Confidence is the feeling that you can handle a situation, complete a task, or face a challenge successfully. When you have confidence, you trust your own abilities and judgment. A student with confidence raises her hand to answer questions even when she's not completely certain. A basketball player with confidence takes the important shot when the game is on the line.

Confidence comes from experience and preparation. The first time you ride a bike, you wobble and worry. After practice, you pedal smoothly without thinking about it. That's confidence built through repetition. When you study hard for a spelling bee, you gain confidence in your ability to spell difficult words.

True confidence is different from arrogance or overconfidence. A confident person knows what they can do but also recognizes what they still need to learn. Overconfident people overestimate their abilities and often fail because they didn't prepare properly. Confident people prepare thoroughly, then trust that preparation when it counts.

You can have confidence in yourself, but you can also have confidence in someone else, meaning you trust their abilities. When your teacher has confidence in you, she believes you can succeed. When you place your confidence in a friend, you trust them to follow through on their promises.