What-Is-Self-Confidence.docx
- 1. WHAT IS SELF-CONFIDENCE? Self-confidence is an attitudeaboutyourskills and abilities. It means you accept and trust yourself and have a sense of control in your life. You know your strengths and weakness well, and have a positive view of yourself. You set realistic expectations and goals, communicate assertively, and can handlecriticism. On the other hand, low self-confidence might make you feel full of self-doubt, be passive or submissive, or have difficulty trusting others. You may feel inferior, unloved, or be sensitive to criticism. Feeling confident in yourself might depend on the situation. For instance, you can feel very confident in some areas, such as academics, but lack confidencein others, like relationships. Having high or low self-confidence is rarely related to your actual abilities, and mostly based on your perceptions. Perceptions are the way your think about yourself and these thoughts can be flawed. Low self-confidencemight step from different experiences, such as growing up in an unsupportive and critical environment, being separated from your friends or family for the first time, judging yourself too harshly, or being afraid of failure. Peoplewith low self-confidence often have errors in their thinking. What is Self-Confidence — and Why Is It Important? Self-confidence is understanding that you trust your own judgment and abilities, and that you value yourself and feel worthy, regardless of any imperfections or of what others may believe about you. Self-efficacy and self-esteem are sometimes used interchangeably with self-confidence, but they are subtly different. We gain a sense of self-efficacy when we see ourselves (and others like us) mastering skills and achieving goals. This encourages us to believe that, if we learn and work hard in a particulararea, well succeed. It's this type of confidence that leads people to accept difficult challenges and to keep going in the face of setbacks. Self-esteem is a more general sense that we can cope with what’s going on in our lives, and that at we have a right to be happy. Also, self-esteem comes in part from the feeling that the peoplearoundus approve of us. We may or may not be able to control this, and if we experience a lot of criticism or rejection from other people, our self-esteem can easily suffer unless we support it in otherways. How To Increase Your Self-Confidence • Recognize and emphasize your strengths. Reward and praise yourselffor your efforts and progress. • When you stumble on an obstacle, treat yourself with kindness and compassion. Don't dwell on failure. • Set realistic and achievable goals. Do not expect perfection; it is impossible to be perfect in every aspect of life. • Slow down when you are feeling intense emotions and think logically about the situation.
- 2. • Challenge making assumptions about yourself, peopleand situations. • Recognize that past negative life experiences do not dictateyour future. • Express your feelings, beliefs and needs directly and respectfully • Learn to say no to unreasonable requests. Individual counseling can also help increase your self-confidence if you need more help. TOP 3 FREE Videos to Boost Your Confidence: https://linktr.ee/5billiondollarprofit Building Self-Confidence Preparing Yourself for Success! Everyone admires a self-confident person. We may even envy thema little!Self-confident people seem at ease with themselves and their work. They invite trust and inspire confidence in others. These are attractive characteristics. It's not always easy to be confident in yourself, particularly if you're naturally self-critical, or if other people put you down. But there are steps that you can take to increase and maintain your self-confidence. How to Appear More Confident to Others You can show self-confidence in many ways: in your behavior, your body language, and in what you say and how you say it. Projecting a positive image to others can help you to improve your self-confidence. It's not simply a matter of "faking it." If you project with confidence, othersare more likely to respond well, and this positive feedback will help you to believe in yourself. Body Language Our article, BodyLanguage, exploresthe subject in more detail, but herearesome general pointers to make you look —and feel —more confident. Adopt an open posture. Sit or stand upright and place your hands by your sides. Avoid standing with your hands on your hi ps, as this can communicate a desire to dominate. And be sure not to slouch! Keep your head upright and level. Don't lean too far forward or backward, as this can make you look aggressive. And if you're presenting, use open hand gestures. Spread your hands apart, with your palms facing slightly toward your audience. This indicates a willingness to communicateand to share ideas. Keep your upperarms close to your body. TOP 3 FREE Videos to Boost Your Confidence: https://linktr.ee/5billiondollarprofit Face-to-FaceCommunication People with low self-confidence often find it difficult to make a good first impression whether they meeting a client, addressing a meeting, or giving a presentation. You may be shy or unsure of yourself, but you can take immediate steps to make yourself appear more confident.
- 3. Engaging with peopleis important, so maintain eye contact whileyou talk. This shows that you're interested in what they're saying, and that you're taking an active part in theconversation. But bear in mind any cultural considerationswhen it comes to body language and communication. Don't fidget orlookaway while theconversation continues, as thiscan make you appeardistracted or anxious. If shaking handsis the usual greeting in your workplace, be firm. Not too firm. though, and avoid being too upfront. Reaching for the other person's wrist or shoulder with your free hand is often seen as a way of establishing dominance, and it's not recommended for a first meeting. Avoid making the encounterawkward —or; worse, pain full. Meeting Short-Term Challenges to Your Self-Confidence Even themost outwardlyconfident person can find themselves doubtingtheir abilities sometimes. For example, you may have a talent for coming up with great ideas or solutions but struggle to make your voice heard in meetings. Or, you may suddenly find yourself having to work from home for a long period of time, and feel lost or isolated without the company of your colleagues. To address short-termdips in confidence, first try to identify the cause of the problem. If you have difficulty maintaining confidence because of things you feel you can't do, it makes sense to improve your skills. Carry out a Personal SWOT Analysis to identify your strengths and weaknesses' Then draw up an action plan to work on the areas where you're not so strong. Other people •s attitudes or behavior may contribute to your lack of confidence. If you're being bullied if you’re subjected to micro aggressions in the workplace, or if you feel that people are making unfair assumptions about you, you need to call this behavior out. You can use the Situation-Behavior-impact Feedback Tool to make it clear to the person responsiblethat their behavior is harmful If that doesn't work, seek help from your line manager. If they're part of the problem, speak to HR. No-one should accept workplace bullying. Practice assertiveness to build a sense that you have rights and needs as an individual, and make sure that others understand and respect your personal boundaries. This will help to build the psychological safety you need to develop self-confidence. People with low self-confidence often feel that they don't deserve to be happy, and that they somehow deserve to be treated badly. While the feeling may be true, the belief certainly is not! TOP 3 FREE Videos to Boost Your Confidence: https://linktr.ee/5billiondollarprofit Source Article: https://www.mindtools.com/selfconf.html https://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/