Self-confident people seem at ease with themselves and their work. They invite trust and inspire confidence in others. These are all attractive characteristics to have.
But it's not always easy to be confident in yourself, particularly if you're naturally self-critical or if other people put you down. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to increase and maintain your self-confidence.
What Is Self-Confidence – and Why Is It Important?
Self-confidence means trusting in your own judgment, capacities and abilities. [1] It's about valuing yourself and feeling worthy, regardless of any imperfections or what others may believe about you.
Self-efficacy and self-esteem are often used interchangeably with self-confidence. But they are subtly different.
We gain a sense of self-efficacy when we see ourselves mastering skills and achieving goals. This encourages us to believe that, if we learn and work hard in a particular area, we'll succeed. [2] It's this type of confidence that leads people to accept difficult challenges and keep going in the face of setbacks.
Also, self-esteem comes, in part, from the feeling that the people around us approve of us. We may or may not be able to control this, and if we experience a lot of criticism or rejection from others, our self-esteem can easily suffer unless we support it in other ways.
Confidence and Behavior..
Take a look at the table below, which compares confident behavior with behavior that's associated with low self-confidence. Which thoughts or actions do you recognize in yourself?
Confident Behavior
1_ Doing what you believe to be right, even if others mock or criticize you for it.
2_ Being willing to take risks and to go the extra mile to achieve better things.
3_ Admitting your mistakes and learning from them.
4_ Waiting for others to congratulate you on your accomplishments.
5_ Accepting compliments graciously. "Thanks, I really worked hard on that prospectus. I'm pleased you recognize my efforts."
Behavior Associated With Low Self-Confidence.....
1_ Governing your behavior based on what other people think.
2_ Staying in your comfort zone, fearing failure, and avoiding risk.
3_ Working hard to cover up mistakes and hoping that you can fix the problem before anyone notices.
4_Extolling your own virtues as often as possible to as many people as possible.
5_ Dismissing compliments offhandedly. "Oh, that prospectus was nothing, really. Anyone could have done it."
As these examples show, low self-confidence can be self-destructive, and may manifest itself as negativity.
Self-confident people are generally more positive – they value themselves and trust their judgment. But they also acknowledge their failures and mistakes, and learn from them.
Why Self-Confidence Matters...
Self-confidence is vital in almost every aspect of our lives, yet many people struggle to find it. Sadly, this can become a vicious cycle: people who lack self-confidence are less likely to achieve the success that could give them more confidence.
For example, you may not be inclined to back a project that's pitched by someone who's visibly nervous, fumbling, or constantly apologizing. On the other hand, you're persuaded by someone who speaks clearly, holds their head high, and answers questions with assurance.
Confident people inspire confidence in others: their audience, their co-workers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. And gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways to succeed. In the following sections, we'll see how you can do this.
How to Appear More Confident to Others....
Picture anyone you know that you think of as highly confident – what characteristics do they have that make you think this? It's most likely one or more of these things:
the way they speak (tone, how they project their voice, words),
their energy and enthusiasm,
how expert or knowledgeable they are about something.
You can show self-confidence in your behavior, your body language, and in what you say and how you say it.
Projecting a positive image to others can help you to improve your self-confidence. It's not simply a matter of "faking it" – if you project with confidence, others are more likely to respond well, and this positive feedback will help you to believe in yourself.
And more more Just visit the link