by Tanuja Ramchal
Confidence comes from an appreciation of your own abilities, skills, and talents. You express confidence in how you speak, by what you say, and through your body language. If you’re not confident, it shows, and this can get in the way of your success. Luckily, it’s a quality you can develop. Below are three steps to raise your confidence.
1-Create awareness
Start noticing how you show up and how you feel in different situations. When do you feel most confident? How about least confident? What causes you to feel that way?
With introspection, you can start to see the thinking behind your actions and question it. A lack of confidence is often based on the fear of how you’re perceived by others. Rather than automatically shrinking to accommodate the fear, a better response is to step back and assess the situation objectively.
- What’s the worst thing that could happen if your fears came true?
- What’s the chance of that actually happening?
- How can you minimize the risk of that outcome?
- What are three actions you could take to recover if the worst does happen?
- What’s the best possible thing that could happen if you took action despite your fears?
Through this process, you can change your behavior and avoid getting stuck in habitual, fear-based patterns, which limit your options.
2-Do something you enjoy
If you’re like most people, fun is not a priority. It’s usually viewed as a distraction, taking away from the ‘important’ things. However, when you’re enjoying an activity, your energy level goes up, you’re engaged, and you feel better about yourself. This adds to your confidence by getting you out of your head and into a creative space where ideas and new ways of thinking emerge.
I have requested students spend 15 minutes each day doing something they love. One student recalled how happy she used to feel when she painted, but she hadn’t done that in years. Her assignment was to make time for painting, which she said made her feel like she could take on the world. Who doesn’t want that?
What's your fun activity? It doesn’t have to be something which takes up a lot of time, but it needs to be consistent to produce the desired result.
3-Surround yourself with the right people
There’s a quote from Jim Rohn which says, ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ In other words, environment affects how you show up in your life. If you surround yourself with people who are always looking for the negative in every situation, it’s likely that you’ll do the same.
The good news is that you get to decide who you hang out with. Treat your life like a well-oiled business by firing those people who drag you down and hiring and promoting those who average you up. Spend time with people who inspire you to greatness. Doing so will expose you to new ways of seeing yourself and the world.
If you want to develop your awareness, have fun, and connect authentically with others, the weekly GCMC Soft Skills Workshops will help you overcome your fears and be more confident in your professional life. It's scheduled for Monday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m., starting June 1. You can register in CareerLink. Space is limited.
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