Self-confidence is a fundamental component of success and happiness. Here are three simple steps to boost your confidence.
Now, I hate reading articles that claim to describe three steps to anything. Life simply isn’t like that. It’s a long and complicated journey of learning and growth.
Nevertheless, I challenged myself to come up with three simple steps for boosting confidence that you can implement anytime, anywhere. I use these personally and with all my clients, and they have helped many people overcome self-doubt to bloom into confident success.
- Identify Your Top Three Strengths
Too often, a loss of confidence leaves us feeling that we’re losers. But we aren’t. Even Olympians have temporary slumps in confidence. But when they remember the strengths that got them to the top of their game, they have a good chance of regaining their mojo.
To remember your own strengths, I recommend a simple, fun exercise. Set aside a few minutes each morning and evening for a full week to jot down three things about yourself that you are most proud of. It might be your intelligence, or your sense of humor, or your determination or creativity, or something else that is uniquely and powerfully you. At the end of the week, look over the output of this exercise and see which three strengths appeared on your daily entries most often. These are the three things somebody who knows you well would probably identify as your strengths, and you can be proud of each one.
This focused self-insight is important because awareness of your specific strengths boosts your overall sense of self-value!
- Be Thankful for Your Strengths
Especially when you’re being hard on yourself, or feeling down, get into the habit of “gratitude musings.” Think deeply about your top three strengths and appreciate the profound consequences of each. If you chose your sense of humor, for example, think about how it brings joy and light to the lives of your friends and family. Think about how their laughs and smiles elevate your own mood.
I advise my clients to take long walks while they practice their “gratitude musings.” As you walk, go through your strengths one by one. Hold each one in your mind. First, start with just the word. Say it over and over again. Next, define what it means to you. Then describe what it does for you, the many magnificent moments it has earned you. Finally, describe what your gift does for other people, the many wonderful ways you have touched the lives of others with this gift.
When you truly appreciate the value of each of your strengths, your steps will lighten and the clouds will lift.
Remember, gratitude is a powerful force for boosting self-confidence!
- Flood Your Brain with Positivity
Our brains are constructed along a simple but powerful continuum.
At the base of our brain, the primitive reptilian brain ensures our survival. It speaks the language of fear. Above that, our emotional brain ensures connection with our fellow human beings by regulating our feelings. Above that is the gray matter, our cognitive brain, responsible for thought and reason.
All three parts of our brain have a voice, and our attitude at any particular moment is dictated by which voice is loudest.
If you’re low in self-confidence, it is because your voice of fear is dominant.
The good news is that Mother Nature designed us to have control over our brains. We can control our thoughts and, to a lesser extent, our feelings.
To dilute that voice of fear, flood your mind with positive thoughts and emotions. This is a powerful way to boost your confidence. Use mantras, motivating words, and positive images to remember your many victories. All of these infuse positivity into your cognitive brain.
And positive thoughts drive confidence!
Please explore these three simple steps and see what a mind-blowing difference they make in your life!
