Why you lack in confidence and how to boost your confidence
- 1. BE A BETTER YOU: YOUR GUIDE TO SELF-DEVELOPMENTAND A SUCCESS-ORIENTEDMINDSET So,You Want to Be a BetterYou, If OnlyYou Knew Where toStart? Wouldyoulike toprogressinyour career?Your healthandfitness?Ormaybe you’dlike tomanage your emotionsmore productively?Orperhapsyou’dlike toimprove yourrelationshipswithfamilyand friends?Wouldyoulike tobe a betteryou? Giventhatwe are all flawedcreaturesandnoone can have itall,mostof us wouldlike toimprove ourselvesinsome way.We reada lotof inspiringbooksandlistentohoursuponhoursof motivation speeches.Butthe processof becomingabetteryouisharder thanit sounds. The keyto changingyour life ischangingyourmindsetandworkingonyourgoals.Often,we dismissour dreams,tellingourselvesit’stoolate tomake a change,or that it’sunrealistictolearnsomethingnew. But to be a betteryou,youmustletgo of these negative andlimitingthoughts.Theycreate aself- fulfillingprophecy,makingyoubelieve thatyou’re unabletoreachyour goals. Our thoughtshave immense powerinoureverydaylives,contributingtoourmoodsand behaviors.To developamindsetthat’spositive andhelpsyouchase afteryouraspirationsanddreams,ourhandy guide ishere tohelp. Here’showto workon yourself-development,be abetteryouand to achieve asuccess-orientated mindset. What Is Self-Development? First,let’sexplainexactlywhatself-developmentis. Self-development,otherwise knownaspersonal development,self growth,self improvement,and personal improvement,isthe movementtowardsself-actualization. Self growthmeansenhancingyourownvalue orboth.Youwork to become the bestversionof yourself, whichisa lifelonghealingventure thatmustbe consistentlyworkedonasyou grow older.
- 2. Whenyouwant to workon yourself andbe a betteryou,you’re realizingthatthere’sroomforgrowth and improvementwithinyou.Youacknowledge thatthere are toughobstaclesonthe wayto reaching your goals,andyouunderstandthatyou mustsetyourself objectivestoreachthem. Many people fail toreachtheirgoalsbecause theydon’tunderstandwhere theyare orwhotheyare as a person.Because of this,theysetthemselveswrongorunrealisticgoals.Thentheymove inthe incorrectdirectionand/oratthe wrongspeed.Bythe time itdawnson themthat theiractionswon’t helpthemreachtheirgoalsas planned,theygive up. By the time itdawnson themthat theiractionswon’thelpthemreachtheirgoalsas planned,theygive up. That’s whya clearand positive mindsetiscrucial tohelpyouachieve these goals.Thatwayyoucan understandwhere youare,knowwhere youwanttogetto, and how to move inthat direction.That’s the onlyprovenpathto become a betteryou. So,how doyou improve yourmindsetsoyoucan workon yourself improvementplans?Keepreadingto learnhow. Ditch the FixedMindset Let’ssay you’re laggingbehindatwork.A fixedmindsetwill tellyouthatthere’snothingyoucandoto change that and that the situationisthe wayit is.You tell yourself thatitwon’tchange,nomatterwhat youdo. A fixedmindsetcloudsyourvisionandleadsyoutothinkyoucannot be a betteryou. A growthmindset,onthe otherhand,will tell youdifferently.A growthmindsetsaysyoucan make changesand can planon howto initiate suchchanges. A growthmindsettellsyoutoworkhard,listentofeedback,andfollowstrategiestoimprove the way youwork.
- 3. Of course,there’snoguessasto whichtypesof people gofurtherintheircareers.Itall comesdownto choosingtolimityourbeliefsorempowerthem. If you believeyou’re unable togrow,thenit’sunlikelythatyouwill.Butif youbelievethatyoucan improve asa personand achieve wonderful things,you’ll discoverthatyourbehaviorsandhabitsleadto this. Mind you,thismindsetphenomenonhappensinall areasof life –health,fitness,business,relationships, parenting– youname it. The industrialistHenryFordonce summeditall up: “If youbelieveyoucanor you believe youcan’t,eitherway,you’re right.” StopFearingFailure The numberone reasonmanypeople don’tsucceedisthatthey’re terrifiedtofail.Oftenthatfearalone isenoughto stoppeople fromstartingsomethinginthe beginning. Sure,yougain confidence byachievingandovercomingdifficulties.Butwhenyoudon’tputyourself in situationsthatyoufindscarybecause you’re tooafraidthe outcome will be negative,you’re preventing yourself fromself growth. To be a betteryouisto grow. The truth is thatwe all fail atsome pointinour lives,andwe needtoaccept thatif we wantto better ourselvesandclimbtothe top.So,it’sbeneficial tofollow the philosophyWTF,shortforwillingtofail. That’s because the onlywaytodevelopistomake mistakes,thenmove on.Takingrisksisfrightening, but stagnationisworse.Plus,the more youbelieveyou’ll fail,the more likelyitisthatyouwill. Whenyouthinkabout it,whenyou’re notprogressingfurtherthenyou’re failinganyway,soyoumight as well tackle whateveritisthatyou’re scaredof and take that leap.
- 4. Whenyouthinkof failure asa learningopportunity,itseemsawhole lotlessscary.Infact,if youfind yourself succeedingconsistently,itmaybe a signthat you’re notchallengingyourself hardenough. Work to developamindsetthatfailure isapositiveexperiencetolearnfrom.Byreframingthe ideaof failure,you’ll soonfinditeasiertotake risksand tackle challenges.You’llfeellessanxiousaboutyour endeavors,whichhelpsdevelopawinningandpositive attitude.It’sawin-winsituation! Why notcreate a listof enthrallingchallengesyou’dlove toovercome.Forexample,itcouldinclude travelingtoa foreigncityandexploringbyyourself ortakinga new course at a local college. In the wordsof the famousmythologist,JosephCampbell: “The cave you fearto enterholdsthe treasure youseek!” Create a Long-TermVision To be a betteryoumeanshavingaspirationsandtakingproactive actions.Youcan’treachyour goalsif youdon’tknowexactlywhere youwantto be.Whetheryouwantto findyourdreamjob,or start a new business,lose10,or 50 pounds,togetthere youmust visionwhere youwanttobe in the future and howyou see yourself gettingthere. Once you’ve pannedyourlong-termvisionof successandachievement,thenyoucancreate short-term goalsand a route to get there. In manycases,it isn’taboutblindlyplacingone footinfrontof the otherand hopingyou’ll miraculously endup ina greatposition.It’saboutseeingyourself inyourdreamsituationinthe future andworking backwardto planhow you’re goingtogetthere. Thinkof it as a crystal-clearsnapshotof how yourfuture looksandfeelsevery five years.Bylooking ahead,youcan helpkeepyourmindsetalignedandmotivatedtosucceed. If you’re not usedtosettinggoalsandcreatinglongterm vision,startoff bycreatingtime-boundgoals that youknoware achievable.
- 5. Whenyoureach those goals,yourconfidence will be listedwhichwill helpreshape yourpositive thinking.However,rememberthateventually,you’llneedtosetyourselfhardergoalsandthatyou must accept failure too. Breakthe Rules Whenyou’ve developedthe confidenceto acceptfailure,youmaybe readyto breakthe rules.While we don’tmeanto the extentof breakingthe law,rememberthatsome of the bestentrepreneurswere willingtobreakthe rulestoreachtheirgoals.For example,maybetheyofferedaninnovativeand differentapproachtowhat societyisusedto. Like those thatare frightenedtofail,those thatstayintheircomfortzonesandare afraidto breakthe rulesrarelyleadthe packor succeedina bigway. To be a betteryouisto thinkand act outside the box. It’sthe individualsthatmove fastandchallenge the conventionthatmakesamark and change the world.So,if youwant to progressinyour missions,getreadytocoloroutside the lines. ListentoYour Gut Your gut isa powerful assettoself improvement,souse it. Sure,we all overthinkthingseverynowandthen,andthat’snormal.But if you’re constantlysecond- guessingeverylittle decisionyoumake,you’ll nevermake movementandprogress. Overthinkingalsoleadstoruminationandstagnation,preventingyoufrommovingforwardinreaching your goals.While itmaysoundscary,makingdecisions –eventhe toughones – quicklycanhelpprevent unproductive indecisiveness. Listentoyour gut, take charge,and act on instinct.You’ll findthatinmostcases,yourgut will make the rightdecisionforyou. Andwhenitdoesn’t?Well,atleastyoudidn’twaste toomuchtime makinga decision.
- 6. Part of growinga positive andwinningmindsetisbelievinginyourinstincts.Havingconfidence inyour intuitionisanimportantpartof success. Of course,inan ideal situation,you’ll relyonresearchanddatato make soliddecisions.Butwhen evidence like thisisunavailable,it’stimetomake a gutdecision. Withtime,you’ll become more comfortable intrustingyourgutas you learnthatyou can relyonit. Likewise,makingdecisionswillbecome quickerandeasier,whichismore productive inthe longrun. Let PositivityFlow If you onlymake one change on improvingyourmindsetandbe a betteryou,welcomingpositivityisthe one youshouldaimfor. As longas they’re realisticabouttheirgoals,optimistsare happierandmore successful thanpessimists. To keepyourmindsethealthyandtohelpyouachieve yourgoals,it’simportanttothink positively. Thisis similartoour firstpointinditchingthe fixedmindset.If youbelievethatyou’ll reachagoal, you’re farmore likelytoachieveitthanif youhave negative feelingstowardsit. To be a betteryourequiresthatyoulookonthe brightside of things. If you thinkpositivelytowardsagoal,youractionswill contribute towardsreachingit.Andif youthink negatively,thenyou’re settingyourself upforfailure.Thisideologyisotherwise knownasthe law of attraction. If you’re naturallya pessimist,trytolookfor the goodin everysituation.If you’re strugglingatwork, don’tseemitas impendingdoom.Instead,thinkof how youcanbetteryourself andimprove. The great thingisthat positivitybreedspositivity.Whenyouhave anoptimisticattitude,you’ll notice that itguideseverythingyoudo.
- 7. Successdoesn’tautomaticallyintroducehappinessintoyourlife,butapositive mindsetwill welcome successintoyour life. The Road to Personal DevelopmentIsDifficult Let’sface it, yourjourneytobe a betteryouwill notbe easy.Asthe belief goes,if achievingsuccess were easy,everyonewoulddoit.Andaswe all know veryfew people succeedinachievingtheirdream livesandlifestyles. Justbecause you’ve become excitedaboutdevelopingyourcharacterandworkingtowardsself development,itdoesn’tmeanit’sgoingtobe easy. Life isdifficultandpainful,andbecomingabetterversionof yourself won’thappenovernight.Infact,as mentioned,it’sanongoingprocess thatyou’ll have tomaintainthroughoutyourlife.Butasmost successful people will tell you,the journeyisworthit. As youstart or continue yourongoingjourneyof self growthandtobe a betteryou,rememberthatthe onlypersonthatcan helpyougrowand change islookingrightbackat youinthe mirror – it’syou. You shouldalsoknowthatpersonal growthisexactlythat – it’spersonal.The journeywill look,feel,and sounddifferentforeveryone.So,if yourbestfriendisona journeytowards self growthanditfeelslike he or she isachievingsomuchmore than youat a quickerpace,don’tletthisputyou off. Everybody’sjourneyisdifferent,andthat’sthe beautyof the process.Keepinmindthatthe self you’re movingtowardswon’tbe everybody’scupof tea,and youmustaccept that. Many people are against change and aren’thappyto see people movingforwards,evenif itisina positive way.Tobe a better youmeansbeingreadyto lose some friendsalongthe way. Are You Readyto Be a BetterYou? Remember,thisselfisyourstograpple with,andthe experience of personaldevelopmentisall yours. Trust yourgut instinctandembarkon thisjourneytoa healthiermindsetsoyoucan achieve bothyour long- andshort-termgoals.You’ll be surprisedthatbyalteringyourmindset,awhole new worldof successisopenedupto you.
- 8. Want to learnmore aboutpersonal developmentandhow youcan be a betteryou?