In case you didn’t know it, your self confidence is a Superpower! One that can be acquired through your conscious decisions to always take action, coupled with a commitment to keep investing in yourself.
Self confidence is easily one of the best accessories that we can ever wear. No pun intended but I have personally found that men wear it with a lot more confidence. Experience has also taught me that the way you show up tells others how to engage with you, the level of respect to be extended and the value to be placed on your contribution.
Recently while visiting our newly built offices, the project manager said to me “why do you and your next in command come in with such force? People can literally feel you coming before they see you and let’s not talk about the heels.” I laughed heartily at his animated perception of our presence.
In retrospect, this feedback highlighted his view on our level of projected confidence.
Take me back a few decades to my younger self, she wouldn’t even recognize this person. Thankfully, I learnt overtime to always place value on my presence.
So how exactly does one manage to increase their self confidence? Here are five (5) points to consider:
1. Believe In Yourself
You must first be able to see yourself as a person of value before others even get a glimpse of the value you have to offer. Failure to believe in yourself compromises your level of self confidence. We must convince ourselves that we are worthy of what is before us and that our presence has value. Then and only then can we show up confidently where we are planted or in the space we chose to plant ourselves.
2. Take Action! Do It Even Afraid
The secret to increasing your self confidence is to consistently do what needs to be done even when fear is gripping at your heart, mind, body and soul. Feeling afraid and doing it anyway empowers you to believe that you can overcome any obstacle. This bold decision empowers you to believe in your own God-given abilities, while helping to build increased capacity overtime. This is where real transformation begins. The lessons learnt help us to better examine ourselves, while setting the foundation for us to embrace future challenges.
3. Self Talk Matters
The way we talk to ourselves plays a huge role in building up our self confidence. Practicing positive affirmations even in the face of adversity goes a long way in how we approach situations. Positive reinforcement through self talk helps to shape our mindset and our core values. Believe me when I tell you the way you see yourself truly matters. You must be happy with the person you see staring back at you in the mirror because you can never out run your own self reflection. Get in the habit of reminding yourself daily that you are an “overcomer” and that you have something valuable to offer.
4. Invest In Yourself
Your commitment to self development will go a long way in building up greater competence. The more you invest in both your personal and professional knowledge and experiences, the more confident you become in your contribution. Stay committed to investing in yourself because this is a lifelong process that shapes who you become.
5. Place Greater Value on Your Presence
Self confidence happens to be a moving target that shifts based on changing circumstances and environments. Our ability to confidently claim our seat at the table while projecting confidence is best achieved through greater emotional intelligence. It’s time to show up confidently for yourself and to go harder on delivering a strong and consistent performance. You need to own your presence. This change in mindset not only determines how confidently you show up but by extension magnifies your contribution.
Ultimately, our success hindges on our level of self confidence. At times the difference between who gains the opportunity simply comes down to confidence. It is therefore time to start acting like you belong in the room and believing that you are there for a reason. As with most things in our life where we wish to see progress, we just need to be intentional about seeing past what we sometimes view as competion and start walking in our own confidence.
Life Lessons 