Confidence is the key to success. It equips you with the willingness to try, fail and try again. It’s the feeling that believes in you when nobody else will. It’s an emotional resting place for hope and achievement. But, most importantly, it’s not genetic. Confidence is something earned and, with enough work, we can all have it.
Practice
Firstly, practice is the ultimate key to building confidence. Practice is foundational. Here, you learn the willingness to try even when your efforts are in failure. It’s one of the most challenging battles for some when it comes to getting confidence because it’s themselves against themselves. To become better, one has to fight bad habits, fears, anger, etc.
The task is daunting, but one comes out better than they started when they challenge themselves. One way to practice confidence while also combating social anxiety is through social circles. One can study the format of conversation and prepare questions. Outside of social settings, one can set goals to complete to build a sense of capability and proficiency. Start small and end big. Break up big tasks into mini ones. Daily goals will roll into weekly goals, weekly to biweekly, biweekly to monthly and so forth. As you build better habits, your confidence will rise as well.
Exercise
Secondly, The Canadian Psychology Association expresses an array of positive things about exercise. According to them, it prevents depression and anxiety disorders. Training may be as effective as psychological and pharmaceutical treatments for depression and anxiety. It reduces day-to-day stress. And it also increases self-reported happiness and lowers levels of sadness and loneliness, both in the short-term and later in life. Anxiety and depression are some of the antagonists of confidence, so any way to be decreased is beneficial to one’s journey to confidence.
Building Emotional Strength
Thirdly, Psychology Today conveys that being confident means being able to handle your emotions, regardless of the situation. A way to do this is to build your emotional strength. There are many ways to do this, but here are a few:
- Realizing where you are in life. Barton Goldsmith Ph.D. expresses that transitions in our lives can cause us to lose sight of what’s going on. It can cause emotional fatigue to the stress of the shift. Maybe you grew out of a friendship, got fired, quit, or started a new level of education. These transitions can catapult us out of our comfort zone. Being mindful of how your feelings can help you get a grip on things. This brings us to our next strategy.
- Practicing Mindfulness. There are many ways to practice mindfulness. Meditation is a popular one. But mindful.org also says we can mindfully wake up by starting with a purpose. We can mindfully eat by cherishing every bite. Get off autopilot and take a mindful mental pause. Mindfully workout or take a drive.
- Get Therapy or Counselling. Talking to a professional can help because counsellors give you a perspective outside your own based on renowned studies. Plus, it’s good to talk to someone who won’t judge you.
Hopefully, this article is the catalyst for someone to start their journey to confidence. It’s genuinely a strength we all need.
