Thursday, February 21, 2008

DEVELOPING SELF-CONFIDENCE THAT LASTS


Developing Self Confidence That Lasts

Developing Self Confidence is a process that can take many routes. Outlined here are four ways for developing self confidence that will enhance your life, strengthen your relationships, and further your career. You do not need to invest millions of dollars or change the world in a day to begin developing self confidence. The process to developing self confidence is as easy as committing to following the four steps described below.

1. Listen to the voice in your head when you are stressed and try to understand what it is saying. We all have an inner monologue by which we direct and guide ourselves - we can use it to help in developing self confidence. Sometimes our inner monologue reminds us to pick up cat food on the way home. Unfortunately, sometimes this inner voice tells us we are incompetent or bad. Certain situations may trigger this voice to become unnecessarily critical or harsh. Left to its own devices it will not help in developing self confidence.When it comes to developing self confidence It is good to listen to this voice and search for patterns. When you recognize a pattern that does not work for you, only then can you being to change the pattern to get your desired results. Journaling every day or taking time to jot down some thoughts when you have stressful situations may allow you to really analyze if your thoughts are helping you or hurting you.

2. Listen to the people around you can help in developing self confidence. Are your friends and family supportive and nurturing, or do they criticize and bring you down? Do you find that people who are often negative about their own life as well as yours surround you? These people can affect the way you view your world, the events that take place in your day and your tenacity in developing self confidence. When you are aware of the effect the people around you have on your thoughts and feelings, you can determine if these people are good to be around or if you should make some new friends.

3. Recount every day the qualities about you that you value most. Take time every day to affirm your worth and your strengths to focus on developing self confidence. To do this, you must know your strengths and your values. Affirming the good in you will help to focus your mind on what you can do, instead of always focusing on what you cannot do. This simple change in focus can go a long way in changing your mind set to one that is open to challenges and willing to take risks. Every day remind yourself that you are worth being loved, that you do your best, and that you are a good person. You will find you believe these statements more and more each time you repeat them.

.4. Look for ways to encourage others. As you touch the lives of the people around you and impact their day, you will begin to realize that developing self confidence affects more that just your own fate. When you believe in yourself and are spending less time in negative thought, you have more time to spend helping others and sharing your good attitude. This step not only increases the self esteem of the people around you, but it continues the process of developing self confidence in you.

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