At some point in every person’s life, he or she is faced with a task that is daunting and intimidating to them in the extreme. For most of us, these feelings occur on a regular basis, in school, in the office or simply when you have to muster the courage to talk to someone. Whether you’ve done it before or not, a lack of confidence in one’s self can limit your potential. The following points are therefore meant to help you get that belief in yourself and open doorways to success.
Face your Fears
Confidence and belief will not get instilled into you overnight but if you’re committed to changing yourself for the better, then facing your fears will help you accomplish just that. Everyone has their own fears. It could be fear of being humiliated, fear of failure or fear of getting reprimanded by a superior or your parents that could be halting you to unleash your potential.
This is where you have to tell yourself that if you do refrain from even trying to achieve some task for whatever your fear is, that you cannot let these petty fears from stopping you from achieving your goals.
Start by facing a small fear, for example, engaging in a conversation with someone that you did not have the courage to talk to before. While you might fear rejection, you will soon realize that once you gain the courage to actually talk to someone, you will normally get a positive response – In case you don’t, it is important to not get disheartened and let it be. There is always another chance when you’re motivated!
What’s the worst that could happen?
Fear of small things can stop us achieving massive results. In many cases peer pressure stops you from doing simple things that you would normally want to do, for example, answer a question in class, for fear of being humiliated. It is important to realize that even if you do embarrass yourself by giving the wrong answer, it is no big deal! People make mistakes all the time and while some might jeer at you for getting it wrong they will soon forget it, like everyone else, but in the process you will not only gain confidence but the attention of others by answering that question!
Talk to yourself, Positively
A simple way to start believing in you is to say some positive things to yourself, out loud, maybe even in front of a mirror. You could say phrases like, “I’m smart”, or “I look great”, to boost your confidence. Trust me, it works!
Get inspired
Look around you and read about those people before you and you will find so many great people and the things they have achieved by facing up to their fears. So many great scientists and political leaders were scoffed at by others, but they stuck to their beliefs and made their dreams come true. You can achieve the same feat, all you need to do is to gain inspiration from these people and rid yourself of your fears!
Learn New Skills
Do you find it difficult to speak on stage? Get some speech lessons! Do you think you’re weak? Hit the gym! Whatever you think you lack, try to make up for it by learning or practicing new skills. Not only will you learn more stuff, but this will be an amazing boost for your morale! Furthermore, it is scientifically proven that exercising and engaging in physical activities stimulates hormones in your body which makes you more confident.
Another easy way to gain confidence is to correct your posture, that is, the way you walk or sit. Make sure you walk with a straight back and that your shoulders aren’t hunched. Do not fidget around with your hands; keep them at your side in a natural posture.
While this may not seem easy at first, I assure you, if you work hard towards believing in yourself, you will be able to unlock avenues of great success for yourself! Till then, keep working hard!
