SELF CONFIDENCE
If we have enough of the magical self-confidence, we won’t ever need the pixie dust.
Everyone faces self-doubts at some point in life. Some more, some less.
Battling our self-doubts can become exhausting.
If out of control can lead to a circle of unnecessary anxiety and setbacks in life.
Dictionary defines self-confidence as “a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment”.
Self-confidence is an attitude in life which allows a person to have positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations.
Self-confidence empowers person to believe in their own abilities and decisions; gives a sense of reasonable control of life.
A person can gain time by not wasting valuable minutes or hours being indecisive in reaching to a decision or by ruminating after taking a decision as the person is still not sure. All this shows a lack of confidence in oneself.
Having self-confidence does not mean that we will be able to do everything. We should have realistic expectations. Even when some of these expectations are not met, having self-confidence makes us look at this with a positive attitude and to accept ourselves.
Not having confidence in ourselves makes the person dependent on the approval and opinions of others regarding any action as there is a tendency to avoid taking risks due to fear of failure. Self-confident people are willing to risk the disapproval of others due to their trust in their own abilities and decisions.
Self-confidence may be lacking in only certain areas of our life; we may feel confident in other areas. Usually it is a result of lack of knowledge or experience; this can easily be resolved.
When does the self-confidence initially develop in life?
Self confidence is linked to self-esteem.
People with low self-esteem tend to have low self-confidence.
Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself as a person.
Low self-esteem can develop in childhood and continue throughout adulthood.
So, it is very important to develop a healthy, positive sense of self.
Lack of self confidence is not related to lack of ability.
It may be related to having unrealistic expectations of oneself and the silent development of resentment and frustration for oneself leading to a negative outlook and thus lack of trust in oneself.
“Investigators discovered that self-esteem tended to rise slightly from ages 4 to 11, remain stagnant from 11 to 15, increases markedly from 15 to 30, and subtly improve until peaking at 60.
It stayed constant from 60 to 70 years old, declined slightly from ages 70 to 90, and dropped sharply from 90 to 94.”
As per this study, self-esteem continues to rise from age of 4 till 60.
Ways to Boost Up Self-Confidence
Positive Affirmations
Bring positive energy in life.
Program your subconscious mind with positive statements.
Get rid of negativity.
Self-evaluate/ Self-assessment
Take time to ponder on your achievements, failures, aspirations and goals.
Congratulate yourself on your achievements and determine what areas still need improvement.
Be open to suggestions and learning for self-improvement.
Learn from your failures.
Have high self-esteem
Having self-respect is very important. Always trust yourself to reach the right decision.
It does not imply you will be correct every time; it means you made your own decision as per your best judgement in the given circumstances.
Care for yourself
Take care of both mental and physical health.
Mens sana in corpore sano – a Latin phrase, translated as “a healthy mind in a healthy body”.
But now we can also add that it is true vice-versa.
Our mental health does have impact on our physical health.
Studies have shown that having stress, anxiety and other mental issues can be linked to increased incidence of hypertension, heart disease and other medical conditions.
Enjoy each moment of life
Life is unpredictable.
Enjoy what you have.
Remember there is always a sunrise after a sunset.
Appreciate what you have
Trouble starts in our life when we believe in the myth of grass being greener on the other side.
Appreciate what you actually currently have, rather than being unhappy on thinking about what you could have had.
Life is short. Make most out of it.
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