CONFIDENCE BUILDING

Confidence is one of the most coveted characteristics of one’s personality. It is one of the prime factors of a successful career in one’s life and enhances the life quality of an individual. Most people struggle with it unaware of the necessary honing it needs to be given for better attitude development. So here we are with a few pointers to develop confidence.     

1.    Grooming. This is pretty known to you but it’s amazing how much of a difference a shower and a shave can make in your feelings of self-confidence and boosts your self-image. Moods can be instantly changed with just this simple act.

2.    Dress well.  You dress well, you feel good. You’ll feel at ease and successful and presentable. Being well dressed doesn’t mean expensive buys but could mean clothes that are nice looking and presentable.

3.    Keep working at your self-image. Self-image means a lot to every individual. The mental picture you have of yourself determines your confidence. But this picture isn’t fixed and is changeable. Keep a check on it and keep improvising it.

4.    Think positive. Practice replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Doing so will allow great things to happen. Seriously. Try it if you haven’t.

5.    Get to know yourself. When going into battle, the wisest general learns to know his enemy very well. You can’t defeat the enemy without knowing him. Similarly, when you are trying to overcome a negative self-image and replace it with self-confidence, you become your own enemy. Get to know yourself well and start listening to your thoughts. Analyze your negative thoughts and write about the good things about yourself, the things you can do well, the things you like. Dig deep within yourself, and you’ll come out eventually with even greater self-confidence.

6. Act positive. More than just thinking positive, you have to put it into action. You are what you do, and so if you change what you do, you change what you are. Instead of saying you can’t, prove that you can, in action. Talk to people in a positive way, put energy into your actions. You’ll soon start to notice a difference.

7. Be kind and generous. Know that being kind to others and generous with yourself and your time and what you have, is a tremendous way to improve your self-image. When you start seeing yourself gently, it does wonders for your self-confidence.

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8. Live by your principles. You need to identify the principles that you possess and stick to them. Think about your principles and perhaps you haven’t given them much thought. Now think about whether you actually live these principles, or if you just believe in them but don’t act upon them.

9. Speak softly and slowly. It is such a simple thing, but it can have a big difference in how others perceive you. A person in authority, with authority, speaks slowly and it shows confidence. Even if you don’t feel the confidence of someone who speaks slowly, try doing it a few times. It will make you feel more confident.

10. Stand tall. Maintain good posture as it will make you feel better.  As an asset, people who stand tall and confident are more attractive. That’s a good thing any day, in my book.

11. Increase competence. Increase competence by becoming more competent. And how do you do that? By studying and practicing.

For example, don’t try to tackle the entire profession all at once. Take it bit by bit and accomplish.

12. Set a small goal and achieve it. People often make the mistake of shooting for the moon, and they get discouraged if they fail. Instead, shoot for something much more achievable and set a goal you know you can achieve. Now set another small goal and achieve that. The more you achieve small goals, the better you’ll be at it, Soon you’ll be setting bigger achievable goals and achieving those too.

13. Change a small habit. Not a big one, like quitting smoking. Just a small one, like writing things down. Or waking up 10 minutes earlier. Or drinking a glass of water when you wake up etc. Something small that you know can be done and can be done for a month. When you’ve accomplished it, you’ll feel like a million bucks.

14. Focus on solutions. Focusing on solutions instead of problems is one of the best things you can do for your confidence and your career.

15. Smile. Smiles work always. You feel instantly better when youI smile. Not a bad investment of your time and energy.

16. Volunteer. Volunteer for various support groups or NGO’s or any social work. Theses add value to your self-worth. You find the time to volunteer for a good cause, to spread some holiday cheer, to make the lives of others better? It’ll be some of the best time you’ve ever spent.

17. Be Grateful. While being grateful for what you have in life, for what others have given you, it is a very humbling activity and can also be a very positive and rewarding activity that will improve your self-image. 

18. Exercise. Exercise has been one of the most empowering activities and it has the ability to make you feel so much better.
All you have to do is take a walk a few times a week, and you’ll see benefits. Start it right away.

19. Increase your knowledge. You can do this in many ways, but one of the surest ways to empower yourself is by building competence and getting prepared. By becoming more knowledgeable, you’ll be more confident and you become more knowledgeable by doing research and studying. The Internet is a great tool, of course, but so are the people around you, people who have done what you want, books, magazines, and educational institutions.

20. Get active. Doing something is almost always better than not doing anything. Doing something could lead to mistakes and mistakes are a part of life. It’s how we learn. So don’t worry about those. Just do something. Get active — physically, or active by taking steps to accomplish something.

21. Work on small things. Trying to work your head off for a huge project or task can be overwhelming, daunting and intimidating for anyone, even the best of us. Instead, learn to work in bursts. Little achievements make you feel good, and they add up to big achievements. Learn to work like this all the time, and soon you’ll be super self-confident.

22. Clear your desk. This might seem like a small, simple thing (then again, for some of you it might not be so small). But it has always worked wonders for people. If the desk starts to get messy, and the world around is in chaos, clearing off the desk is a way of getting a little piece of life under one’s control.