Building Confidence - Moving Beyond Fear

Definitions:

• Confidence is having a feeling of certainty or assurance in someone or something.
• Self-Confidence is having a feeling of certainty, assurance and self-belief.

 
Struggling with self-confidence can affect each and every one of us on a day to day basis and it determines our ability to accomplish what we want in life and can affect anything from some of the smaller to the bigger challenges.
 
What are the circumstances where you feel less confident?
What happens in your mind when you start to feel this way?
As a result of the way you are thinking what happens next.
If you want something different at that moment in time could you change?

• “Whether you think you can or your think you can’t you are right” – Henry Ford.

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The key word is think. Your mindset the way you process your thoughts will determine your perspective and will also determine your level of effort in achieving any desired outcome.

When you are experiencing feelings of self-doubt or a lack of confidence it’s your mind and your thoughts that are providing you with negative self-talk and fuelling your fears.

What do you hear and recognise from yourself that is negative self-talk? ​If you don’t like the direction your language takes you in, you could change the track.​ The language of self-doubt

• I would love to do that, but…..
• I can’t
• I could never
• If only I could?
• I am so envious of….
• I’m not very good at…..

 
Recognise any of these?

You may have been thinking about taking action or changing direction for some time. It might be that you don’t know where to start or what to do or it might be that you are gripped by fear about taking any action or doing something different,
 
Fearful thoughts will affect your levels of confidence.  When we have a fear of doing something we may build up a picture in our heads of what doing a particular thing or taking new action might look like.  This picture and the thoughts may frighten the bejesus out of you and so impairs you and stops you moving forward.
 
As humans for the most part we have a tendency to take the path of least resistance, the easy path, of course this path is easy it’s been traversed so many times.
 
Give yourself permission to break through your ‘Comfy Zone’, veer off the easy path you’ve been taking for so long and try a new one.
 
Now is the time.
 
The chances are what you fear will never appear
 
Some tips to get you started
 
Reframe fear into  - “Forge Earnestly Ahead Regardless” - Dr Katherine T. Kelly

Celebrate your successes 
When self-doubt & fear rock up tell em this space is already taken by success. Build up your inventory of your success stories; include stories, good          times, events, accomplishments and achievements that allow you to feel like   the amazing person that you are. Use this stock when self-doubt or fear show up.

Be kind to yourself
Always put your life vest on first, take care of you always and be kind and gentle to yourself, this way you will then be equipped to help others   which is also a great resource for building confidence.

Build strong foundations Start to build strong foundations for yourself, increasing your resilience. Use your thoughts to promote positivity, consequently elevating your confidence, you will start to notice that you become so much stronger in your mind and will feel better equipped and able to withstand any challenges that life throws at you.
 
Get past the first hurdle and the tracks will become smoother.