05/20/2026
This month in HPX is all about growing our confidence as herbal practitioners and entrepreneurs...and this could mean a lot of different things, including facing our fears and insecurities so that we may learn to navigate them. However, as helpful as this approach may be in building confidence, there is a significant focus on what we are lacking or ways in which we feel we are not good enough, don't know enough, or aren't ready enough.
In the etymology of the word 'confidence' we find definitions that herald a particular discovery of trust - a trust in ourselves, in our innate knowing, and a belief in our goodwill as an expression of our hearts. So I have to ask...how can we learn to trust ourselves, from our hearts and guts, if we are constantly trying to build confidence from a focus on what we lack?
However, confidence in our work as herbal practitioners and entrepreneurs also comes from identifying areas in our knowledge base, our passions, our experience, where we feel strong and from which we can evolve. This approach to building confidence is about focusing on our strengths (or superpowers) rather than focusing on what we lack - rather than a focus on the fear about what we don't yet know or haven't yet experienced.
From a clinical perspective, building confidence in our ability to work with clients requires that we practice with a focus on what it is we do already know, have already experienced, or already do well. It is a concentration on areas that we feel the most comfortable and solid.
