As the lady walks into the room to give her presentation, everyone nods their head in approval as she exudes a cool, calm assurance that everything’s under control. There’s no describing self-confidence. You know it when you see it! There are many situations when we feel as if we could do anything, deal with any obstacle, take on any task or job yet at other times, we simply just run out of steam! Sandra Baptist tells us how we all can learn to exude that trait that makes us feel confident about what we are doing and about who we are. 1. Increase your knowledge The best method to increasing your self-confidence is to work on improving your knowledge and abilities. “Knowledge IS Power!” Read books as a means to an end. Read books to gain information about what you need to know. Read as an end in itself. Read for pleasure. As a young person I’ve always read, but you know what? I still lacked confidence in some areas. No! Reading is not all. Still you need to…. 2. Like yourself Liking yourself is equivalent to your self-worth and accepting yourself as you are. Your feelings about yourself are probably the most important feelings you can have. If you do not love yourself then who will? Be proud of who you are and what you are and forget the self-talk. Self-esteem is directly influenced by the negative and positive thoughts you hear. These may be thoughts heard in your environment as well as thoughts in your own mind. Your self-talk! This is extremely Powerful! What are YOU thinking about yourself everyday? “How come everyone else can do this, except me?” OR “I’m so grateful to be involved in this project!” Trust me…it does make a difference! 3. Focus on your strengths Each one of us has our own particular strengths. Be thankful for these and capitalize on them. For example one of my strengths is writing and listening. I’ve always been called ‘shy’ or ‘quiet’ when I was younger and was always told to ‘speak up’ or ‘say something’! I thought something was definitely wrong with me as everyone else in my family could not shut up! Now I’m older, I’ve made those strengths work for me. They’re now my business! Try building on your strengths by writing down in a journal all those traits you like about yourself. If this feels too hard to you, ask someone else what is it they like about you as a person or what they think you are good at. When you have your list, focus on them and forget your weaknesses! 4. Remind yourself and acknowledge your success daily Go ahead! Think about when you felt successful last year, last week or indeed yesterday! Thinking about your past successes makes you a stronger person, better able to handle and cope with today’s challenges. What’s going to be better than to say to yourself, “I can do this, I’ve done it before!” Aah! Now That’s confidence! On the heels of this is the daily celebration of your successes, no matter how small or how insignificant YOU think they are. Observe and celebrate them! I do this every night and also use this exercise with my clients. Either use a journal or simply tell yourself the ten things that you praise and acknowledge yourself for. Don’t stop until you get to ten. If you’ve had a particularly bad day simply recognize that you’ve had a bad day and tomorrow will be better! 5. Visualize your future success What could be more exciting than seeing in your mind how it feels to have succeeded? Did you know that athletes use this all the time? Especially those high jumpers! Successful people use visualization regularly. This is because they know that our minds cannot distinguish the difference between something real and something imagined. Creating a detailed mental picture increases the likelihood of success, and boosts your self confidence. They are many ways to do this. For example if you are going for a job interview, you can write down how it will feel to answer all the interviewer questions easily and effortlessly. Or you can go into a peaceful place, close your eyes and truly visualize yourself getting that job! 6. Get rid off the ‘nay-Sayers’ Your environment has a great effect on the confidence that you, as an individual, displays. Environment here could be family, friends, political or any other strong influence. Surround yourself with people that love and support you. Those people, who tend to criticize and constantly put you down, simply ignore them. Usually they are and can do no better than you anyway. Join supportive groups online, if there are none in your area. Get a coach who really listens to you understands you and helps you build your confidence in yourself. 7. Develop an attitude Develop an attitude of excellence. Give of your best at all times. Be cheerful and happy. Shock everyone with your attitude of confidence! In this way, no one can declare that you do not have self-confidence, not even yourself. It’s true that people with a high degree of self-confidence are normally more likely to be successful – all other aspects being equal – than those who work in a less confident manner. So what are you going to radiate? ****************************************************** Known as The Vision Queen™, Sandra Baptist teaches single mothers between 25 and 45 years working in the corporate industry how to create and attract their vision of success and prosperity…easily and effortlessly. Your “Roadblocks to Prosperity” report is available free at: http://www.EliteCoachingGroup.com . Contact The Vision Queen™ for consultations via email: Sandra@EliteCoachingGroup.com or phone: 800-666-4754