Self-confidence is not the same as self-importance, it is quite the opposite. If we are caught up with grasping at ourselves, we find ourselves constantly jockeying for position. This undermines our self-confidence as we are always comparing and contrasting ourselves with others instead of just getting on un-self-consciously with the job of improving ourselves and helping everyone else.

A spiritual self-confidence, also known as non-deluded pride, is called “pride with respect to our potential”. This state of mind is:

… based on a recognition of our spiritual potential and leads us to think, “I can and will attain Buddhahood.” ~ How to Understand the Mind

With this, we identify with our Buddha nature, our potential for lasting happiness, total freedom, universal love, and omniscient wisdom. In short, our potential for enlightenment. We start to relate to our Buddha nature, not our present limitations.

We do this by thinking, “I don’t want to stay the same – I want to free my mind from the chains of my delusions.” We hardly dare imagine that we can change that much – getting rid of all our faults and limitations, as opposed to just some of them. But Buddha tells us we can.

It is impossible to destroy our spiritual potential because this is based on reality, but it is perfectly possible to destroy our delusions because these are based on wrong conceptions that can be righted:

All delusions are based on a mistaken way of seeing things. When we see things as they really are, our delusions naturally disappear and virtuous minds naturally manifest. ~ How to Transform Your Life