With the realisation of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world – Dali Lama.
Self-confidence and self-esteem play an important role in determining your happiness and success in life and whether or not you exploit your full potential. Self-confidence is about how much you trust your abilities, while self-esteem refers to how much you appreciate and value yourself. Both overlap and they are both your responsibility because your frame of mind and thought processes impact on both confidence and esteem.
Confidence is a feeling of self-assurance where you tend to feel far more secure than insecure. It really is a state of mind about your own self-worth. Self-confidence is an essential ingredient for achieving success . You become self-confident by viewing yourself positively and by having faith in your abilities and competencies. When combined with courage, self-confidence can propel you to success and the realisation of your goals. Both can be powerful agents of personal and professional change and advancement.
The main adversaries of self-confidence is fear and doubt. Courage, confidence, doubt and fear are feelings from within that you can control. Self-confidence stems from your self-belief and your own sense of worth. How you manage these feelings will determine your level of happiness and success in life. Feed your mind with negativity and your self-confidence diminishes. Focus on the positive and your overall wellbeing and confidence improves. Only you can really know your value and worth and you owe it to yourself to discover them.
A common error many us make is to place too much value on what we might perceive others think of us. We should heed the advice of Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady of the United States, who once said: You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do.”
To have self-belief and self-confidence you need to manage your thought processes. Feed yourself negative thoughts and you might significantly diminish your potential to change, to improve and to realise your goals. In contrast, a positive mental attitude promotes your wellbeing and your potential for success. This is the critical choice for those of us who wish to achieve our goals and maximise our potential. Being constantly vigilant and mindful of our tendency to default to negativity will help us banish those undermining negative thoughts which can be our biggest threat to self-realisation, self-fulfillment and self-confidence.
Self-confidence is necessary to achieve success but you will also need other attributes such as courage and resilience . It takes courage and determination to stretch yourself beyond feeling safe and secure in your own silo. If you want to exploit your full potential then fear of the unknown or fear of failure should not hold you back. To achieve more than you might believe you can, you need to push beyond your comfort zone. As Mark Twain tells us: If you do what you have always done you get what you have always got. Never ventured, never gained.
In the process of enhancing your self-confidence and self-belief you most certainly need to be aware of the need to also remain truly authentic. There is a real sense of fulfilment when you find your authentic self. Knowing your true self inspires confidence and gives you a stronger sense of character. Genuine self-awareness will lead to self-acceptance. You discover your authentic self when you know and live by your values and live life with genuine purpose. To live a self-confident, fulfilling life you need to live authentically. You should not try to fake or simulate confidence as you will surely be found out and seen as a fraud. Be the real you with an affirming, confident mindset.
To achieve success you need to build your resilience as well as self-confidence. Failure should never be seen as your inevitable fate; self-pity undermines self-confidence. The most successful people always learn from failure and then modify their approach to the challenges they face. Adversity toughens us: I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work – Thomas Edison. The struggle you’re in today will strengthen you for future challenges.
You must believe that hard times are learning experiences, and if you view them as such you will maintain your self-confidence and stay alert for future opportunities for personal growth and advancement. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continues that counts – Winston Churchill. You need to bounce back from setbacks if you are to move on with renewed commitment to achieve your goals.
Self-confidence is your booster engine which drives you to success. Believe you can and you will. Positive self-talks can translate into positive outlooks and result in positive outcomes. Positivity promotes potential-yours and others. Therefore, adhering to a positive perspective and believing in your own abilities will inspire and maintain your confidence levels. Your self-confidence and positive state of mind will unlock your potential and deliver success. You are the only person who can fully exploit your talents and use your abilities
Confident people believe they have the innate skills to succeed, and know when they are on the right road. They say yes to opportunities and are most inclined to begin initiatives and start projects. They are not afraid of the unknown and do not fear failure because they see failures as learning experiences. They stretch themselves with high expectations but with realistic goals. Their self-confidence is tempered with humility so they present as being authentic. Their self-assurance inspires others to believe in them.
In terms of leadership, the most successful leaders are those who match their competencies with a self-assurance which both influences and inspires others. They inspire confidence because of their character, confident personality, visionary outlook and can-do mindset. While they may know their strengths and weaknesses, they trust their abilities, know their qualities and rely on their own judgement. They are self-assured because they have controlled their self-doubt, they take risks and are able to move outside their comfort zone. They too have to deal with insecurities and they know there is no such thing as unshakable confidence in every situation. But because they feed their minds with positivity, thereby controlling their thought processes, they can achieve success and work through setbacks.
Confidence is a choice. It is a journey, not a destination. It is the tool by which you exploit your talents and achieve success. Like a seed in the soil, confidence too can grow when nurtured. Have the confidence to say yes and the courage to embark on your journey towards success. Strength comes from within, it is there all the time. Over to you.
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings – Samuel Johnson.