All successful people have self-confidence. They exude a combination of poise, determination, optimism, and self-assurance that enables them to reap countless benefits at work, with financial matters, in friendship and love, and with most other endeavors. While confident people may feel a certain degree of self-doubt and insecurities from time to time, they don’t dwell on or get consumed by these feelings. They essentially view any shortcomings or challenges as learning opportunities along their roadway to success.
What does it mean to have self-confidence? How can you boost your confidence for a more rewarding life?
What is confidence?
Confidence is a combination of:
- Believing in yourself
- Holding on to core values
- Trusting your own judgement
- Learning from the past
- Being open to change
- Valuing others
- Asking for help when you need it
- Showing kindness to those around you
- Standing up for yourself
- Admitting when you are wrong
- Liking yourself
- Being kind to yourself when you fail
*Source: The Pocket Book of Confidence
How can you boost your confidence?
Understand your strengths: To be a winner, you must think like a winner. Assess and concentrate on your qualities and characteristics that lend to your success.
Cultivate new strengths: To be current and productive in today’s world, keep learning and developing your skills. Progress is gained by empowering yourself with new knowledge and experiences.
Envision your future: Visualize who and what you want to be in the future. Determine the action steps needed to steer you in the right direction.
Practice self-affirmations: Be kind to yourself. Give yourself daily reminders that validate your best talents. Use uplifting statements to acknowledge your worth in all aspects of your life.
Take calculated risks: Don’t let groundless fears and reservations put a damper on your ability to experience new opportunities. With any given prospect, if the gains outweigh the losses, opt for the gains. There is always a certain amount of risk in anything we do.
Accept failure as part of the process: On your pathway to success, factor in the inevitable failures that will pop up along the way. Convert these failures into opportunities by recalibrating your expectations and next steps. Change your course if need be, but don’t let despair be your cause to quit.
Focus on winning: Assume a “can do” attitude and you will be more likely to accomplish your goals. Winning is about setting up and completing realistic goals in a timely manner. Your confidence will build as you add to your achievements.
Establish personal boundaries: Be firm on what you are willing and not willing to do. Learn to say “no” to people or situations that simply add distractions to your life.
Take care of your well-being: Make your mental and physical health a priority. Establish a daily regimen that includes exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management. Care for your personal hygiene and appearance, including the way you dress. Maintain an optimistic outlook and a sense of awareness and social connections with others.
Be responsive to change: There are always unexpected twists and turns in life. No matter how well we structure our journey, there will be times that we need to be flexible and readjust our approach. To thrive in today’s world, being responsive to change is a must.
Take the Challenge
To boost your confidence, implement two or three strategies from the list above into your weekly routine. As you go through the process, benchmark your outcomes in a weekly journal. So stay committed, keep moving forward, and enjoy the rewards of becoming a more confident and successful person in all aspects of your life.
Written by: Patricia K. Flanigan, Smart Strategies for Successful Living
Patricia K. Flanigan has worked in higher education for over 28 years. She holds a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne as well as a M.A. in Latin American Studies and B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before retiring and moving to Idaho in 2015, she served as the dean of online education and learning resources at Saddleback College, a large community college in Southern California. She currently consults in higher education, volunteers for AARP, writes for a local magazine, and serves as an Affiliate Faculty member at Boise State University and on the Board for LEARN Idaho. Since February 2017, she has been the founding director for Smart Strategies for Successful Living, a community-based website designed to promote quality aging. As an educator, her focus is to inspire others to live and age well.
