Your task is to find your own way to change the negative story that your inner critic is telling you. Look for evidence to prove what your inner critic is saying is wrong. For example, if you think that you’re a failure, ask yourself, ‘What evidence is there to support the thought that I’m a failure?’ and ‘What evidence is there that doesn’t support the thought that I’m a failure?’
3. Become a mentor
Being a mentor isn’t just for very senior and experienced people, there’s always someone that you can help.
Helping someone else can be a very rewarding experience. You’ll learn a lot and you’ll also realize how much value you can bring to others which in turn can help you to gain confidence.
Many industries have some form of mentor program or scheme. If yours doesn’t, why not just go for it and put yourself out there? For example, you could post on your intranet or on LinkedIn that you are looking to mentor someone.
4. Accept compliments
If someone says to you, ‘great job,’ or ‘you look wonderful’ or ‘well done excellent event,’ do you say ‘thank you’ and feel good, or do you shy away and give someone else credit?
If you shy away from compliments, then stop. Own it and feel good about it. Next time someone pays you a compliment, smile, say thank you, and own the good feeling that goes with that acceptance. (And note it in your achievements log!)
Related: 10 Habits That Cause Low Self Esteem And Depression
5. Look after yourself
Looking after yourself helps you gain confidence. It’s fundamental to success. Make sure you get more than enough sleep, do regular exercise, and eat healthy food. Make it a habit.
If you feel good, you gain confidence, which inspires you to look after yourself and you create a positive cycle.
6. Be kind and generous
Being kind and generous to others makes us feel good, and feeling good helps us to gain confidence.
Linked to this, focus on being grateful for what you have and what has gone well that day. I’d suggest that you start by writing down the things you are grateful for every day and make a deliberate effort to be kind and generous to others at every opportunity. And again, over time this becomes a habit.
Related: The Animal You Spot First Reveals The Kind of Person You Are: Personality Test
7. Be prepared
The more you practice, the more successful you get. Funny isn’t it?
Gaining confidence is borne out of practice. Be prepared, practice the presentation, read the meeting minutes, research the person you are meeting.
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the practice required to be the master of your skill being 10,000 hours. So start putting the hours in and you will gain confidence.
‘Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.’ Dale Carnegie
And finally, conquer the knowing-doing gap. You’ve now got a stack of practical tactics to gain confidence and boost your self-esteem. Every action you take will add up but it starts with you.
If you want to gain success, take action today.
If your confidence could do with a boost – check out my training webinar and workbook that gives you more tips and tools for you to work on your own confidence. For more information and buy the training go here.
Written by: Lucy Gower
Originally appeared on: Lucidity
Republished with permission.
