Why You Don’t Feel Confident, Even When You Look the Part

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Episode Summary:

You’ve got the professional photos. The perfect outfit. The polished brand.
But inside? You’re still second-guessing everything.

In this episode, Jama shares the real reason why so many women still don’t feel confident, even when they look like they’ve got it all together.

If you’ve ever looked at a photo of yourself and thought, “That’s me… but it doesn’t feel like me,” this one’s for you.

It’s not about rebranding. It’s about reconnecting and finally showing up from a place of ownership, not performance.

Timestamps:

00:00 – You can look confident and still feel like a fraud
00:09 – The disconnect between how we present and how we feel
00:45 – Why confidence doesn’t come from polish. It comes from permission
01:15 – Women who look the part often struggle most with feeling seen
01:24 – Jama’s story: a branding session, a powerful woman, and lingering self-doubt
02:18 – What confidence actually is and how to build it
02:46 – Actionable tips to align your outer presence with your inner truth
03:08 – You don’t need to look the part. You already are the part

Key Takeaways:

• Looking confident and feeling confident aren’t the same thing
• Most high-achieving women are still performing in subtle ways
• Confidence isn’t about perfection, it’s about permission to be real
• Reconnection with your story creates more impact than a new brand
• People don’t connect with your polish, they connect with your presence

Keywords:

confidence vs performance, high achieving women and self doubt, why confidence feels fake, personal branding disconnect, authentic presence online, women who don’t feel seen, confidence and visibility, feeling like a fraud, looking confident but not feeling it, camera confidence for women

Call to Action:

If this episode resonated with you, send it to a friend who’s tired of looking the part but still questioning her worth.

And if you haven’t yet, leave a quick review. It helps this show reach more women who are ready to stop performing and start owning their confidence.

You don’t need to look the part. You already are the part.

https://www.jamapantel.com

Episode Transcript

Jama Pantel (00:00):
You have the polished photos, the perfect
outfit and the confident poseand still you feel like a fraud.
Here's why.
Hey y'all, it's your podcast,bestie Jama again.
And today I want to talk aboutsomething I see over and over
again, especially with women wholook like they have it all
together.
They show up online lookingpolished, prepared, professional

(00:22):
, but on the inside they'resecond guessing everything.
If you've ever looked at aphoto of yourself and thought
that's me, but it doesn't feellike me, this episode is for you
.
Let's talk about the realreason confidence still feels
out of reach, even when you lookthe part, and what you can do
to finally start feeling like iton the inside too.

(00:45):
Let me just say it.
Looking confident and feelingconfident are two totally
different things.
You can have a beautifullycurated brand, the best lighting
, the perfect caption, and stillfeel completely disconnected
from yourself.
Why?
.

(01:15):
I've photographed hundreds ofwomen over the years, and the
ones who look the most puttogether sometimes are often the
ones who struggle the most withfeeling seen.
I remember doing a brandingsession for a woman who was the
face of her own company.
She was smart, successful andhonestly stunning, but like so
many high-achieving women, shesaid something I've heard

(01:36):
countless times, "I hate beingin front of the camera and I
never feel like myself, and thatstuck with me, like it always
does.
She had left her corporate jobto go out on her own because the
man she worked with never gaveher the credit or respect she
deserved.
But even after stepping intoher own business, that feeling
lingered.
Why did she still feel like shedidn't belong in the spotlight?

(01:59):
She looked the part, but shedidn't feel connected to it.
She wasn't showing up from aplace of ownership.
She was showing up from a placeof performance, still shaped by
the years of needing to proveherself.
And, honestly, that's what somany of us are doing, myself
included.
Let's stop thinking confidenceis something we look like.

(02:21):
Confidence is built, it'spracticed, it's rebuilt after
disappointment, and it's notsomething you just arrive at.
It's something you step intoover and over again, and it
becomes easier when your outerpresence finally matches your
inner truth.
So here are some actionabletakeaways for you If you look

(02:41):
the part but still don't feelconfident.
Here's where to start.
Get clear on the disconnect.
Ask yourself where am Iperforming?
Where am I hiding?
Let go of the image you thinkpeople expect.
You're allowed to show up asyou are, not as who you were
told to be.
Align your brand presence withyour actual story.

(03:03):
You don't need to rebrand, youneed a reconnection.
You don't have to wait until youfeel confident to show up, but
you do have to stop pretending.
The version of you that peopletrust most.
It's not the most perfect one.
It's the most honest one.
So if you've been wondering whyyour visibility still feels
like a performance, here's yourreminder.

(03:25):
You don't need to look the part.
You already are the part.
Now it's time to feel it too.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with someone who's
tired of looking the part butstill questioning their worth,
and leave me a quick review.
It helps the show reach morewomen who are ready to build
confidence that's real, not justvisible.
Until next time, keep livingthe whole

(03:47):
picture.