How to Build Confidence?

It may come from a variety of sources—our backgrounds, measuring up to peers, a bad hair day, getting a C on an important test, not speaking up when we should.

The point is that there is a set of things that matter to us—for instance, our family, our careers, our appearances, etc. Events which affect these, also impact our self-esteem

I have horrible posture, so it will sound hypocritical for me to give this advice, but I know it works because I try it often. When I remind myself to stand tall and straight, I feel better about myself

I have horrible posture, so it will sound hypocritical for me to give this advice, but I know it works because I try it often. When I remind myself to stand tall and straight, I feel better about myself

To feel more self-confident, you can use positive affirmation – positive statements that are meant to reprogram your mind to seeing yourself in a better light.

Our unfavorable affair with failure is one of the most dominant impediments to having healthy self-opinions.

How do you feel more competent? By becoming more competent. And how do you do that? By studying and practicing. Just do small bits at a time. If you want to be a more competent writer,

Being an introvert is not the cause of one’s low self-esteem. Many introverts have healthy confidence. However, people who lack self-assurance are, more often than not, introverted, due to seeking social aversion

There are a few ways to do it. You can write down your own mantra and repeat it to yourself every morning (or every evening before going to bed).

People often make the mistake of shooting for the moon, and then when they fail, they get discouraged. Instead, shoot for something much more achievable. Set a goal you know you can achieve, and then achieve it.

“Fake it till you make it” is harder to follow than it sounds. It’s challenging to maintain confident behavior for straight 8 hours at work, every day, unless we hold at least partial belief that the man in the mirror is worth it.

You can write the positive statements on a piece of paper and put it somewhere where you will always see it (stick it on a wall or on a fridge), you can also write your affirmation on a mirror.

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. Something small that you know you can do. Do it for a month. When you’ve accomplished it, you’ll feel like a million bucks.

That’s what I did. Every morning when I get ready I have no other choice but to look at it.

If you are a complainer, or focus on problems, change your focus now. Focusing on solutions instead of problems is one of the best things you can do for your confidence and your career.

True confidence follows a model which can be described as ABC: it needs to be based on some actual Abilities; we need to Believe in these skills, talents or mojos that we have; and confidence is often Contingent on various things and may differ in each domain—for example, one can be confident that they are a good worker, but not so certain in their parenting skills.

When people act in a self-confident way towards others, they actually feel more self-confident themselves.

Another trite one. But it works. I feel instantly better when I smile, and it helps me to be kinder to others as well. A little tiny thing that can have a chain reaction. Not a bad investment of your time and energy.

This is one of the most amazing rules in our lives. If you want to have something, act as if you already have it.

Related to the “be kind and generous” item above, but more specific.

Self-esteem is also shaped by our self-perceptions, which, in turn, contain 3 main ingredients— what we think about ourselves, what others think of us, and what we think others think of us.

The way our mind works, is that the more familiar an idea is, the truer it will seem.

There are 4 main things which further affect our levels of self-esteem—the 4 Ps—Perspiration (our attitude toward fear and anxiety), Peers (comparisons to others), Parents (the support we were given by our families), and Performance (academic or career-wise).

I’m a firm believer in gratitude, as anyone who’s been reading this blog for very long knows well. But I put it here because while being grateful for what you have in life, for what others have given you, is a very humbling activity … it can also be a very positive and rewarding activity that will improve your self-image.

And how to make an idea familiar? By repeating it!...