Mullingar Toastmasters notes: 'What happens when you stop waiting to feel ready'

Confidence is a tricky thing. Some people exude confidence, other people had it and lost it somewhere along the way, and many others view confidence as a personal quality that’s eluded them throughout life.

As the kids well know, those Christmas presents don’t just simply arrive under the tree each year until Santa has been sent a letter. Confidence works in a similar fashion. It doesn’t just appear as a tool in our personal toolbox. It follows action. Let’s break it down into three steps.

Commitment: It’s time to act despite hesitation. It’s not about perfection but rather a willingness to simply show up, take on a roll, and lean into whatever the moment may hold.

Courage: Regardless of what many of us think, courage does not look polished. It’s that zone where you experience fear, uncertainty, and discomfort while having no guarantee of a result. Courage helps you keep going when certainty is absent.

Capability: When combined, commitment and courage builds capability. Capability comes from within, growing internally through action and effort.

The final Toastmasters meeting of the year started with Christmas jumpers, costumes, and plenty of laughter, it ended with an understanding that our individual confidence grows through repetition, feedback, and trust. These foundational elements has carried Mullingar Toastmasters through the last 29 years, continuing to build a bigger, better, and more confident future for all current, new, and future members.

Our doors reopen in the new year, same place, same time, with the same invitation.

Show up first. The rest follows.

The first meeting of 2026 is on Thursday January 8 at 8pm in the Greville Arms Hotel.