing story is fun, immersive, and takes the reader on a climb to re-examine the circle that is currently closing them in. I feel excited by the ideas you have helped me to see with this article—the relationship between scarcity and confidence and what it takes to build eternal confidence.

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May 11, 2023Liked by Haley Brengartner

Wow Haley, this was such a great essay! I loved your opening story, both super descriptive and super playful.

"Their awaiting words treated me like a stiff glass of wine - painting my cheeks rosy and my body warm for an evening only to force me into a haze worse than the day before."

This was SO GOOD! Hilarious and true. I started reading by binging self-help books but, while they did help, I too eventually found the advice slightly generic and limiting.

I loved your conclusion that ideas will only get you so far in the process of becoming. You have to "go out and DO".

A saying I've tried to adopt this year is "You don't need more ideas. You need more execution."

I really admire people who have a tight gap between idea and action, and I've been thinking about how I can adopt that same practice.

Amazing work :) Loved this.

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May 10, 2023Liked by Haley Brengartner

I want to highlight your metaphorical style of writing Haley. I love how you compare your life to things like ripping off bandaids, being a deer on an oak-paneled executive desk (this was my favourite), confidence being a guest in you (this was so poetic) and so on....

Writing like this is a great strength of yours. I want to acknowledge you for it :)

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founding

Haley - I loved the whole piece and especially loved this: "Instead of doubling down on my strengths, I doubled-knotted my climbing rope and did something I didn’t know how to do - something that absolutely terrified me."

You're inspiring!

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Well, it's a good thing I wasn't able to read this before you published it - you didn't need any notes. Awesome piece Haley. I was gripped by the story, and it got me excited to go out and DO. Action over talk, all day.

"Their awaiting words treated me like a stiff glass of wine - painting my cheeks rosy and my body warm for an evening only to force me into a haze worse than the day before." Killer description of cheap, feel-good self-help articles. Spot on.

Great work as always!

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I really enjoyed reading your article. Lately I've been feeling I need to try something new and this was a great reminder to step out the comfort zone and do.

This resonated a lot:

"Eternal confidence comes from breaking the barrier of your old circle of potential and drawing a new one."

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