Confidence is related to one’s belief in self, in one’s own capabilities, competencies and constructive qualities. It’s the feeling of certainty that comes from knowing one’s strengths – having been well-informed and well-prepared about a particular subject, challenge or a situation. It affects our performance and influences success at every step of our lives. Self-confidence is a process; it is certainly not arrogance or belligerence. A confident person is the sum of numerous positive attributes inter playing congruously and consistently. To mention a few here is a short list:

Self awareness

It is the crucial part of developing self confidence; it’s about knowing oneself thoroughly, extensively and profoundly – being constantly in touch with one’s own internal values, principles, ethics, morality and conscience to live by, day after day. Lao Tsu wisely said, ‘’Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom, mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.’’

Self image

Believing in self and realizing that one has the potential to do or achieve anything that one desires in life by setting and achieving worthwhile goals will help develop a highly confident and successful individual.

Focus

Knowing what one truly wants in life then focusing his resources, time and energy solely on that particular goal would eventually bring his long-held dreams into existence. Small achievable short term goals if attained will boost our confidence and prepare us mentally for more difficult long term goals. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘’If you head towards your goal with courage and determination, all the powers of the universe will come to your aid.’’

Proactive

Being proactive means we are responsible for our own lives so we take all the initiatives necessary to make things happen, to bring changes in any aspect of life. Proactive people believe that their behavior is a function of their decisions based on personal values and not based on their conditions, moods or other external factors.

Practice

In order to be an expert on anything one has to repeatedly do specific tasks for a specified duration depending on the complexity of the task. Successful musicians, singers, actors and Olympic athletes practice for months before actually performing in front of an audience. In neuroscience it is believed that the more you practice the stronger your myelin sheath becomes. Myelin is a fatty insulator for certain nerve axons that aids in the quick transmission of nerve impulses.

Dream big

Human being is believed to be the only animal that can think about the future. With the help of our imagination we can dream about and create our future selves in our minds – who we want to become, where we want to live and work or how we see ourselves ten or twenty years from now. Successful people visualize their future selves until it becomes a second nature to them, until they really achieve it. Vincent Van Gogh aptly said, ‘’First I dream my painting. Then I paint my dream.’’

Discipline

Life is difficult and it poses an endless series of challenges for us to responsively act and solve problems. Disciplines are the basic tools that help us solve life’s major problems. It’s about making ourselves to do what we should do when we should do it based upon our priorities and goals whether we feel like doing it or not.

Continuous growth

We can improve every day by preparing ourselves for the unknown future, by learning new things, by developing remarkable skills and by gaining comprehensive knowledge – they all increase our capacity to perform which in turn improves our self image and increases self trust to face new challenges of life with unstoppable confidence.

The big picture 

Nothing would be fruitful if you mustered all the confidence in the universe and if you possessed a distorted view of the world and about the people in it. Developing an appropriate paradigm is about perceiving, interpreting and understanding the world and its inhabitants, it’s about trusting and believing in human potential, empowering ourselves and others, to be the best we can be and bringing the best out of every citizen. Our paradigms of life, family, friends, spouses and work – consciously or unconsciously affect our attitudes and behaviors towards ourselves and others. Paradigms are the source of everything that follows. The way we see things is the source of the way we think, act or behave.