Few people are as confident as they would like to be. Yet self-confidence is very important because it shows in everything we do.
The good news is, the way you think of yourself is only a premise. It’s simply an idea in your mind that you’ve built your entire personality on. And you can change that idea any time you want.
Thinking does make it so
Remember, the subconscious mind makes no distinction between what’s real and what is imagined. It works with the material we feed it through our thoughts. It readily translates any thought into reality—whether it’s driven by fear or courage.
In other words, you are what you think you are. When you think you’re important, others think you are important too. Because how you think determines how you act. And how you act determines how others react to you.
If you want to gain confidence, start to feed your mind—through autosuggestion—a steady diet of thoughts of confidence and courage.
And while you’re doing that start to…
Be it before you do it
One of the first questions you must ask yourself is, how do you want to be seen? Would you like to be seen at your best? When you speak, would you like to speak your best?
Like it or not, your appearance “talks.” Be sure it says positive things about you. Never leave home without feeling certain you look like the kind of person you want to be.
And, if you want to convey confidence, you can’t display a “broken body.” Unfortunately, in our society, it’s common to see people with bodies that turn inward or downward.
Do you see anybody slouching in Greek sculpture? No, the bodies go upward.
Your spine should reach up and so should your head. You must always be conscious of aspiring upward. That’s true even when you sit down. If you let your whole body sink down when you sit, you’re revealing a lack of confidence.
The same is true for your voice. To be confident, you can’t have a voice that mumbles. Speak up and speak clearly.
When you start looking and acting like the person you want to become, your new attitude will not only talk to you, it will talk to others. As you begin acting differently, you will quickly earn more respect and attention from everyone around you.
Experience builds confidence
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” That is excellent advice.
A lack of confidence is surmounted by taking action. Think about the times in your life when you did something that was in an area you’d never been in before. You weren’t confident you could do it at first, but the more you did it, the more confident you became.
So as you’re thinking and acting like the person you want to become, remember that you can’t build confidence solely by sitting around thinking good thoughts. You also have to take action. As soon as you do, the fear on the inside will begin to dissipate and your confidence WILL rise.
To more and better,
Sandy Gallagher
