It’s hard to put my experience into words, but my main work came down to two things: building confidence and letting go of the beliefs that were destroying it. Around the age of thirteen, I started training every day. This improved my physical shape and appearance. Of course, fitness doesn’t directly give you confidence, but it works indirectly — it feels good to be stronger and look better. At the same time, I worked on my charisma. I practiced speaking expressively, with rhythm and emotion. And I noticed that my own attention shifted away from how exactly I spoke, and instead focused on what I wanted to express. That made conversations much easier. Sometimes I rehearsed, sometimes I learned from movie scenes. Another big challenge was dealing with guilt. Since childhood, we are taught to believe that parents and teachers are always right, so we accept their reproaches as truth. But that’s not always the case. I realized that I often felt guilty not because I had actually done something wrong, but because I was made to believe I had. Step by step, I learned to take responsibility only for my own choices — not for the choices of my parents or other people. For example, my very birth was their decision, not mine, so I don’t have to carry guilt if they are unhappy with something. I also noticed that guilt follows a certain chain: first comes the reproach, then the analysis of what you’re accused of, then agreement with that accusation — and only then the feeling of guilt, which destroys your mood and confidence. I started stopping myself during that process and asking: “Am I really guilty here?” For example, I was often blamed for poor grades. But I studied as best as I could, with the brain I had, in the school and subjects I never chose. Interest can’t be forced. Over time, I stopped reacting so painfully to reproaches and freed myself from the guilt and shame that used to destroy my self-esteem.