Could you use more confidence? Have you got another level to go to? Your confidence can be improved using these really simple techniques.
Confidence is a feeling. That’s it. Feelings are always available to us. Think back to a time that you were really confident, think of a specific time. Take a minute to close your eyes and go back to that time now, see what you saw, hear what you heard and really feel those feelings of total confidence. See what I mean?
Confidence is also context specific. As such, it is possible to change how confident you feel in any given situation. Confidence is the key to achieving your goals and getting the results you deserve. It is also one of the issues people most seek help with. The simple fact is that many people get in their own way, they talk themselves out of being the person they know they can be. Whatever it is that is undermining your self-confidence, you can begin to address by using a couple of techniques.
Observe your thinking
How many times do we talk ourselves out of something we know we could do? Call it fear of failure, rejection, criticism or sometimes even fear of success, the outcome is the same- you don’t get to where you want to be in life. How much energy do we spend each day arguing with ourselves. How would it be if you could set a goal and know you have the mindset to achieve it?
A good start is to observe your thinking. What are the nagging thoughts you hear in your head that stop you following through on your dreams? What’s stopping you getting to where you want to be? This inner voice is there for a reason- it is trying to protect you, it wants to keep you safe and secure. However, you were made for more! Safety and security will keep you exactly where you are today and, I know that you want more than that….you wouldn’t be here unless you knew there was another level to go to.
Complete a thought audit over a couple of days, write down any thoughts or feelings that disempower you. Are there any themes? Are these old thoughts and feelings occurring in a specific context?
Change your thoughts and physiology
Alongside those old thoughts and beliefs, write down a positive, empowering thought. Ask yourself “What would I do if I felt 10x more confident?” Think through what stories you would tell yourself, what beliefs would you hold? How would you speak? How would you stand? How would you present yourself to the world? Remember that time when you were really confident? What were you doing with your body? How did you breathe? What were you thinking?
Research has shown that our behaviour is determined by how we think, how we feel and what we are doing with our body (physiology). Therefore, it is possible to change our behaviour by changing our thoughts and physiology. If you adopt the thoughts and posture of your new confident self, your unconscious mind will catch up and you will begin to feel more confident.
Imagine if you felt 10 times more confident. How much better would your results be if you could be at your most confident especially in those tricky situations? What if you could face every day knowing you could handle everything that life could throw at you?
I’d love to hear how these techniques work for you, let me know by commenting below!