Finding Your Swagger

Kevin Yien, currently a Product Manager at Square, writes an interesting and relatable piece on how he found his swagger, lost it, and then found it again.

I have never been a particularly confident person. I’m not necessarily unconfident, but it takes an unusual amount of effort to build up my confidence. I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Thus, I never quite realized the importance of swagger. What is swagger? For me, it’s knowing what you’re good at and acting accordingly — earned confidence. But it’s not arrogance. Your behavior and ability are in lock step.

When you lose your swagger, you lose your self. When you lose your self, you need to spend time alone. When you spend time alone, you are left with nothing but yourself. And only from there can you find yourself, and your swagger, again.