Self-Confidence

Many people lack the self-confidence and self-esteem needed to live a happy and healthy life.

Self-Confidence is the key to success, or we can say the first step to success. If a person has self-confidence, he has won half the battle. Those people who have self-confidence at work, school, and in their daily life always appear on top of the world. Everything seems to go right for these people and they always seem to present themselves as calm, collected and successful in everything they do.

People who lack self-confidence are always found trying to bring the self-confident ones down. They go about back biting or just hating for no reason. Have you ever seen a hater doing better than you? No. They want to be like you, they try so hard but they can't, so they envy you, they find faults in every little thing you do. Some go as far as trying to make you feel worthless. Little do they know that in trying to pull someone else down, it just shows that the person is already above them. You can't try to pull someone down if they were below you. Build up your self-confidence. Celebrate the good in everyone.

If you pay attention, you might notice that these self-confident people usually are successful in every area of their lives. Is this because they are smarter? Or is it because they have more money? Maybe they are just lucky? The reality is that none of these things are true. Self-confident people understand the impact of believing in themselves and relying on their abilities.

This confidence ultimately creates opportunities for success and with each new success, another self confidence building block is put into place. Success builds self-confidence with each new achievement. Self-confident people perceive themselves as able to achieve those things they set outto do and this perception creates reality in their lives.

Yes, perception creates reality. You can become the person you want to be. You have heard it said that if you can believe it, you can achieve it. So, start believing in yourself, act on that belief, and you will start building self-confidence in your life. Building self-confidence needs certain steps to be followed.

1. Make a list of your strong points- Note down all the positive things about yourself and the things that you are good at doing. Think of compliments you have received or things that come easily to you. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s good, write it down.

2. Choose two of those things that you want to improve in yourself- It’s important to succeed, and by concentrating on the areas you are already good at, you will have a better chance of becoming even surer of yourself. Remember that success builds upon success.

3. Fight your fears- “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” - E. RooseveltIt is very important to identify, acknowledge and then manage your fears. Acknowledgement is a very important step; don’t be in denial, but accept your fears. It takes plenty of willpower to acknowledge and accept our fears. Do not hesitate from attempting something new. Failures are our companions on the path of the greater success; every failure teaches us a valuable lesson.

4. Exude confidence even if you don’t feel like it- Don't forget, you'll also be criticized. People will hurt you, and how you let them get to you is what determines your level of self-confidence. Talk to yourself in an encouraging way and stay away from negative thoughts and people as you can. Surround yourself with positive, confident, and successful people. This will become a habit and will build confidence.

5. Look and Feel Confident- Feeling and ‘give a feel’ of confidence is an important lesson. You can look confident by;

*Dressing Sharp - "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society." – Mark Twain
Dressing sharp does not mean wearing new fashion trend. But wear anything which makes you feel comfortable and self-assured. Your clothes should deliver the message, "I am a confident person." Also learn to say, "Oh, you look fabulous!" when you see a person that's dressed so well.

*Keeping your posture upright – Sitting up straight on a chair is not only good for your back; it also gives you more confidence in your thoughts. Our body posture can affect not only how others think about us, but also how we think about ourselves.

*Walking with Authority– Have you noticed when you are happy, then how you tend to walk faster? You are returning back from the office and you have VERY good news to share with your family; how do you think you are going to walk? I would say you will walk at least 25% faster than normal. On the contrary, if you have a bad news to share then how would you walk then? Not very fast I guess. The way you walk demonstrates your attitude.

*Exercising Regularly- Join a Gym or Yoga Class. Your physical appearance plays a big role on how you think of yourself. So if you are out of shape, join a gym and start taking mini steps towards better health.

6. Put Your Smile on Display- Could there be anything simpler? I am telling you just to smile to build self-confidence.

7. Look at yourself in a different way than you are used to doing- It can change your life and help your confidence level to rise. See yourself as the self-confident person you want to be and before you know it, you will become that person.

8. If you have a setback, do not let it get the best of you- Remember the times when you exhibited self-confidence and how good it felt, and then try again, and each time will help you to build confidence, and confidence building will become a way of life. Success will automatically enter your life once you start believing in yourself.