Believing in yourself and in your strengths and abilities can help you to succeed in countless aspects of your life, but it takes time to establish and maintain this confidence. Developing self-confidence isn't always an easy process and gaining self-assurance is a process that must originate internally before others are able to distinguish it.
Focus on Yourself
Accepting and learning to love yourself are rooted in the principle of self-respect. An acknowledgment of all of your strengths and weaknesses is a vital component in developing self-confidence. You have a set of distinctive qualities that comprises the unique person you are, so don't compare yourself to others. Maud Purcell, a psychotherapist and director of the Life Solution Center in Connecticut, emphasizes the obligation that each individual has to take personal responsibility for initiating positive results in one's own life.
Challenge Yourself
Setting small goals of what you would like to achieve and reaching those objectives can inspire confidence in your abilities and facilitate recognition of your inner strength. Purcell says that by embarking on challenges in unfamiliar territory, you can prove that you're capable of relying on yourself. With this affirmation, you're able to accept tests of character that are even more formidable.
Work in Stages
Select the most significant facet of your life that you would like to improve or change and instigate a plan of action for how you propose to accomplish it. Purcell suggests that you outline your goals on a schedule, which provides you with a point of reference from where you began to what you have achieved, boosting your confidence and self-reliance.
List Your Positive Characteristics
Making a list of your positive attributes alone can improve the identification of the admirable characteristics that you tend to discount. Psychologists Marci Fox and Leslie Sokol maintain that often, facets of personality that you may view as deficiencies may in fact be advantageous traits. The parts of yourself that you may view unfavorably could allow you to accomplish the improvements you hope to make in your life.
Accept Compliments
Rejecting compliments frequently occurs in people who lack confidence. Clinical social work psychotherapist Richard Joelson asserts that a person's self-confidence directly affects how or if someone can accept a flattering remark. By disqualifying what others say, you can truly offend someone who has initiated a genuine and sincere comment of regard. Even if your first reaction may be to disagree with a compliment, Joelson suggests that you learn to accept it by saying "thank you." By acknowledging the comment of admiration, you recognize the heartfelt intent of the other person. Meanwhile, the compliment may serve as a positive reinforcement to your self-affirmation.
Evaluate Your Progress
Identify the progress you've made in improving positive self-talk. Fox and Sokol recommend reviewing and updating your list of qualities regularly as your confidence increases. Additionally, they suggest that you write a list of compliments from others. By directly observing the objectives you have achieved in personal growth, you're continually enhancing self-reliance and confidence in yourself.
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