In this rat race everyone is trying to reach the top as fast as they can. We need to however, remember that we can only dictate our ascension to success by one thing: our confidence in ourselves. Henry Ford once rightly said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” It is of his opinion that your mentality reflects a lot on your outlook towards life in general. A person who always expects to lose, simply because they think they can’t, are bound to fail. They say faith in god moves mountains. On the contrary, belief in yourself and confidence in your ability is what shall give you the strength to move these mountains yourself. The mountains, being metaphorical, of course.
This world makes its money on what others see and perceive them. You must know how to sell yourself. Seeing you as a confident, self-assured person gives them the impression that you are competent and that they can trust you with responsibility. Seeing you as underconfident and unsure gives them the feeling that as you can’t be sure of yourself, you probably can’t be sure about anything else too.
After digging through lots of self-help books and articles, we have come up with ten things you could do to begin and keep on the journey of becoming one of the most confident people you know.
Loving Yourself.
You can only put in so much love and happiness out to the world while there is hate inside your heart. A small tip: To be happy about what you do, it is first vital that you’re satisfied with what you are. Derive pleasure from the work you do, and feel proud of yourself. To surmise, it is like being around a predator; they say that you should not be scared because they sense fear. In the same way, you shouldn’t show any signs of hating yourself or the work you do because people prey on that.
Not saying Yes unless you want to.
It is crucial to be sure of your decisions. A person who is confident about what he wants for himself is successful. You must realize that it is your call to decide what should and should not influence you and your surroundings. In life, we all gain a great many opportunities that can change us for the better. It is our responsibility to recognize them and make the call of welcoming them into our lives. A person who is not confident about their capabilities, or is apprehensive about the risks involved, can never get anywhere.
You should listen more than you speak.
“I know that I am a fool. Everyone else doesn’t need to know that too.” A confident person looks for an opportunity to learn in everything he does. Keeping quiet is the best way to so. Everyone has something to say, something that is different from others. And it is best if we listen and learn from them. Even the dumbest of the people may end up having something to teach you.
What’s more, being quiet, listening intently, and responding when you deem it worthy to makes you appear thoughtful and makes you more likable. Having the time to think of what to say and sounding sure of what you say helps you build your confidence. A person who chooses to listen rather than respond knows precisely where his next chess piece should land because after following the enemy’s talk, he knows their entire plan.
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Seek out small achievements instead of solely fixating on an arbitrary goal.
Confident people are not merely visionaries; they are goal-setters. They choose to break their journey down into little parts and pursue them. Each victory achieved is a step closer to the goal which gives you hope for the next.
The climb to success is entirely uphill and its hard to keep track sometimes. The best thing we can do is follow one foot in front of the other and keep walking and celebrating each milestone passed on the way.
Exercise.
We all know, exercise doesn’t just keep us fit. Exercise releases endorphins – the feel-good hormones. Exercising is a major component on the path to building your confidence. Endorphins give us moments of happiness and satisfaction. It is essential to keep our brain satisfied by giving it hits of constant goal-achieving satisfaction.
And by exercising and keeping fit, we can help speed this process along. We also note in various studies that people who work out regularly are self-confident and rate their body image as higher than others.
Don’t pass judgement.
Everybody in this world is from all walks of life. We don’t know what somebody else has been through without walking in their shoes first. And giving your opinion on their actions without doing so makes one come of as arrogant, mean and shallow. It is crucial here to understand that our confidence should stem from our respect for ourselves and the society we are a part of. It is essential not to harbor a holier than thou attitude within oneself as we are bound to project it, often without realizing it.
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Don’t seek attention.
The human race survives on validation. It is the opinion of others that fuels us through the days. As a confident person, it is essential to realize that yes, psychological validation from others helps. However, it does not help if we are not validating ourselves through our own actions.
It is just making us into a person that is attention-seeking and is insecure about themselves. Remember, to be a confident person, you don’t need to make the noise for people to look at you, your success will. Leave people curious about the enigma you are and they shall follow you.
Don’t be afraid to be wrong.
Life is full of successes and failures. People who reach the top not encountering failure have more to lose than people who have climbed up there through struggle. Not knowing how to deal with a defeat and still reaching the top is like passing without studying for a preliminary test. Yes, you have aced this test and everybody thinks the world of you but when the final exam comes, will you be ready to ace that too? Or will you succumb to the pressure? Take risks, be wrong. Each risk in life is not your last stand. It is merely a stepping stone, and being wrong is all but a stumble. Each time you fail, you may lose some faith, but when you finally succeed, all the scepticism turns to building your confidence in all the right ways. You have all the time in the world to right yourself and get back on track again.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Their silent support systems aided the most successful people. Albert Einstein may have been the greatest genius to have survived, but he would forget to do essential day to day activities. Without the help of his supportive and strong-willed wife, he would never have been able to function successfully. When you have exhausted all your options, try to take a comrade’s help. Asking someone not only makes you a humbler person, it also gives you opportunities to build your confidence in approaching a person. They might not completely solve the problem, but they’ll give a different perspective on the issue. One that you may have missed.
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Smile and dress well.
We would be lying if we said that the ability to be confident came only from your heart and personality. A lot of what we presume as seeing ourselves positively is what we visualize ourselves as. If we don’t invest in ourselves the way we see fit, there is no guarantee that the world will give us as we see fit. Dressing well does help build your confidence. Dress well, look the part, and then play the role. Studies have shown that wearing suits to interviews provides the wearer with confidence and posture to perform more assuredly.
Learn to smile naturally. Your smile is infectious, the mood you’re in will transfer to others. Everybody likes a happy, jovial person. Seeing others smile because of you can also make you optimistic towards life. A smile builds your confidence, makes you feel less shy and more outgoing.
We hope this list of ours helped you get a perspective on how to behave and come across as a confident person. We hope you succeed in your journey.