Building Confidence Can Be A Step-By-Step Process

Self-confidence as well as self-esteem is more often built on a series of small success. As I have said in the past, having large goals are great. However, in order to get to those larger goals, you need s series of smaller steps (goals) in order to reach those larger goals.

For example, suppose you decide to teach piano. Why not place a notice in your church bulletin? In that environment, the people know you and are familiar with your work. From there you can push a little further out. Most grocery stores have a community bulletin board where customers can post information. Put a notice there and see where it leads you.

If you only get one student, that's enough to start building your confidence toward the second and the third goals, and so on. Sometimes all it takes to really put a fire under yourself is that first sale. You can always think back to that first sale and use it as a realization of what is possible.

Setting small, reachable goals makes for small successes that will build the confidence you need for reaching larger successes.

Sometimes we are plagued by comments or experiences from the past that keep rearing their head as we set new goals or start new projects. There's an old saying, "Once bitten, twice shy." An example of a twice-shy person, for example, might be a child who is afraid of dogs. When first meeting the dog, the child, like most children, was curious, though a little afraid. Then, as he moved closer, the dog growled at him. So now the child is "twice shy" of all dogs. In other words, the child's confidence around the dog, or any dog thereafter, lessened. Sometimes this same kind of thing happens to us; our confidence is shaken because of a bad past experience.

But what would have happened if, when the child approached the dog, it instead wagged his tail or licked his hand or performed some amusing trick? The child would feel confident moving closer to the dog and even petting it. Then, when the child came across another dog, he would most likely feel comfortable with that dog, too. Given the positive experience with the first animal, he would feel confident around other dogs. This one small success would have a lasting impact.

Do something that you can successfully complete to your satisfaction. It could be as simple as getting up 15 minutes early to take a morning walk. The trick is to do something that allows you to build confidence in yourself. Keep all of those small successes that you achieve, no matter how insignificant you may think they are, in your memory bank. If you store up enough small successes they will be there when you need them to boost your confidence.

Article from Gladys Edmunds...