"Confidence Comes From Not Always Being Right, But From Not Fearing To Be Wrong."

In this episode of WORDS MATTER, Deanna Ley, The Catalytic Coach, wraps up her powerful six-part confidence series with the most transformational pillar of all—I DID. While confidence begins with belief (I CAN), moves into action (I WILL), deepens through purpose (I MUST), and aligns with identity (I AM), it’s ultimately sustained through one thing: proof.

Deanna invites listeners to stop minimizing their efforts and start honoring their progress. With personal insights and practical tools, she shows you how to use your past victories—not your perfection—as the foundation of lasting confidence. Because when fear and perfectionism try to derail you, your bank of I DID moments will remind you of everything you’ve already overcome.

What Listeners Will Learn:
 • Why confidence isn’t built from perfection—it’s built from proof.
 • How to stop brushing past your wins and start honoring your growth.
 • What kinds of I DIDs are worth anchoring into—and which ones to leave behind.
 • How perfectionism chips away at self-trust and how to interrupt that cycle.
 • How to use Deanna’s ACE the Day method to reflect, reconnect, and reinforce confidence.
 • Simple, practical ways to document your proof and build unstoppable momentum.

Memorable Quotes:
• "Confidence comes from not always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong." — Peter T. McIntyre
• "Confidence doesn’t live in perfection. It lives in courage."
• "Let your reflection be a mirror for your strength, not a scoreboard for your shame."
• "Every time you honored a boundary, told the truth, made a better choice—that is your proof."
• "We don’t need a record of regret. We need a mirror that reflects our strength."
• "Perfectionism convinces you to ignore your own progress and question your enoughness."
• "Fear doesn’t get the final word. Your proof does."
• "ACE the Day is how you turn reflection into confidence, and confidence into momentum."
• "When perfectionism says, 'You didn’t do it right,' your I DIDs say, 'But I DID do it. And that matters.'"
• "Confidence doesn’t require perfection. It requires proof."

This episode challenges you to reflect on your growth, recognize your resilience, and anchor your confidence in what you’ve already don

Transcript

Well, hello friends. Woo. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome back to another episode of WORDS MATTER. 

Over the last few episodes, we've been laying a powerful foundation for confidence. Brick by brick, layer by layer, we began with something simple, but often overlooked – keeping promises to ourselves – because confidence starts with self-trust, and self-trust starts with follow through. From there, we stepped into I CAN – learning to believe in our own possibility. Then came I WILL – because belief without action, it just doesn't go very far. We followed it with I MUST – because when we tie action to something deeper, something non-negotiable, we find our inner fire. And last week we explored I AM – because who we believe we are shapes every step we take. And now today, we arrive at I DID, because confidence doesn't just come from belief. It comes from proof.

Today's quote brings that into focus.

It's by Peter T. McIntyre: "Confidence comes from not always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong."

Let that settle in for a second. Confidence doesn't live in perfection, friends. It lives in courage, in action, in the willingness to show up even when the outcome is uncertain, even when fear is present, even when you know there's a chance that you might get it wrong.

Because confidence is built, it's not imagined. And it's built through the moments where you did the hard thing, the aligned thing, the brave thing, despite the discomfort.

But here's where so many of us struggle. We brush past our WINs. We downplay our effort. We skip over growth that cost us everything to earn. We say things like, "It wasn't that big of a deal," or "Anyone would have done that," or "It's just what had to be done."

But friend, no. No, they wouldn’t have. And yes, it matters… because YOU MATTER.

See, every time you rose when it would have been easier to quit, every time you honored a boundary, told the truth, made a better choice, every step forward you took when it was scary or exhausting or silent – that is your proof. That is your I DID.

But let's pause here for a second for an important distinction. Not every I DID is worth carrying forward. Some of the things we've done pulled us away from who we want to be. And we can learn from those, but we don't build our confidence on them. We don't need a record of regret. We need a mirror that reflects our strength.

So before you name something as "proof", ask yourself: "Did it align with the life I want to build? Was it congruent with who I'm becoming?"

Because the last thing we want is for our I DID list to be filled with evidence of how we stayed stuck – all the ways we have waited, reacted, numbed, and shut down. Yeah, sure. Those things happened, and they hold lessons, but they're not the proof we want to anchor our identity in.

We're not here to glorify the chaos. We're here to highlight the moments that moved us forward.

Even if they were small. Even if they were messy. And especially if they were hard.

Let your reflection be a mirror for your strength, not a scoreboard for your shame.

And here's where perfectionism can steal the whole thing. Because perfectionism says, "Unless it was flawless, it doesn’t count." It convinces you to ignore your own progress, to discount your bravery, to question your enoughness – over and over and over again.

And research backs this up. Perfectionism is directly tied to lower self-esteem, higher anxiety, and chronic procrastination – because the fear of not doing it perfectly keeps us frozen. And even when we do act, we dismiss the outcome as not good enough. And over time, that pattern chips away at our self-confidence.

But I DID interrupts that cycle. It reminds you of what's already true. It says, "Let me show you the steps I took, the patterns I broke, the promises I've kept, the progress I've made." And it reminds you that fear doesn't get the final word. Your proof does.

So how do we keep that proof close? How do we keep our confidence rooted in what's real?

Well, one of the most powerful ways is a tool that I introduced you to back in Episode 2 – one I created called ACE the Day. It's a simple reflection that you can do daily or whenever you need to reconnect.

ACE stands for Accomplishments, Challenges, and Excitements.

Every day you ask yourself:

• What did I do today that I'm proud of?
• What challenged me and what did I learn from it? What did I overcome because of it?
• What am I looking forward to?

This practice keeps us grounded in momentum, and it reminds us every day that we're building something.

But if ACE doesn't fit you and what you do and how you do it, just choose something else.

How about starting an I DID journal? Maybe make it a weekly ritual. Use it as a note on your phone, or a voice memo, or a sticky note on the fridge.

What matters is that you pause, that you reflect, that you remember, that you focus.

Because when the voice of fear says, "You're not enough," your I DIDs speak louder. When perfectionism says, "You didn't do it right," your I DIDs say, "But I DID do it. And that matters."

So today I invite you to pause. Write down three things you DID – not what you wish you would have done, not what's still on your to-do list – but three moments, big or small, that reflect your growth, your grit, or your grace.

And when you're done, read each one out loud and say:

I DID. I DID. I DID.

Say it over and over until it feels real. Say it until fear softens. Say it until your shoulders drop and you remember you’ve been becoming all along.

Because that’s the beautiful part of confidence, friends. It doesn’t require perfection. It requires proof.

And you’ve already got that.

So when the next hard thing comes – and it will – you’ll rise up, you’ll remember, and you’ll say it with even more conviction…

I DID – and I will again.

Friends, the words we see and read, the words we hear, and the words we say to ourselves and about ourselves – about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it – they all matter.

Your WORDS MATTER, because YOU MATTER.

Have a great day.