7 Proven Ways To Become More Confident In Yourself

By Lilian Wamaitha
A majority of us have lived our entire lives afraid to do take risks.
We know that we want to be in relationships but when it comes to it, we pull back because we believe that we will do something to mess it up.
May be you want to start a business but deep down you believe that you will fail. For that reason, your ideas no matter how good they are never see the light of day.
Maybe you have never been unsure of yourself in anything but you can relate with that feeling of wanting to do something but feeling really scared of starting and failing.
This limits not only your potential but it minimizes the chances you have of making a positive impact to the world.
A lot goes into cultivating self-confidence.
That said,

Here Is How You Can Become Confident

1. Know yourself
This means understanding your strengths and weaknesses.
It will not happen in a day or a month but it’s something you need to work on every single day.
For instance you may be good at sales but in reality hate sales job? It doesn’t matter how good you are. Unless you actually love doing that thing that you are good at, you can never have confident in yourself.
Therefore what do you do?
Make a list of at least five things that you excel at and that you actually love doing and another five that you would like to do well at.
You will find that as you use your strengths to improve on things that have room for growth, you will develop confidence in your own effort and in the end in yourself.
2. Be an optimist
It might seem strange when someone tells you to expect success in what you do since you can never predict the outcome of anything.
However, research shows that negativity has a way of bringing about self-fulfilling prophecies.
If you go into something expecting the worst to happen, chances are that, that’s what you will get.
3. Trust in your capabilities
Nobody in this world knows everything. We are all good at some things and not very good at others.
Never weigh your confidence on what you know or can do, but weigh it on your willingness to try and learn.
If someone criticizes you whether in a positive or negative way, take it as an opportunity to better yourself. And if someone beats you at something, take it as an opportunity to learn one or two things from them.
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4. Embrace the unknown
Most people think that confidence lies in the ability to predict their own success. Well, to some extent it does, but the idea is not at all universally true for all of us. You may be talented on an area than everyone else, but this doesn’t mean that you control what happens in your life.
Confident people also have problems in relationships, health and get laid off.
Confidence it’s about knowing that no matter how competent you are, you cannot control your own success. Taking that weigh off your shoulders and realizing that at times these twist and turns have nothing to do with the decisions you made or what you should have done is the best way to cultivate self-confidence.
5. Take risks
Don’t always do things the way you have always done them. You will never be confident this way.
Learn to take risks in your life. Do something that you never though you could have done in a million years.
6. Learn to accept praise and don’t read too much into it
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to take in negative things people say about us but find it hard to accept the positive?
Sometimes people will praise you because they see the good in you. Don’t just see the negative about yourself.
When someone tells you did a good job, it means that you can be trusted and are good in what you do. Simple!
7. Lastly, practice confidence
Like all other things in life, your confidence will not improve in a day. It will take time and the only way to achieve it is through practice.
Every single day, practice to be confident. Tell yourself that you are good, that you are beautiful, that people want to listen to you.
It is only through practice that you will get better.
Finally,
You can never be an all-confident-person.
Just know that you are just as capable as that other person and regardless of the mistakes you have made, you will still achieve your dreams.
Lilian is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email your questions to lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke.