Many brilliant teachers have gone before us to encourage us to believe in ourselves and the value we bring to the world.
Zig Ziglar said, “You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.”
Peter T. McIntyre said, “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”
And Ana Freud said, “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”
Confidence is the assurance you have in yourself, and in the powers or abilities you possess (Hughes et al., 2019). Confidence is not to be confused with self-esteem or self- worth. Self-esteem is defined as “a favorable impression of oneself.” Self-worth is defined as “a sense of one’s own value as a person. Having self-esteem and self-worth leads to being confident. They suggest that in order for us to be confident we must first look at ourselves in a new light.
You know how it is said that everything should be done in moderation?
Confidence is one of those things that we would like to have more than moderation. You never hear people saying they don’t want any more confidence. It’s like our bank account – we always want it to keep growing
As you realize the incredible miracle that you are, you will become more confident in yourself. The more confident you become in yourself, the more you will embrace your uniqueness, stretch and take risks, and live more authentically. This, in turn, builds even more self-confidence. Naturally, if you are becoming more confident, experiencing more joy, and living as your authentic self, these changes will be reflected in your thoughts.
Confidence Through Our Authentic Selves
What you say to yourself can dramatically impact your confidence level and how you present yourself to the world.
We could all feel increasingly more confident if we would change the stories, we tell ourselves about who we are. Instead of focusing on how we are coming up short in our actions, we can instead, recognize and remember the qualities that make us truly unique.
Reflect upon who you really are, appreciate your uniqueness, and acknowledge the many reasons you have to be confident.
Visualization
In order to build a building, an architect must first visualize the type of building he or she wants. Mental imagery is projected onto a piece of paper that becomes a blueprint. The builders then execute the ideas on the blueprint.
The concept of ‘Visualization’ works the same way. The mental picture you hold of yourself in your mind becomes a reality in your life. The constant flooding of your mind with positive thoughts will eventually cause any negative ideas to lose power and dissolve.
Thoughts Carry Energy
Napoleon Hill once said, “Think twice before you speak because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure.”
‘Your thoughts carry energy,” and that energy has tremendous power to either boost or diminish your confidence. The word ‘vibe’ is often used to describe an energy that you pick up from someone else. It comes from the longer word: vibration.
Your thoughts cause you to emit a vibration – an energetic frequency. At any given moment, all of us are sending out either positive or negative vibrations, and because of this you will find yourself attracted to some people and weary of others. It’s like dialing into the frequency of a radio station – you are radiating certain energy waves that have people either tuning into you or turning you off. Similarly, you are sending out a frequency that is either telling others you are confident or not.
Remember: thoughts are things, and your thoughts give off either a positive or negative energy.
I hope you found this article valuable to learn how you can take charge of your confidence levels and feel great about yourself, your value, and your success!
Reference
Hughes R., Kinder A., Cooper C.L. (2019) Developing Self-confidence. In: The Wellbeing Workout. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Author Contact Details
Dr. Norma Visagie, DNP
The Doctors for Global Health Institute
email: [email protected]