Boost Your Confidence: Three Tips to Build Your Self-Esteem

What is self-confidence?  It's feeling good about yourself - having faith in you and in your abilities.  Benefits include an increased feeling of hope and optimism and more willingness to take chances. When you're confident, you're ready to open yourself to new experiences.  To learn, you have to be a beginner. You have to allow yourself to make mistakes.  That can be especially trying when your self-esteem is at a low ebb. 

 
What makes it so challenging to feel confident?  At the top of the list are negative self-assessments.  Rejections and disappointments can also wear you down.  I once coached an engineer, whom I'll call "John."  He wanted to take on a leadership position within his professional organization, but he felt that he couldn't because his English wasn't good enough.  Although he was foreign-born, he had attended college and graduate school in the United States and was actually very fluent in English.  His challenge?  Although he spoke articulately, his accent sometimes made him hard to understand.  No matter how much anyone encouraged him, he stayed stuck in his view that his English wasn't good enough to serve on a professional board.  He was unwilling to be vulnerable and therefore never made the leap.  To open yourself to new experiences, you have to have an open mind and, unlike John, be willing to shed old, tired ways of seeing yourself.

Three Road-Tested Tips to Help You
Get Past Limiting Beliefs and Boost your Self-Confidence 

Acknowledge Yourself
Take time to appreciate who you are and what you've achieved, past and present.  Devote a few minutes per day for a self-endorsement break.  Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.  Appreciate everything that you like about yourself, everything that you've got going for yourself, and all the ways that you show up for yourself and others.

Easy Does it, But Do It!
You've got to earn your self-confidence by gently continuing to move yourself forward.  Spend less time in your 'ponder' mode, and more in your 'do' mode.  Remember, too much analysis can lead to paralysis.  Instead, be proactive.  To ensure that your wishes become reality, take action daily.  The more steps you take, the more confident you'll feel.

Reach Out
You don't have to do it all by yourself!  It's better to get support - more efficient and more fun.  By including others, you'll be less alone with your challenges.  Working through them can even become fun.  Other people can help you see yourself in ways that you can't, and can see possibilities that you don't.  With quality support, you will make better choices.  You'll be more likely to move forward and not retreat.  Types of support include professional/life coaches, counselors, family members, and friends.

The Gem                                                       
Ready to feel better about yourself?  Don't wait - get into motion.  What's one action that you can take today to boost your self-confidence?