Confidence inspiring objects, there are usually five given in the scriptures by the Buddha, although it's more than that actually if you count Sympathetic Joy. Reflection on the Buddha, reflection on the Dhamma and reflection on the Sangha. Reflection on one's generosity and reflection on one's good past Kamma. These are five Annusati, confidence-inspiring objects within the forty meditation subjects that the Buddha gave us. Then if you add Sympathetic Joy from the Brahma Viharas, it is also another confidence-inspiring object of meditation. So it appears that the Buddha understood that we need to have confidence-inspiring objects and the feeling of refuge, otherwise he wouldn't have given so many.
How to meditate on the object of the Buddha? One of the ways to reflect on the Buddha is to reflect on the Paramis and the perfection of them. From what I understand from the legend of the Buddha, after he decided to become a Bodhisattva, he contemplated these ten Paramis in and out, trying to figure out how he could develop them. This is because he knew he'd have to develop them if he were to become a Buddha, and of course in the five hundred lifetimes apparently he did work toward perfecting these.
So if we take these Paramis and contemplate these qualities, and how difficult it would be to be perfect in these things, we can become closer to understanding the Buddha. We can think about his great renunciation and the inspirational example he sets. We see that he is directing us towards the human potential within ourselves. By his efforts he shows us what a human being is capable of being. Not that we have to become perfect or a Buddha, because this is a very high state, however by reflecting on the Buddha we remember our inner potential. It's so easy to forget, especially in materialistic societies, about our inner potential. Sometimes when there is doubt in the mind, just by bringing our mind to the Buddha we remind ourselves of our inner potential and this helps to balance these arguments trying to get us to believe in our limitations. So this is why the Buddha asks us to reflect on these confidence-inspiring objects.
These are especially important, from what I've seen in the scriptures, when a person has fear, especially fear of the unknown, fear of anything. By reminding ourselves of our inner potential, our beneficial qualities can surface and the power of Mara, the power of ignorance tends to recede when we start to think about such a high object. It's important, having confidence-inspiring objects, having a refuge, and understanding our human potential. It's one of the reasons why Buddha statues are there, they help remind us of our deeper potential.