"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started."
Marcus (Moziah) Aurelius Garvey (1887-1940)

Where would you be today if you were served up a heaping scoop of confidence everyday? How would your life look different?

So often I hear the phrase, "I just need a bit more confidence in myself." But, like others, I began thinking about where this exactly comes from. Is it something you muster up within yourself, that momentarily tricks you into thinking you can do it? Is it is something you have within yourself, but only take it out on special occasion’s? Is it something you always have, but for some reason "confidence" lies dormant within you?

What I hear while coaching is that "lack of confidence" is to blame for shortcomings, failures, and being just plain stuck. It’s how one can rationalize that failure without having to "take it in" per say. Although confidence is something that comes from within, it seems to be something that we think we acquire from the outside, and it’s something that can take the blame pretty effortlessly. It becomes an external reason for not succeeding. So, if confidence is the answer (and of course just a small piece of the puzzle of success) how do we "get it"?

Some people would say that it comes from believing in your self. Some people might say it comes from the support of others. Maybe both of these things, and more…..

Here are my top 5 ways to "get confidence".

1. The number one reason? Confidence – is a result of lots of practice and knowledge. The more you know, the more confident you are. The more you practice, the easier it feels…the more confident you become.
2. Make mistakes. Are you ready to fail, learn, and move on? Confidence flourishes in your ability to take a step and fall down, and get up and do it again. Ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Probably not much, and you can that in itself be a confidence builder.
3. Open to learning, learning, learning? The best confidence builder is to continue your learning and education. You stay competitive and sharp in this ever-competitive world. And by the way – you don’t need a college degree to be successful (although it does help some these days). Decide what learning is for you, and what will propel you forward, and do that. Maybe it’s playing those Zig tapes again.
4. Celebrate your success. Confidence is fertilized by success. Don’t hold back here – you deserve to feel good about what you have done and celebrate yourself for it. Don’t sell yourself short by minimizing your successes. Think about the best way to celebrate what you do – maybe it’s rewarding yourself with cool vacations when you hit that certain revenue point, or when you finish that huge project.
5. Take action – even little ones. Get yourself comfortable as your confidence builds. Action precedes learning. Action precedes mistakes making. It precedes practice. Without it you are pretty much stuck!
6. Do this. Believe in the fact that your can do anything you put your mind to. You can. Say, "I can do anything I want." And say it with conviction. In fact, start here, and incorporate the rest.

Coach's Challenge:

Find an area in your life where you are lacking in confidence. Ask yourself, what action do I need to take that will result in learning or practice? This month take charge of this area of your life by taking action. Celebrate all that you do. Believe in you.

Lori Hamann  ©