"Have confidence!" is one of the most elemental pieces of counsel we receive in life that makes no sense if we have never adhered to it. We know what confident people look like, the rewards they get, and that it's something worth emulating. Self-Confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of our wits.
Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so many people tussle to find it. People who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful. The way we feel about ourselves greatly influences how we live. As Dalai Lama righteously said “With realization of one’s own potential & self confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”
Most people are unwilling or reluctant to back a project that is being pitched by someone who was nervous and very remorseful. On the other hand, we may be influenced by someone who speaks clearly, who holds his or her head high, who answers questions assuredly or confidently, and who readily admits when he or she does not know something.
Self-confident people inspire confidence in others: their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. Winning the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success. When it comes to building self-confidence, perception is everything. The way we view ourselves has a huge impact on how others will eventually identify us.
Self-confidence is about trusting your own verdict and feeling comfortable with our capabilities and powers. It is the means to comprehend our full potential and be the person we want to be. Self-confidence allows us to feel secure in the world and allows others to feel safe that they know what to expect. It is made up of a variety of factors, including how we present ourselves physically to the world and how we relate to other people.
Sound self-confidence can bring benefits to all areas of our life, including relationships, career, social life and state of mind. Some people are self-confident in their work-life but not in their social life, we all differ. People feel comfortable with confident people as they are usually predictable and their conduct is reliable.
Building self-confidence is a journey.
Not everyone is born with an in built sense of self-confidence. Sometimes it can be hard to amplify confidence, whether because of personal experiences that have caused us to lose confidence or suffering from low self-esteem. Although many of the factors affecting self-confidence are beyond our control, there are a number of things we can consciously do to build self-confidence. Some of these are just little changes to our frame of mind, and others are things we have to work on for a bit longer to get used to them.
Identify your strengths and capitalize on them.
One of the best ways to build self-confidence is to get clear on our strengths and find ways to integrate those strengths into what we do every day. When we lad from our strengths we are engaged and energized.
Identify your weaknesses and work on them.
If there are weaknesses that are affecting our self-confidence, we have to make a plan to reduce or erase them. We should not obsess over these things but know that addressing our weaknesses and making industrious effort to overcome them can help boost self-confidence. Awareness is the beginning of change.
Challenge yourself
Accomplishing things that we did not think possible can be a great way to enrich our self-confidence. We have to try something new, even if we are unsure or afraid.
Embrace the unknown
Self-confidence comes from knowing our competence but acknowledging it is not exclusively answerable for creating our world. When we take that weight off our shoulders and realize that sometimes the twists and turns have nothing to do with what we did or should have done, it is easier to feel confident.
Be thankful
We should be thankful for what we have. A lot of the times, at the root of ambiguity and lack of self-confidence is a feeling of not having enough of something, whether it is emotional validation, good luck, money, etc. By saluting what we do have, we can combat the feeling of being imperfect and disgruntled. Finding that inner peace will do wonders for our self-confidence.
Stick to your principles
We should determine our core values in life, the principles around which we want your life centered. We should examine our life to see where we are not in alignment with the values and make the necessary changes to fix that. If we do not stand for something, we will fall for anything. No matter what has happened in our life, we can always lay claim to the fact that from this day forward, we have followed our principles to the best of your ability.
Associate with positive, supportive people.
There is a magical energy being around supportive people. When we are surrounded by negative people who constantly put us and our ideas down, our confidence is lowered. On the other hand, when we are accepted and respected, we feel better about ourselves in the best possible and positive environment. Negative person has one DAY between two nights while positive person has one NIGHT between two days.
Stop comparing yourself with others
We should stop comparing ourselves with other people. There will always be some people who have more than us and some who have less. If we play the comparison game, we will run into too many “antagonists” we cannot defeat.
Turn negative into positives
There is wisdom in this Eastern saying “When life throws a dagger at you there are only two ways to catch it: by the blade or by the handle.” Life brings setbacks to everybody. The key is to transform pain into gain and hurt into healing. Instead of complaining on what doesn't work in our life, focus on what does work, and how we can get it. When we hone in on the skills that we already have, rather than focusing on what we are lacking, we become more aligned with our positive self-talk, which we can build on. A positive attitude is the single most important inner resource to lead a confident lifestyle.
Visualize Your Victory
Our unconscious mind makes no division between imagination and actuality. If we envisage having confidence then we will really experience being confident. Whether it is a career fair, networking event, an interview, a meeting with venture capitalists or even a date we have to take some time to visualize our victory.
As a final point, 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. Self-confidence is the one thing that is much more important than many other abilities and traits. If we do not have self-confidence, what we do will never become fruitful at all. The fruits of what we do without self-confidence are lost. Self-confidence is a characteristic that everyone struggles with at one point, but can be achieved by trusting one’s abilities and speaking with others that are supportive. Mark Twain once said, “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” Self-Confidence is the necessity of victory in life. According to a famous quote “Common sense is not common in common people” with little a bit of common sense and a lot of confidence we can achieve great success in life. 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 out to do and this perception creates reality in their lives. There is no magic potion or quick fix for building self-confidence. It can be a constant battle.
SHIVANAND PANDIT
Financial Analyst and Adviser, MARGAO-GOA.
Email: panditgoa@gmail.com
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