Confidence. It is a powerful word and an even stronger feeling. Can you remember a time in your life when you felt safe? A moment when you felt unstoppable ... on top of the world? Now imagine that you could feel this way more often. What impact would that have on your health and well-being, your career, or your relationships?
When you feel confident you can take advantage of the potential opportunities in life, you will be able to take more risks and make those changes in your life. Life moves and it is necessary to have more confidence to achieve that essential force in the journey that we all have: life.
We can all increase our confidence, since it is already within you and you only need a few strategies to discover it.
Why Some People Don't Have Confidence
Lack of confidence can have many different causes. Perhaps, growing up, your parents said that a certain career was out of your league and that you could never do it. Or maybe you have a belief system that says 'I could never start my own business, I'm not an entrepreneur'. Maybe you had a bad experience that opened the door for self-doubt to creep in. Or maybe your inner self-critic is telling you 'you can't' or 'you're not good enough'.
Perhaps you also compare yourself too much to other people. Maybe you think that in your life there are things that go wrong. It may also be that you are going through a crisis of confidence but it is only temporary.
How to have more confidence in yourself
Confident people believe in themselves and have a positive mindset. Insecure people, on the other hand, lack confidence and feel insecure about themselves and their decisions. If you start working to increase your confidence in a conscious way, you will begin to notice the positive changes in your life, both personally and professionally. Discover how to increase your confidence
Be specific
Where do you lack confidence? When do you feel doubts about yourself? Where do you feel your abilities are limiting you? Where would you like to be more confident? Once you get specific, it won't seem so overwhelming, as you will have something tangible to tackle.
Maybe you want the confidence to go out on your own and start a new business? Or maybe you would like to go back to school to get the degree you always wanted? Tat the same time you would like to have the confidence to go on an adventure or take a trip that you have been thinking about for some time.
Discover what gives you confidence
This is personal, so it will vary from person to person. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to trust and what works for one won't always work for another. How can you find out what gives you confidence? Think a few times in your life when you feel most confident. Find out what moments make you feel good, because that's what gives you confidence and the strength you need. Was it the environment you were in? Something you were doing? A feeling you had? The more you clarify about this, the easier it will be to access when you need it.
Be true to you
One of the surest ways to lose confidence is to try to be someone else. One of the best ways to build your confidence? Be honest with yourself. When you try to be someone you are not, every part of you resists. You are not like the others ... You are you. And the more you can understand who you are and what you value, the stronger you will be. When you walk away from who you are, you lose confidence because it is "just not you." Think about what it does to you, uniquely yours. Write it. Think about what you value and what is important to you. Write it down too… that's what will make you stay true to yourself.
Stop comparing yourself
Nothing erases your confidence more than comparing yourself to others. Especially now, with social media and the wonderful opportunity to judge yourself against so many others! Lack of confidence comes from a gap in where you see yourself and where you think you should be.
Imagine that you are preparing to give a great presentation and you bought yourself with the best speakers in the world, you would feel inferior for sure! Stop comparing yourself to others. If you still feel an urgent need to compare yourself, always do it with yourself. It measures how far you have come, your improvements, your victories and your successes.