8 strategies to up self-confidence (and this is more a post to myself than anything):<\/p>\n
1. Ask, \u2018what would I say to a loved one in this situation?’ We\u2019re kinder and more compassionate to others than to ourselves. Also, we’re not so quick to mull or analyse all that\u2019s going wrong when helping someone else. Questioning entails mindful awareness to a problem. Too often, people lacking in self-confidence brush off a mistake or a lost opportunity as a character flaw, not as a chance to gain insight into a problem area.<\/p>\n
2. Expand your circle of potential. Visualisation is a powerful technique of creating an image of yourself as you want to be, within your mind. When we struggle with low self-confidence, we have a poor perception of ourselves that is often inaccurate. When visualising a positive version of yourself, several areas converge helping you to: a) activate your creative subconscious which increases creativity, b) program your brain to recognise internal and external resources c) manifest the law of attraction, thereby placing yourself in the purview of positive people and opportunities, and d) increase your motivation to take the necessary actions to achieve your dreams.<\/p>\n
3. Notice what you\u2019re doing well. This step loosely fits into the \u201cthink positive\u201d mantra, and with good reason. When you\u2019re lacking confidence, it\u2019s easy to focus on mistakes. The trick is to catch yourself before a bad mood threatens your day. For example, a while back I noticed when I awoke my mind quickly scanned all the things I didn\u2019t accomplish from the day before. Once I caught myself, I reframed with, \u201cwhat am I doing right?\u201d This was a game changer in starting my day on a healthy note.<\/p>\n
4. Give negative thoughts the boot. This ties into the tip above, as unhealthy thoughts pervade an insecure mindset. A hallmark of an emotionally healthy mind is vigilance around what enters your sacred mental real estate.<\/p>\n
5. Get curious about your inner world. When you become self-aware about your thoughts and how they impact your feelings and behaviors, you\u2019ve set the stage for reducing insecurities. \u201cHmm, that was an interesting reaction\u2026wonder if there\u2019s something deeper I\u2019m avoiding.\u201d Or, \u201cif I was to let go of my need to control the outcome of situations, how would that feel?\u201d<\/p>\n
6. Take risks. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don\u2019t take. Regret is a huge theme in psychotherapy, especially as we age and our lives become more narrow. Bottom line: You will never reach your potential if you don’t execute a plan.<\/p>\n
7. Act \u201cas if\u201d you possess the confidence your aspire to have. When life doesn\u2019t go well it can seem like there\u2019s no rhyme or reason. This is a good time to behave \u201cas if\u201d you\u2019re where you want to be. It\u2019s getting up early, showering, putting on nice clothes and going out in public and networking even though you don\u2019t have a job. Building self-confidence means taking action despite your fear of failure. If things work out, then you now know you\u2019re more confident than you think. If things don\u2019t work out, you now know the experience didn\u2019t break you. Either way, you\u2019re better off.<\/p>\n
8. Get organised. Have a system in place for problem-solving. If career advancement is hindered because you didn\u2019t pass an important test, set daily goals for learning the material. Every problem has a solution, and a disorganised mind is the enemy of momentum. Study like there\u2019s no tomorrow and adjust your priorities, accordingly.<\/p>\n
The good news is research reveals that self-confidence isn\u2019t fixed at a certain age, but tends to increase with self-awareness and life experience. You are as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fears; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
8 strategies to up self-confidence (and this is more a post to myself than anything): 1. Ask, \u2018what would I say to a loved one in this situation?’ We\u2019re kinder and more compassionate to others than to ourselves. Also, we’re not so quick to mull or analyse all that\u2019s going wrong when helping someone else. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-2856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about","category-stuff-that-matters","tag-a-life-more-sustainable"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2856"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2861,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2856\/revisions\/2861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irisherself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}