The key to more confidence is to ensure that you use three simple resources: Yourself, Questionnaires and Educational Media.
The thing is, quite a few people wish to have more self confidence, notably at the office in order to manage the daily situations and discussions with the manager or colleagues. More self confidence and better self esteem commonly comes with an optimistic attitude, more motivation and thus more energy to manage challenging circumstances. And would you not want to have more energy?
Are you ready to challenge yourself ? Let's get to it.
The first source to become more self confident: You (free)
Although it might be clear that you personally will have to act in order to be more self assured, it might be somewhat surprising that you, yourself, can also provide the perfect solution, before searching for external support or advice.
So, what can you do to become more self confident?
1. Ask yourself if you're really lacking self confidence. Most often, we're actually lacking experience and therefore feel insecure at the beginning. That's natural, but not necessarily a reason to seek for support. There is certainly a significant difference between being nervous while talking to the manager the very first time about a salary raise, than having sweaty hands every time you see this one individual coming down the corridor. So, what don't you like doing so much? In which circumstances? Why?
2. Ask and test yourself with what area you would like to have more confident. Narrow it down, into a specific field, do you think you're, for instance uncomfortable in presenting? (Continue doing this step once you have worked on a few others to find out where you have made progress.)
3. Ask your entourage for feedback. Sometimes, people will not even notice that you are lacking self confidence. We automatically assume that they know. If you are uncertain, ask people who know you well.
4. Monitor yourself. Increase self-awareness by paying attention on how you react in certain situations. Should you have a very important discussion scheduled, use that meeting to observe your behaviour and gain knowledge from it.
5. Observe others. Find that person at the workplace (or at your home) which you admire and find out how they (re-) act in certain circumstances.
6. Control your (lack of) confidence: Most of us get nervous when speaking in public. Finding a routine to deal with this situation in the future makes it more manageable and we feel less insecure.
Is this logic to you?
The second source to get more self confidence: Questionnaires (at some expense)
Completing a questionnaire or a test can not only provide clarity on your field of improvement, it can also provide a great dose of self confidence. Below is a list of three quizzes and tests which I have personally completed and can recommend. There are plenty of other good tests out there for you to choose from, it really depends what you want to know.
1. Mind Tools.com supplies a (free) little quiz to check your degree of self confidence and provides some indication of action in the end. It requires three minutes to complete.
2. Strengths Finder 2.0 is a solid test to raise knowledge of your strengths, not your weaknesses.
3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the classical tests on different personality types. It is a good tool to remind us that we all have different personality traits, and some of those make people more confident than others. The test can be completed online with a personal feedback by a certified professional. You might consider taking this test in connection with a classroom training, if possible.
The third source to become more self confident: educational media (at some cost)
Once you've completed a test like one of the previously listed, it is easier to concentrate on the particular field of improvement in which you are lacking self confidence. Most of the time some kind of test or questionnaire is offered in combination with a training course, so, for anyone who is sure that you intend to boost your self confidence via a seminar or workshop, check in advance whether there are tests involved.
Now, check out this list of recommended references I often refer to on a general basis:
1. Books (or e-editions):
a. "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie - one of THE best books to increase self confidence in interpersonal relationships
b. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemann - a great source to help understand how we are thinking, which can have a great effect on our confidence.
2. Online courses: In case you are fond of online learning, check out udemy.com or udacity.com. There are courses available on lots of topics, and they seem to be affordable.
3. Podcasts: Similar to the above, but if you want to listen only to short information nuggets, there's quite a variety of podcasts on the market to go into detail how to build self confidence. For instance, you will find one great podcast by Steve Pavlina, have a look on his site.
Finally, to come back to the question "How can I get self confidence?", pick out a couple of the resources mentioned, and give them a try. One by one. Maybe you do the first quiz I recommended above, it only takes 3 minutes and it is free. That will get you going.
I recommend you link it in your self development plan, if you have one. That would permit you to complete the steps all year round without forgetting any. This is a process, but it will surely take some time.
The thing is, quite a few people wish to have more self confidence, notably at the office in order to manage the daily situations and discussions with the manager or colleagues. More self confidence and better self esteem commonly comes with an optimistic attitude, more motivation and thus more energy to manage challenging circumstances. And would you not want to have more energy?
Are you ready to challenge yourself ? Let's get to it.
The first source to become more self confident: You (free)
Although it might be clear that you personally will have to act in order to be more self assured, it might be somewhat surprising that you, yourself, can also provide the perfect solution, before searching for external support or advice.
So, what can you do to become more self confident?
1. Ask yourself if you're really lacking self confidence. Most often, we're actually lacking experience and therefore feel insecure at the beginning. That's natural, but not necessarily a reason to seek for support. There is certainly a significant difference between being nervous while talking to the manager the very first time about a salary raise, than having sweaty hands every time you see this one individual coming down the corridor. So, what don't you like doing so much? In which circumstances? Why?
2. Ask and test yourself with what area you would like to have more confident. Narrow it down, into a specific field, do you think you're, for instance uncomfortable in presenting? (Continue doing this step once you have worked on a few others to find out where you have made progress.)
3. Ask your entourage for feedback. Sometimes, people will not even notice that you are lacking self confidence. We automatically assume that they know. If you are uncertain, ask people who know you well.
4. Monitor yourself. Increase self-awareness by paying attention on how you react in certain situations. Should you have a very important discussion scheduled, use that meeting to observe your behaviour and gain knowledge from it.
5. Observe others. Find that person at the workplace (or at your home) which you admire and find out how they (re-) act in certain circumstances.
6. Control your (lack of) confidence: Most of us get nervous when speaking in public. Finding a routine to deal with this situation in the future makes it more manageable and we feel less insecure.
Is this logic to you?
The second source to get more self confidence: Questionnaires (at some expense)
Completing a questionnaire or a test can not only provide clarity on your field of improvement, it can also provide a great dose of self confidence. Below is a list of three quizzes and tests which I have personally completed and can recommend. There are plenty of other good tests out there for you to choose from, it really depends what you want to know.
1. Mind Tools.com supplies a (free) little quiz to check your degree of self confidence and provides some indication of action in the end. It requires three minutes to complete.
2. Strengths Finder 2.0 is a solid test to raise knowledge of your strengths, not your weaknesses.
3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the classical tests on different personality types. It is a good tool to remind us that we all have different personality traits, and some of those make people more confident than others. The test can be completed online with a personal feedback by a certified professional. You might consider taking this test in connection with a classroom training, if possible.
The third source to become more self confident: educational media (at some cost)
Once you've completed a test like one of the previously listed, it is easier to concentrate on the particular field of improvement in which you are lacking self confidence. Most of the time some kind of test or questionnaire is offered in combination with a training course, so, for anyone who is sure that you intend to boost your self confidence via a seminar or workshop, check in advance whether there are tests involved.
Now, check out this list of recommended references I often refer to on a general basis:
1. Books (or e-editions):
a. "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie - one of THE best books to increase self confidence in interpersonal relationships
b. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemann - a great source to help understand how we are thinking, which can have a great effect on our confidence.
2. Online courses: In case you are fond of online learning, check out udemy.com or udacity.com. There are courses available on lots of topics, and they seem to be affordable.
3. Podcasts: Similar to the above, but if you want to listen only to short information nuggets, there's quite a variety of podcasts on the market to go into detail how to build self confidence. For instance, you will find one great podcast by Steve Pavlina, have a look on his site.
Finally, to come back to the question "How can I get self confidence?", pick out a couple of the resources mentioned, and give them a try. One by one. Maybe you do the first quiz I recommended above, it only takes 3 minutes and it is free. That will get you going.
I recommend you link it in your self development plan, if you have one. That would permit you to complete the steps all year round without forgetting any. This is a process, but it will surely take some time.
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