Showing posts with label Self Confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Confidence. Show all posts
Obstacles in Building Self-Confidence
Know what’s holding you back.
It’s great that
you have decided to build your self-confidence. However, there are a few
obstacles that can keep you from achieving your goal. Most of the time, these
obstacles are so obvious that they do not seem like obstacles at all, and all
you can see is that your resolve to be self-confident is not taking you
anywhere. Therefore, it is important to become aware of these seemingly
harmless obstacles that have all the power to stop you in your path. Let’s have
a look at what could be the reasons that you are not moving ahead in top gear.
Are you undisciplined?
Some people
simply have the talent to waste a lot of time without realizing it. They lack
the self-discipline to stop their actions that waste time. Imagine a situation
wherein you have a list of tasks to be completed successfully as a part of your
confidence building program. However, the moment you enter your home you
involuntarily grab the remote and start channel surfing on the idiot box. It’s
only after an hour that you realize that you have been vegetating in front of
the T.V in the time you had scheduled to do other tasks. You realize that you
have already disturbed your schedule. In a self-development program, it’s you and
only you who has the power to change yourself. Nobody will come to monitor your
actions and progress. You have to keep a watch on your inner graph and see to
it that it goes up! Avoid temptations and stick to your schedule.
Are you lazy and keep procrastinating?
Procrastination
is one of the greatest and most silent killers of confidence. It does not let
you complete your jobs and tasks in time; things keep mounting and finally you
get overwhelmed by all the many things that have piled up and need your
attention. The very basics of building confidence start with listing little
things that are doable. You gain more confidence to take on greater tasks and
responsibilities by successfully completing the lighter tasks at hand. However not
being prompt and delaying important things till they become urgent makes you
miss the opportunity of working on your confidence and puts you in danger of
falling back again into your earlier cycle, thereby wasting all the effort and
energy you had put into becoming aware of your low confidence trap and getting
out of it.
Does your old self keep pulling
you back?
Assume. Assume.
Assume is the technique here. Assume that you are a different person with
habits you wanted to inculcate. Imagine the way you would like to be. Imagine a
self-confident you taking things in your stride. Then try to bring into your
daily actions the way you have imagined yourself to be. “I dream by painting.
Then I paint my dream” was the technique what the great painter Vincent Van
Gogh followed. Your assumed self will make people react to you in a different
way, according to your new self. This will establish your new self to the world
and will help you keep up the new self before it becomes a habit – a second
nature! If you behave indecisively and helplessly, you will invoke
proportionate reactions from people around you, thereby reinforcing your
previous self. This throws you back again. Remember that you cannot get ahead
if you keep looking back. Realize this and stop sliding back.
Don't copy self-confidence. Do
not try to become like someone else.
One of the
greatest mistakes that people make when trying to increase their low
self-confidence is falling in love with an image of their icon who may be a
sport star or a film star or any celebrity and then they try to be like them.
This is one of the greatest mistakes that people can commit when trying in
increase their self-confidence. You have to be yourself at all costs. Getting
inspired is wonderful but merely aping these guys won't take you anywhere.
There is no need for any two people in this universe to be exactly the same.
The challenge is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like
everyone else!
The Joy of Self Confidence
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Self confident
people stay ahead of deadlines
Self confidence is known to make
employees more effective in their jobs. Confident employees are capable of
taking up complex tasks that require greater commitment and concentration.
Confident executives are filled with hope and enthusiasm and are able to charge
up the atmosphere of their workplace thereby inspiring people around them.
These executives are a great asset to their employers as they have all that it
takes to finish to with perfection the task at hand. Self confident people
develop a habit of succeeding in whatever task they put their focus on. These
guys surely beat deadlines.
Self confident
people remain cheerful
A confident
person is able to complete his jobs within the stipulated time and maintains an
organized schedule. Staying ahead of deadlines keeps a person in control of the
situation and matters at both office and home. A task completed well on time
gives a certain joy and lots of time at hand as well. This avoids many tight
situations and helps to maintain the calm and poise of a person. Self
confidence is the best “face pack” one can have. You can make out a
self-confident person with his beaming eyes and a cheerful persona.
Self confident people enjoy better health
Self-confident
people are able to deal with chaotic situations with comparatively more calm
and poise. They do not get puzzled because they have an inherent belief that
they are capable of setting things right and make constructive efforts to solve
the problem. This helps them avoid stress, high blood pressure, anger and
confusion. Self confident people are, hence, on their way to good health and
peaceful life.
Self confident
people have more time for their family
A good day at
workplace more often than not is quite a big factor as to how a person behaves
once he gets back home. A great day at office makes a person cheerful and someone
who would like to share happy moments with his family. He will have more time
for his family. Spending time with spouse and kids often is a rejuvenating
experience and makes him or her look forward for another great day.
Self confident
people enjoy stronger relationship bonds
Spending time is the most precious
investment one can make in any relationship. These days when divorce is on rise
among working couples, confident people take difficulties in their stride. They
are better organizers and are able to draw a line between work and family,
creating a balance in their work and family lives. They are able to spend
quality time with their families. They make sure that the time for the family
should remain exclusively for the family and they avoid mixing it with work.
Spending more time with children help them grow up with more sense of security
and belongingness. These children, thus, have much greater chance to be self-reliant
and self-confident when they grow up. Self confident people, by the virtue of
their ability to organize things better are able to cement relationships with
time and care. Self confident people also have friends and enjoy active social
life.
Self confident
people make more money
Self confidence helps executives generate
a lot of team spirit and to have the ability to take up complex tasks and lead
from the front. These qualities certainly bring profits in various ways for the
company they work for. They are able to focus at the job at hand and complete
it successfully. Self confident people tend to climb the corporate ladder
comparatively fast and getter better pay packages!
Self confident
people become role models
Self confident
people stand a far greater chance of achieving success in life both on their
work and personal fronts, than their counterparts. Self-confident people
develop a certain charisma around them which makes people look up to them. They
believe in themselves and develop the courage to take on bigger problems and
provide solutions. Self-confident people rise to enviable positions and act as
a source of inspiration for learners and beginners. Self-confident people have
more capability to become an asset to the company they work for and the nation
they live in. People take pride in knowing and following them, and they often
become role models as an employee of his company or as a father of his kid!
How to Communicate Confidently
One thing common to all great
communicators is that when they speak, everybody listens. However,
communicating to people is one of the greatest fears for most of the human
beings, and especially when it comes to public speaking. Most people dread
public speaking more than death! Do you ever wonder why you don't seem to get
listened to by others even though you too have many ideas to share? Then read
on, this article is just for you.
Confident communication however, is more
than what you speak. It takes into account your body language as well.
What’s inside the mind of a Successful
Communicator?
Confident communicators aren’t a know
all
Of course, you need to have good knowledge
about the subject you are talking about, but what actually matters is not what
you say, but how you say it. Successful people don’t do different things, they
do things differently. The first step is to believe in what you say. You must
be fully convinced in the idea and only then will there be conviction in the
tone of your voice. Your voice now is equipped with the power to hold people’s
attention. Once you have conviction in your voice, and what you speak is useful
for the other people and it actually helps them or gives some credible
information, you get appreciation. This certainly peps up your self-confidence!
Confident communicators don’t let people make them nervous
Most people suffer from fearing
catastrophes that never happen. Most people tend to make a very high imaginary
impression of other people in their minds.
So much so that their mind starts believing
that other people are perfect. This creates an unfair comparison between their
own personality and the imaginary personality of other people that they create.
This thinking breeds a fear of meeting and talking to other people. It lowers
their confidence and they fear what it will be to meet and talk to these
“perfect” people. However, in real life nobody is perfect and you must realize
this. Everybody has their own set of faults and weaknesses. It’s important for
you to realize that every human being is essentially imperfect. This will give
you greater confidence to go out and face people.
Take it or leave it. You snooze, you lose
Ideally you must be the best of your moods
and carry a pleasant demeanor when you go out and meet people. However, it
might not always be possible and it may so happen that you are not fully
prepared to communicate, or you are a little tense over some other matter. A
confident communicator, though, develops an ability to keep control of his
emotions. This quality helps the communicator to keep control of the situation.
You may still not be in a good mood but you must make sure that you keep
indecisiveness at bay. Your indecision will fritter away your focus and energy
and you fail to make any impact. If you decide to communicate. Be yourself,
have faith in yourself and go ahead.
Mind your body language
Your gesture, postures and eye contact
probably talk louder than your words. Body language cuts across all barriers of
communication such as language, time, place, knowledge and so on. Your body
language starts getting interpreted unconsciously by everyone around. People
start forming impressions about you the moment you make an eye contact and body
language certainly contributes a considerably large part of the impression you
make.
A few facts you must know
- You may have a sad expression on your face because of some
other matter, but the person you are talking to may feel that you don’t
approve what he says, leading to misunderstanding.
- A steady gaze may convey intensity, anger, aggression or strong
interest. Little eye contact may imply lack of confidence or shyness.
- Open hands may convey honesty and openness; however, making a
lot of hand gestures might mean that you are being nervous.
Confident communication, including words
and gestures, is something that you do not perfect in a day. You must grab
every opportunity to communicate. Try to check your communication skills, your
strong points and the mistakes you make along with the overall effect on the
other person. Try to learn from your experiences and there is no reason why you
can’t make it. Get going. Good luck!
The Importance Of Self Confidence
What is Self
Confidence?
To be able to
achieve a goal you need skills, discipline, determination, capability and self
confidence. Self confidence comes from
having the right kind of skills and clarity of goals to be achieved. The
clearer the goal, the better the focus of mind and self confidence. Nothing
great was ever achieved by people who lacked confidence. A capable body and
mind will not function to their greatest potential if not backed by self
confidence. Self confidence, hence, is the pivot on which all the creative and
analytical abilities of the mind rest on.
Low self confidence can impair the functioning of both the body and
mind, resulting in failure. Self confidence is the measure of one’s collective
ability to march right ahead to achieve a said goal.
The visibility factor
Self confidence
has a way of being visible. You can tell by observing the very manner of a
person walking, communicating, working, socializing, as to whether he is
confident or not. The very first handshake with a person will tell her level of
self confidence. A self-confident person truly stands apart. Drooping
shoulders, falling jaws, undecided steps are not the characteristics of a
confident person. Confidence is infectious; the very presence of a
self-confident person tends to charge up the air around him. Everything
automatically falls in place for a confident person, and the world stands apart
for the man who walks with sure, confident steps. A confident person commands respect as well.
Self Confidence – the basis of all achievement!
Great things are
seldom achieved without necessary confidence. All the skills and efforts
possible are useless if confidence is lacking. Low confidence halts your steps
and you cannot take initiative. Low self confidence paralyzes both the body and
mind at the time of making decision. It leaves you undecided and the undecided
are swept away. There is no place for the undecided in this world where success
is worshipped, and success seldom comes to someone who is undecided. As the old
saying goes, you must stand for something or you will fall for anything – and
it’s your confidence that holds you together or breaks you apart.
Confidence isn't genetic nor it is hereditary. Nobody is born confident. Confidence is acquired.
Confidence is learned. Confidence is improved. Confidence is practiced. And
confidence can be generated. You need to first realize the importance of
confidence before you can make any efforts to get better with it. It’s very
much in your hands to develop a self-confident behavior.
Confidence brings out the fighter in you
It is said that
one has to take risks to achieve something. There’s no gain without pain, as
we’ve all heard. So what is it that enables one person to go ahead and take
risks while another is held back? Yes, it’s the level of confidence that makes
people come out and lead from the front without caring for failure. It’s this
belief in oneself that differentiates achievement from failure. It’s sometimes
the bald guy who takes the girl because he has something more than the handsome
guys around – yes, you guessed it right, he oozes self confidence that makes
the lady weak in her knees!
Confidence in themselves was behind scores of
people who broke the shackles of a well- paying, “secure” job to pursue their dream of
creating something, being something and ended up building great businesses.
Surely what turned these seemingly ordinary men and women who were stuck in the
nine-to-five ordeal into successful entrepreneurs was nothing but a belief in
their dreams and immense self-confidence!
Be Confident
In today’s world
of competition, confidence isn’t just an asset. It forms the very basis of your
survival. Getting a good job means you need to be confident in the interview.
Getting a raise, again, needs you to be confident at work. The confident ones
are the ones who get attention. Attention brings acceptance and acceptance
brings love, peace and energy that make you efficient. Efficiency makes you an
achiever and achievement makes you even more confident.
And when you are
confident, can happiness and riches be far behind? Make sure that you are never
out of this magical spiral. Believe in yourself, get going; tell yourself that
you have it in you. Because ultimately the one who wins is the one who thinks
he can!
Check Your Confidence Levels
Would you like
to be confident? Your answer may be - yes; I do want to be confident. However,
this answer lacks the impact. It is too generalized. Just like everybody wants
to do well in life and be rich but not many ever realize this wish. This is
because to actually get somewhere in life, you need to quantify your
confidence. You need to define the task for which you need to be confident so
that you can execute it successfully. A
mere wish to be confident won’t take you anywhere. The dream must have a
deadline as well!
Self Confidence
might mean different things to different people groups. For a child it might
mean to be able to recite the poem to her teacher the next morning. For a
business executive it might mean to be able to present the business report to
the Board of Directors. For a salaried person it may be the ability to be able
to make a switch over from his secure job to a new independent venture and so
on. To execute their respective tasks, these people need a certain level of
confidence, which would see them through. Every task requires a minimum level
of confidence to be able to be executed. Do you have a task in your mind to be
done? Do you have the level of confidence required? Let us check it out!
Following is a simple questionnaire. You
have to answer to these in a YES or NO
1.
Does it
happen too often with you that you cannot take a decision all by yourself and
you seem to look for your colleagues, friends, or your spouse to sort the
matter for you?
2.
Do you always
seem to be in perpetual need of a support system wherein you can feel secure?
3.
Do you
just sit and listen all the times in your office meetings?
4.
Do you
feel difficulty in reporting a matter to your boss or you have an excellent
idea that can improve your company’s efficiency but you cannot muster enough
courage to go and talk about it to your Boss?
5.
Are you
terrified to meet someone new? Is public speaking your worst nightmare?
6.
Do you
timidly accept orders from your superior even though you know that you are
already overloaded and you need to say no?
7.
Are you
excessively concerned about what other people think of you?
8.
Do you
fear taking risks?
9.
Do you
feel dissatisfied about your appearance?
10. Are you uncomfortable in social gatherings –
being amongst lots of people?
If you happen to answer these questions
with a Yes, you seem to have a confidence crisis that might become an obstacle
in successfully executing your tasks. Don’t Panic, as it is good that you found
out since now you are aware of a potential problem of your life. The very fact
that you are aware of your confidence rating makes you ready to take further
action and work towards eliminating the negative effects of low confidence
levels and work towards building your self confidence.
Here are some more questions you may
answer.
1.
Have you
accomplished anything in the past?
2.
Are you
the one to go ahead and break the ice at a new place or wait for someone else
to initiate a discussion?
3.
Do you
feel you are well respected by others?
4.
Do you
think you have the potential to succeed?
5.
Are you a
happy and loving person?
6.
Are you
satisfied with your career graph?
7.
Are you
satisfied with your skills and qualifications?
8.
Do you
feel in control of your life?
9.
Do you
imagine yourself to be more successful five years from now?
10. Do you feel that you are a worthwhile person?
If you happen to answer most of these
questions with a NO, you have LOW self-confidence levels.
However, a YES is never decisive and a NO
is never final. One needs to constantly maintain the good points and work
towards converting bad points into good points. And the good news is that it is
very much possible. It’s important that you honestly answer the questions
above, since only when you realize the present status of your self-confidence
would you be working towards building self-confidence or maintaining and
increasing your present levels.
Public Speaking with Self Confidence
Public speaking can be a rewarding
experience that allows individuals to showcase their skills or knowledge in a
public forum. Public speaking
opportunities can allow an individual to help enrich the lives of anyone in the
audience by impressing experiences or information that can have life changing
qualities. That being said, many
individuals suffer extreme shyness or nervousness when faced with public
speaking situations. These situations
can range from large audiences of hundreds or thousands of participants to
rooms with a few people present.
Regardless of the situation, ensuring you have the proper level of
public speaking self confidence will aid you remarkably in this foray.
When it comes to public speaking, possessing
self confidence is a must. If you find
your self confidence low or nonexistent, the best way to boost it up is to
practice, practice, practice.
Individuals with high self confidence have an ingrained sense that they
can handle any and all situations, regardless who is watching or
listening. These individuals are well
versed in their specific subject matter and have a good idea of how they are
going to present the information so that the audience will have the greatest
understanding. Additionally, these
individuals are capable of fielding questions on their particular subject and
can explain the topic on several different levels. If you find yourself unable to do this, begin
preparing for your public speaking opportunity at once. Ensure your knowledge in the topic is high
and seek out to learn as much as you can.
This knowledge will help you indefinitely in both planning your speech
and delivering the speech to an audience of individuals who may or may not be
familiar with it. Furthermore, in depth
knowledge of your subject will aid you immensely when dealing with question and
answer sessions that most likely will follow any public speaking
opportunity. If necessary, ask other
individuals about your topic and be able to explain the topic to individuals of
all levels.
When writing your speech, take care to
analyze your audience. If you are
speaking to individuals who have a great understanding of the topic, you can
clearly use a more in depth approach, more acronyms, and more jargon than if speaking
to an audience unfamiliar with the subject.
Furthermore, know the average age and educational extent of your
audience in order to create a speech that will speak directly to these
individuals. After you have written your
speech, being making notes and prompts to that use can use when giving your
speech in public. Knowing your speech is
written to the best of your ability will boost your self confidence, as will
having the necessary notes and prompts that you can rely on while giving your
speech.
When preparing for your speech, take care
to not memorize the content. This may
seem like a good idea, but can lead to disastrous results. If you find yourself to be nervous before you
present any project or speech to a public audience, you might forget the
content of your speech and be forced to pull it together from memory. Additionally, if you leave out a specific
idea or topic from your speech, your audience may not clearly understand the
topic of point of your presentation. The
best way to prepare for your speech is to make notes that allow cues or special
points you should make in your speech.
Have a general idea of what you plan to say and ensure the content
covers these points. Also, have any
visual materials carefully arranged in the order of presentation so that you
will remember to include all items seamlessly in your presentation. Public speaking should not produce a crisis,
and ensuring your self confidence is high in yourself and your capabilities
will make all the difference in the quality of your presentation.
by paul brown
Teaching Self Confidence at an Early Age
Self confidence is an excellent attribute
that can help a child succeed from an early age. Instilling self confidence at an early age
will enforce the importance of possessing the necessity of this attribute and ensure
your child will experience success early on is his or her life. Low self confidence can be exhibited in many
ways depending on your child. There are
many cues to look for that can tell if you child is beginning to lose or
experiencing low self confidence. These
cues can by extreme shyness, hesitance to begin projects, negative attitudes
towards him or herself, overt frustration at having to try new things, and
inability or fear when it comes to making even the simplest decision.
Parents can begin teaching self confidence
immediately after their child is born.
Provide endless encouragement when your child is developing new skills
or trying new things. Young children
especially need encouragement since they are continuing to develop new skills
on a daily basis. Whether physical or
mental, these important developmental times can range from your child taking
his or her first steps to learning to read.
Each step in your child’s development is exceedingly important and, in
order to be completed as soon as possible, should be thoroughly reinforced in a
positive manner. This positive
reinforcement will encourage your child to work harder in completing the task
at hand.
Teachers can teach self confidence from the
moment a child enters the classroom. Carefully
monitor each child’s progress in each subject and skill covered in your
curriculum to ensure your students are accomplishing their academic goals and
not falling behind with any aspect of your teaching. This is invaluable to teachers of all subjects
and all ages of children. Create ways to
praise or reward your students when classroom or individual goals are
accomplished. This will encourage
children to strive to meet these goals and reinforce their self
confidence. Take great care not to use
negative measures to reproach or criticize your students. Correcting issues using a positive demeanor
can enable the child to understand your point more clearly while retaining
their self confidence. Negative tones or
attitudes taken towards your students can do considerable harm to both their
mental and emotional development and well-being.
Create situations where your child can work
on his or her self confidence. Enroll
your child in a sports program or other activity to allow him or her to express
interests and develop new goals. A child
who participates in activities such as athletics, dance, scouts, or music has
more opportunities to try new things and develop new skills. These opportunities will allow children to
further develop their self confidence while gaining new friends and experiences
in these activities. Take great care to
support your child in any activity he or she decides to undertake. Your child may not be the next great baseball
player or a world famous piano prodigy, so be aware of the varying levels of
success that can be accomplished. A
child can succeed by maintaining a positive attitude and attacking each hurdle
with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Do not necessarily
associate success in the activity with the overall success of the experience. Even though your child may not be able to
dunk a ball with professional precision, he or she will have gained a
phenomenal experience and self confidence during the duration of the activity.
When working with children of any age, you
must lead by example. If your child
shows that you possess a great amount of self confidence, he or she will
develop a great amount of self confidence as well. Conversely, if you lack self confidence and
show your child this by being negative, hesitant, or meek, he or she will not
understand or appreciate the necessity of having high self confidence.
by paul brown
