1. Be honest
Sometimes we wear a mask with others, or keep our guard up, which means people never get to know who we really are or what’s important to us. If you are a manager or leader, that can make you seem distant or ambiguous, and can cause anxiety among your team. Being honest about yourself helps to open people up to you and your point of view. You appear to be what you are – a human being with flaws just like everyone else. Expressing your true thoughts can make people like you more, or at least know where you stand, because you have the confidence to show your authentic self. This doesn’t mean sharing your intimate secrets, or being overly personal. It means sharing what’s relevant in the context and being open to criticism and challenge from others on your views. To do that, and to accept it, you need to be confident.
2. Express your ideas
Sharing your views on something isn’t about speaking louder or longer than others. It’s about providing thoughtful input to conversations. If you don’t know what you think, take time to figure it out. You don’t get points for speaking out, and sometimes saying things just to participate can hurt you, if you have to live with those ideas later. Don’t worry about what other people might say, or how they might react to your views. Share with others what you think the best approach is to solving problems or creating new programs or systems, and ask for feedback. Sometimes it takes one confident person to start the ball rolling. Why not you?
3. Be Brave
Take on new challenges, even if they seem daunting, and do it with an open mind. Some things we try, even those we are passionate about, just don’t work out. But if we don’t explore new areas, or try new things, we can get in a rut that’s hard to get out of. By achieving new things, we build our confidence, and that comes through loud and clear when you convey ideas and approaches that make sense to others.
4. Think Positive
If we have a negative mindset about things that worry or scare us, we can’t function confidently. We can get stuck on the negative possibilities, and that leads us to second guess our decisions, or not make recommendations at all. Being negative and talking about all the things that could go wrong will make others afraid and concerned about the potential success of a new venture as well. Whether you are contributing to something as part of a team, or leading it, think about and write down all the positive outcomes that are possible and share those with others. It will make you feel more confident, and others will as well. That confidence can lead to brainstorming and greater chance of success. When people bring up potential negative outcomes or consequences, try to figure out how they could be avoided, or transformed into positive ones. Lead the discussion in that direction and watch others get on board.
5. Feel Good
Taking care of yourself is a major part of feeling confident. It’s not about having the latest gadget, or fashion item, it’s about feeling well and likely yourself. Some people enjoy exercising daily, others less often. Some people avoid sweets and others follow strict diets, all to be healthy. Whatever approach you take to eating, exercise, and dressing, if you look in the mirror and like yourself, you will convey that to others. Being confident is a state of mind which comes across to others in how you communicate, and that means how you present yourself to the world as well as what you say. Being kind to yourself is a powerful thing and can make you feel more confident to take on the challenges of everyday life, and hair raising times of stress. Featured photo credit: Hands tear a paper with text via shutterstock.com
