Two weeks ago, we wrote about self-worth. It is impossible to discuss self-worth without bringing up self-confidence. Without being confident that you are presenting the best you to the world, it is difficult to describe your value. Likewise, if you do not value yourself, you are not going to be confident of contributing to society. Confidence comes from within. We know that and presented words from others describing the connection between value and confidence. We closed that post with, “Once you accept yourself, you can offer you to others. The true you. The valuable you.”
Are there exercises you can do or it there a roadmap to increasing how confident you feel about being you, to accept you as you? There are things you can do to build your self-confidence, beginning with accepting yourself and rising to the challenge of being you. Yes, the challenge of being you!
Each of us is unique and whether your initial thought of that is good or bad, that uniqueness is what makes you you. The first step to improving, maintaining, or redirecting how you present yourself to the world is being comfortable in your world.
A happy you is a confident you. In Make Me Happy, we wrote how positive, enthusiastic, passionate, energetic people surround themselves with positive, enthusiastic, passionate, energetic people. The person you are around most is you. First fill yourself with enthusiasm, passion, and energy from within. You discover how grateful you are to be you and the happiness your uniqueness brings to you. You are confident in yourself when you are happy and grateful for yourself.
A positive you is a confident you. Positivity comes from your internal enthusiasm, passion, and energy and likewise they are dependent on your acceptance of you, your positivity of being you. Certainly, there will be times of doubt. In a recent Moment of Motivation we said, “Don’t complain when things go wrong. Live with what you can. Learn from what you can’t. Grow from it all.” That leads to regaining your positivity.
Knowing that words are often easier said than actions are done, we present ideas to resolve self-doubt as firmly as resolving doubt and disagreement with others. We can condense that to “the key to resolving differences is to collaborate to propose what a solution would look like, then determine the steps necessary to achieve the solution.”
When the difference of opinion is within yourself you take the same steps that you do to resolving disagreements with others.
1. Identify the problem
2. Process the information available
3. Critically consider and discuss possible solutions
4. Collaboratively decide on and implement a plan
Challenge yourself to eliminate the negative voice in your head, speak positively to yourself, and envision what a strong and confident you would do then do it.
A grateful you is a confident you. Pushing yourself to be the best you is a success itself, and successes should be celebrated. Another step to increasing self-confidence is acknowledging that you do good things. You work hard to do good and appreciating your hard work is reflected in your self-confidence. We said in Harvesting Greatness, “There will come a time when you want to set aside the hard work and reward yourself for that labor.” That time is now. Celebrate your successes, the big and the small. It keeps your energy and passion high and makes it easy to be enthusiastic about being you.
As with self-worth, there will be times your self-confidence faces its greatest challenger – yourself. In Wealth beyond your dreams, we quote Anna Freud, psychoanalyst and daughter of Sigmund. She said, “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”
Your confidence has been in you all the time. There is no magic "Five Easy Steps to Greater Self-Confidence" yet there are easy things you can do each day that make a difference in you. Looking at yourself and all you do with happiness, positive, and gratitude is a great start to feeling confident that you are the best you there is. Because you know you are!
I love how you all express self-confidence--valuing our strengths, leading with what we've been gifted with, and enjoying who we are. God made each of us as special masterpieces, unique and wonderful in His eyes. Our culture today seems to have taken that a step too far with cockiness--an overestimation of who we are in comparison with others. Once again you two have made a stellar point. Thank you.