Confidence and self-esteem are fundamental in achieving success in both your personal and work life. Lack of confidence can be a real hindrance in your job. It could be preventing you from progressing in your company, or having a negative effect on your relationships with colleagues. Developing your confidence means you can be more in control, and enjoy things that you were previously too scared to do.
Some of the typical issues that break down our confidence while at work are:
▪ Doubt we can do the job/task
▪ Too many competing opinions
▪ Politics
▪ Difficult people
▪ Difficult conversations
▪ Lack of clear direction
▪ Doubt in our ability to make the right decision
▪ Lack of support
▪ Contradictory feedback
▪ Negative people / fault-finders
Be positive. Try to focus on your skills and talents as much as possible. Make a list of all your good qualities and don’t dwell on what you perceive are your weaknesses. Building self esteem is about finding out what your strengths are and then developing and building on them. Your employer would not have given you a job if they did not recognise certain skills in you. Look for the best in every situation and even if things go wrong, focus on bouncing back from mistakes – learn from them, but don’t let them drag you down.
Be a Planner. Organisation is key to feeling good on a day-to-day basis, so do what you need to do to stay on top of your schedule. Rushing around, running late, and missing deadlines puts you on the fast track to anxiety, but you can avoid these common culprits by simply tackling your to-do list.
Avoid saying “I can’t”. Just saying these words makes you that much closer to failing. These words scream; “I don’t believe in myself! I see my limitations! I am afraid of failing!” Those are not the words of a confident person.Confident people look a challenge in the eye and say; “I can.” Just saying “I can” makes you that much closer to success.
Be Curious. Curiosity not only sends the message that you’re ambitious and eager to learn, it also positions you well to interface with more people and take on new projects. So don’t just do the work that comes easily. Try something new, something that scares you just a wee bit. You’ll emerge more confident and empowered than if you stick to what you already know.
Know yourself and you will win all battles.
Be kind and generous. Oh, so corny. If this is too corny for you, move on. But for the rest of you, know that being kind to others, and generous with yourself and your time and what you have, is a tremendous way to improve your self-image. You start to feel good about yourself, and to think that you are a good person.
Integrity. Make sure you know your own core values. What are the key principles by which you live your life? With every decision you make, and choice of action, check-in with your integrity. Are you being pulled to act against your values, are you in line with them? Working out of integrity creates deep-seated self-doubt, so keep your motivation up by commiting to act with integrity in every situation.
Surround Yourself With Winners. A very important factor that affects our overall confidence and performance level in life is our relationships. If you move with the wrong set of people at work and friends you aren”t doing yourself much good.
Learn optimism. The under-confident are habitual pessimists. They assume and plan for the worst, which can so often become a self-fulfilling prophesy. This is a tough mental turnaround but focus on the upside, and confidence will likely follow.
One important key to success is self-confidence. A key to self-confidence is preparation
Stop Worrying About What Others Think—Trust Yourself . You can’t be responsible for how everyone else thinks about how you live your life, so stop worrying about how your family, partner, and friends will react to your choices and start getting real about how you feel about your life. Act from what you think is right for you. We always know what the best action is to take for ourselves, when we slow down enough to listen to our inner wisdom. It’s just not always easy to slow down or to trust our intuition. Be committed to trusting yourself, even when it’s scary, and even when others disagree.
Building confidence takes time, and it’s not always easy. But once you have confidence in yourself and in your work, what you can achieve may surprise you!
What tips and tricks help you to feel more confident on the job? Share them in the comments below!
