SELF-ASSURANCE 
Self-assurance is similar to self-confidence. In the deepest part of you, you have faith in your strengths. You know that you are able-able to take risks, able to meet new challenges, able to stake claims, and, most important, able to deliver. But Self- assurance is more than just self-confidence. Blessed with the theme of Self- assurance, you have confidence not 011ly in your abilities but in your judgment. When you look at the world, you know that your perspective is unique and distinct. And because no one sees exactly what you see, you know that no one can make your decisions for you. No one can tell you what to think. They can guide. They can sug- gest. But you alone have the authority to form conclusions, make decisions, and act. This authority, this final accountability for the living of your life, does not intimidate you. On the contrary, it feels natural to you. No matter what the situation, you seem to know what the right decision is. This theme lends you an aura of certainty. Unlike many, you are not easily swayed by someone else's arguments, no matter how per- suasive they may be. This Self-assurance may be quiet or loud, depending on your other themes, but it is solid. It is strong. Like the keel of a ship, it withstands many different pressures and keeps you on your course. 

Self.assurance sounds like this: Pam D., public service executive: "I was raised on a remote farm in Idaho, and I attended a small rural school. One day I returned home from school and announced to my mother that. I was changing schools. Earlier in the day my teacher had ex- plained that our school had too many kids and that three kids would have to move to a different school. I thought about it for a moment, liked the idea of meeting new people, and decided I would be one of them~ven though it meant getting up half an hour earlier and traveling further on the bus. I was five years old." 
James K.,salesman: "I never second-guess myself. Whether I am buying a birth- day present or a house, when I make my decision, it feels to m,e as if I had no choice. There was only one decision to make, and I made it. It's easy for me to sleep at night. My gut is final, loud, and very persuasive." 
Deborah C., ER nurse: "If we have a death in the ER, people call on me to deal with the family because of my confidence. Just yesterday we had a problem with a young psychotic girl who was screaming that the devil was inside her. The other nurses were afraid, but I knew what to do. I went in and said, 'Kate, come on, lie back. Let's say the Baruch. It's a Jewish prayer. It goes like this: Baruch Atah Adonai, EloheinuMelech Haolam.' She responded, 'Say it slowly so that I can say it back to you.' I did and then she said it back to me slowly. She wasn't Jewish, but this calm came over her. She dropped back against her pillow and said, 'Thank you. 
That's all I needed.' "