The Art of
Building Your Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is
not handed out to you when you were born; it is something you
can develop. While developing it may mean hard work, you can
adopt particular steps and strategies to help you build your
self-confidence.
Learn from past
mistakes. Don't allow your past mistakes to keep weighing you
down. They are lessons, providing you the stepping stones and
the higher vantage point from which to acquire more knowledge
and wisdom. Although you would not want to make the same mistake
again, be generous with yourself and acknowledge that you are
not quite perfect.
Speak confident. In
your conversations, it pays to use positive terms consistently.
Even if you may have some concerns, say simply that you will be
something done or that you'll get it finished on time. This
inculcates confidence inside you, and increases your chances of
accomplishing the task. Practice speaking without resorting to
qualifiers: do without ifs and buts, remove the maybes, stop
saying I'm not sure.
Look confident. No
matter how you may feel on a particular day, groom yourself as
if everything is dapper and you are on top of the world. Stand
erect as if you are an inch taller and walk confidently, stride
firm and conveying a sense of purpose. Walking with head up and
maintaining good eye contact makes others more confident in you.
The positive feedback you get will build your confidence.
Start a
conversation. It is never easy starting a conversation with
people you don't know, but it is a good exercise so make
yourself do it. All relationships begin as strangers. Initiating
a conversation with a stranger at a gathering, whether it's a
party or a conference, will build your confidence. Don't worry,
they'll not run away; they may be grateful for your interest in
them. This will make people see you as self-confident person,
and treat you that way.
Be ready for
discussions. One way of preparing yourself to handle tough
situations (at meetings, interviews, or conversations) is to
rehearse ahead of time. Write some notes about possible
questions and your responses. If you usually find yourself at a
loss of for words, especially in social situations, play through
'small talk' topics about which you chat or ask questions.
Often, what matters most is that you are able to speak with
confidence about something.
Emulate
self-confident people. Observe the self-confident people you
know and look for behavior that you like. It could be in the
things they say, the way they work, or how they carry
themselves. Select one behavior at a time and try to integrate
it into your own personality. If self-confidence in others
catches your eye, you may have the capacity for more of it in
yourself: the qualities that attract us usually indicate the
capacities that remain underdeveloped in us.
Building
self-confidence primarily involves discovering the things that
make you feel good about yourself, and then doing them more
frequently. It means showing yourself and others that you have
accomplished things and will continue doing so; at the start, no
accomplishment is too insignificant. As others perceive your
positive attitude, their confidence in your will increase, and
that will surely increase your self-confidence.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clement_Low |
