Convincing is what you do when you don’t believe it yourself.
You can always tell when someone’s not quite sure of their own words—because they say too many of them.
There’s a subtle desperation in overexplaining, in trying to make others see things your way. And beneath that urgency, more often than not, is doubt. Not about the other person’s understanding—but your own.
Convincing is what you do when you don’t believe it yourself. It’s the mind trying to push others into agreement as a way to quiet its own uncertainty. It’s the voice getting louder not because it’s right, but because it’s not yet rooted.
When you believe something deeply, there’s a calm in you. You don’t scramble for proof. You don’t chase validation. You speak, and if it lands, it lands. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t shake you. Because you’re not saying it *for* approval—you’re saying it because it’s true to you.
This is the difference between performance and presence. When we’re performing, we look outward, gauging reactions, adjusting to be liked, trying to win others over. When we’re present, we look inward. We speak from the spine. There’s no need to decorate it or defend it.
Picture a tree with shallow roots—it sways wildly with the wind, trying to stay upright. Now picture one with roots that run deep into the earth—it may bend, but it doesn’t break. When your beliefs or truth aren’t rooted, you try to hold them up with effort. With noise. With convincing. But when they’re truly yours—when they’ve been lived, felt, wrestled with and absorbed—you don’t need to protect them. They stand on their own.
We often assume the more persuasive someone is, the more confident they are. But it’s often the opposite. The most persuasive people aren’t trying to persuade. They’re simply grounded in what they know. Their quiet clarity speaks louder than anyone else’s volume.
There’s power in not needing to be agreed with. There’s grace in letting your truth be enough—even if no one claps for it.
Next time you catch yourself pushing too hard, pause. Ask: *What part of me isn’t fully sure yet?* It’s a gift, that question. Because it invites you deeper—not into someone else’s opinion, but into your own alignment.
You don’t have to force belief onto others. You just have to believe it enough yourself. When that happens, the words that come out won’t be trying to convince. They’ll simply *resonate*.
And what resonates… doesn’t need to be sold. It’s felt.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
