Self confidence is one of the keys to career and life success that I discuss in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. If you want to become self confident you need to do three things. First, choose optimism. Believe that today will be better than yesterday and that tomorrow will be better than today. Second, face your fears and act. Don’t let your fears get in the way of your confidence or success. Third surround yourself with positive people.
I subscribe to the Napoleon Hill Foundation’s “Thought for the Day.” Today’s thought was…
“If you don’t believe it yourself, don’t ask anyone else to do so.”
How true. Self confidence is crucial to building a successful life and career. When your actions – your posture, tone of voice etc. -- demonstrate your confidence, other people believe in you and your ability to perform. On the other hand, when your actions demonstrate a lack of confidence, others doubt your ability.
There’s an old saying, “Fake it till you make it.” This is especially true when it comes to building your self confidence. When you stand tall, look people in the eye and speak in a direct manner, you will appear to be self confident – even if you aren’t. When you appear to be self confident, people will treat you as if you are. This in turn, will boost your self confidence.
It’s a subtle but important point. You can build your self confidence by acting as if you are self confident.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are self confident. You can become self confident by acting as if you are self confident – even if you aren’t. People respond to your cues. If you slouch, avoid eye contact and never voice an opinion, people will see you as lacking in confidence. If you stand tall, look people in the eye and state your thoughts and opinions in a direct, straightforward manner, other people will see you as being confident and will treat you positively. This will help build your self confidence. It’s a win/win.
That’s my take on self confidence and faking it till you make it. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.
Bud
This is a great reminder, Bud, that all of us tend to forget from time-to-time!
Posted by: Mary | August 02, 2009 at 07:07 PM