FSS Newsletter :: February 2003

How to Gain Confidence in Your Life

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and cringed at the image of yourself? If you are guilty of this practice then I would advice you to stop. If you are not happy with yourself, it indicates that you are having no confidence of yourself. If you lack confidence in yourself, then how do you expect others to have confidence in you?

Many people, old or young have insecurities about various things in their lives. It could of their physical appearances, speech, lifestyle, habits, work or even family. Even at interviews, confidence helps you in clinching that job. Imagine a scenario where two candidates go for the interview where one is confident and assured while the other is a nervous wreck. No prizes for guessing who impresses the interviewer and gets the job.

First of all, you have to understand that confidence can be gained if you try. Of course nobody becomes super confident overnight. It takes time to become confident but it is undeniable that everyone can be confident if they try.

The following are ways where you can help yourself in getting confident:

1. Like yourself - The first step in becoming more confident is to accept and like yourself. You should make a list of all your positive traits and strengths on a piece of paper or in your diary. By doing this, you are reminding yourself that you too have praise-worthy qualities like others. You will like yourself and feel confident about yourself after this.
2. Motivate yourself Whether it is for an interview or for a presentation, tell yourself that you can do it. Motivate yourself each day and soon you will find your confidence level growing. Another good way for motivation is that after work or study each day you should make a list of at least four things that you did well for that day.
3. Overcome fears Some people always have a fear that they can never be successful in anything they do. Such insecurity will be a disadvantage and would cause you to lack confidence in yourself and in everything you do in your life. So in order for you to get rid of this fear you have to remind yourself that if you haven’t try something you can never say that you will fail in it. Be positive and try things without any fear or insecurity. For example at work your boss is asking you to head a team but you fear that you will make a mess out of it. Such a fear will prevent you from taking on that task at work. But if you were a confident person you wouldn’t think twice about failing and would gladly take on that task. This shows that a lack of confidence could also affect your career.
4. Accept Failures If you are always crying over the mistakes that you made in your life, you will never get anywhere. Always remember that past mistakes and failures cannot be reversed and what’s done is done. Thus it is no use crying over spilt milk. A confident individual always looks past those failures in his life. After all, failures are juts part and parcel of becoming successful. If you failed once you should take that failure as a learning lesson.