I thought about Joseph in the bible, the husband of Mary lately and I imagined he went through a lot in his marriage relationship. There must have been a lot of things he didn’t bargain for. You may ask me how. He had a wife who eventually became very popular, more than he ever expected. We hear the account of Mary more than that of Joseph. At some point, he considered walking away from the relationship.
No matter how much you may prepare for marriage, which is a great idea, you never know what you would have to face when you get in.
One of the greatest challenges to relationships is a lack of confidence or low self-esteem. If Joseph had a low self-esteem, that would have been a big problem. A lot of times, this causes problems in marriages and relationships.
There are many factors that can make one have a low self-confidence. It may be their background, how they have been raised, life experiences, their personality, etc. When individuals do not have self-confidence, inadvertently they fight or struggle with a lot of things. One of the best things that can happen while waiting or before a marriage relationship is discovering yourself, who you are, your purpose, strengths and weaknesses and accepting you! Yes, the first step to being whole is looking inwards and accepting yourself the way you are, loving yourself irrespective of what others think about you or what you think of yourself.
It is easy to think you are not good enough, someone else is better. Deliberately invest in your self-confidence. Train your mind to see positivity, and do not over criticise yourself. Endeavour to improve yourself monthly, or quarterly with new lessons. Consider innovation in all you do.
Read books on how to improve yourself esteem and take practical steps. Reward yourself when you reach milestones.
All these are some things that helped build my self-confidence. Every time you create something or are productive, something happens within you. You become more confident. As believers, it is the WORD of God that defines us. Not our past experiences or what people think. Make time to study the Word and speak these words over your life. It works. God bless you.