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Five Steps Towards Greater Self Confidence
By Kevin
Eikenberry
We watch the star athlete calmly make the final shot, score the winning
goal, or lead his team for a touchdown in the final minute of the game. We
marvel at their talent and their determination, but what we value and admire
most is the supreme confidence they display – they know they will succeed.
Confidence is an attribute that is alluring, attractive, valuable,
desirable and contagious. Most everyone aspires to greater levels of it,
even if they feel confident most of the time. It is a trait that will help
us create greater results for ourselves and when leading others. Any trait
with this much benefit is one worth developing. And yes, you can develop and
strengthen your confidence.
Consider these five steps as the building blocks for greater confidence
in any part of your life.
1. Remind yourself of past successes. Confidence builds on past success.
Since you have had success before, you can (and will) have it again. We
strengthen our confidence in any activity when we review or remind ourselves
of past successes. If you are trying to build confidence in a new area, past
success can still help us strengthen our confidence. For example, if you
have had success in doing something new in the past, review those
experiences when trying something else new – even if it is in an entirely
different part of your life.
2. Read and listen to positive materials. Fill your mind with positive
and affirming words, ideas and stories. Read things that enhances your
skills or knowledge in the area in which you want to build your confidence.
Read materials that are generally uplifting and affirming, and read
biographies of successful people. You will find that many of them had
troubles in life, came from tough situations and still succeeded. If you
have ever thought, “Well, if they can do, I could too.” Then you realize
that we can build our confidence by reading about others stories. Reading
and listening to positive materials is about reinforcement, encouragement,
and learning. All three of these components are needed for greater
confidence.
3. See your future success. Olympic athletes, corporate executives, and
successful people in all sorts of endeavors visualize future success.
Confidence will grow when we see ourselves succeeding. Think about it, if
you know you will succeed, your confidence will soar, right? Visualizing
future success does that very thing for us. Our minds cannot tell the
difference between something real and something vividly imagined. So vividly
visualize your success. What will it look like, smell like, and taste like
to have succeeded? Who will be with you, what will you be hearing and where
will you be? How will you be feeling at that moment? Putting this much
detail into your vivid picture improves the likelihood of success, and
supports greater confidence!
4. Reframe failure. Thomas Edison spent a long time trying to create an
incandescent light bulb – to create light from electricity. He is attributed
with saying, “I have not failed, I have discovered twelve hundred materials
that don’t work.” 1,200! Perhaps you feel you can reframe your failures as
learning experiences – as a chance to find out what doesn’t work. But would
you be able to do so 1,200 times? Know that failures will occur - and your
confidence won’t be as shaken when they come. Use the failures as an
opportunity to learn. Realize that every failure puts you that much closer
to success. When we reframe our failure as a learning experience we reduce
our fear and increase our confidence.
5. Take confident action. You wanted confidence to help you try and
succeed in new ways, right? So get out there and get at it! You have to put
your confidence to the test. You have to practice. And, while you are taking
action, make it confident action! Remember that if you act confident, you
will be more confident. Review the other steps you have been taking to build
your confidence. If you are driving towards your new action step, remind
yourself of past successes, again. Visualize the successful outcome, again.
Build your confidence at every step of the way, but remember it all must
lead to action.
These steps are a regimen for strengthening and building your confidence
in any life situation. Use these steps and I am confident, you will be more
confident.
Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com),
a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential
through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Kevin
publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide
ideas, tools, techniques and inspiration to enhance your professional
skills. Go to
http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/current.asp to read the current
issue and subscribe.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/
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