Confidence is precious. It enables you to do what you want to do without constant fear of failure, or even despite fear on some occasions, and to maintain your sense of self-worth and not be dependent on what other people think. If you’re confident, you can take center stage when you want—you don’t always have to linger in the background.
The first step in building your confidence is to pay attention to what you’re thinking. Concentrate on your positive thoughts. It’s very easy to focus on the negative. You probably find that when you have been given feedback, at your appraisal perhaps, you concentrate solely on the one negative comment even though there were five positive comments. To help overcome this, build a bank of achievements and positive comments on which to draw. Sit down with a pen and paper, and answer the following simple questions: • What have I achieved in the last year and in the last five years? • What am I most proud of? What did it feel like when I did it? • What am I good at? (create a list) • What compliments have I received from others? Concentrate solely on the positives of each situation, don’t let negative “but” thoughts creep in. Commit the answers to your “achievement bank” and draw on them in moments of doubt.