Building Self-confidence

FREE online courses on Creating Confidence - Building Self Confidence - Developing confidence

Self-confidence is the armor, which breaks the shackles of shyness. It infuses in us the spirit to have faith in our ability and fight back self-doubt. You can develop your self-confidence by:

• Forgetting your worries and inhibitions
• Being objective about yourself
• Observing yourself from the opposite side of the desk
• Analyzing your positive points
• Making a list of your achievements and justifying your capabilities

Realize your worth

Emerging, as a confident personality is a skill, which can be improved with practice. It is not a constant quality as you might be lacking it in certain situations or in the company of certain people. A few steps could be followed to gain inner confidence.

Don't be your critic

If we find ourselves overflowing with faults we can't expect others to find worth in us. Receive a compliment with a ‘Thank you' rather than, “Oh! Someone else could have done much better”. Or “I don't think it's good enough”.

You don't need to be foolish by picking your own faults when others may not have taken note of it.

Don't indulge in self-pity

Self-pity is a negative way to solve problem; it makes the other person bored and disinterested. Be constructive about your problems and give a break to the ones who listen to your problems day in and day out.

Be relaxed

Take help of breathing exercises or meditation to relax yourself. Don't trouble yourself with problems, which may be a shapeless lump. Try to make things manageable and clear your mind with “what if?”

Motivate yourself

Do not depend on others to feel secure or happy. Handle your emotions and stop blaming others for not being successful. You need to be in command of yourself.

Be positive

Do not threaten yourself by imagining the worst scenario and thus feel insecure. Have a positive frame of mind and nourish optimism for the work in hand.

Pen down your problem and then ponder over all the possible solutions. List them down and work on the ones you find most effective. See that it works with your positive approach and trust in your own talent and capability.

Learn to face the world by:

Being happy: It's a fact that your being happy does make the world look better. Your approach towards life and its events makes you happy or unhappy. The more you expect out of life the unhappier you will be. An optimist sees the glass as half-full where as a pessimist would look at it as half-empty.

Speaking positively: Life always has something worthy to offer. Prefer speaking about your likes rather than dislikes. Instead of rejecting any thing, some other option can be tried. Moaning mars your personality.

Setting your goals: You need to build your standards for personal success. No one is good at everything. Instead of comparing your achievements with others you should accept your limitations and work strongly on your strengths.

Assessing yourself: Self-assessment is a valuable tool if it is earnest. You could always get yourself assessed by people you think know you well. Your lack of confidence will induce you to expect negative reactions from people. Start thinking and saying to yourself.

“I'm sure people will appreciate me”.

“I'm sure to answer well at the interview”.

“I know I'll be able to convince”.

“I know the event will go well”.

Taking your decisions: Be sure of what you choose, be it the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the job you've opted for. Dare to be different and let others look up to your style and manners.

Interacting with people: A shy person lacks the confidence to communicate with others. Try to be the life and soul of a party by being lively with a good sense of humor. It is better to be pleasant and easy going to get along well with people.

• Make an impact on others
• Avoid being self-conscious, it can paralyze your presence
• Prepare yourself before a public meeting or delivering a speech
• “To feel brave”, advises Prof. William James, “act as if you are brave, use all of your will to that end and a courage fit will very likely replace the fit of fear”.
• Start with a strong and persistent desire. Train yourself to bring out the best in yourself.
• Set a record of your successful experiences and let your fears vanish and be replaced with confidence.
• Be aware of your surroundings through media, newspaper etc. It gives you the confidence to interact with people.
• Try to sharpen your memory. A puzzled attitude mars your confidence. Keep reminding yourself about important matters.
• Have a command over your tone. Speech has an impact and displays your confidence.