How Do You Build Self-Confidence?

Written by Skye Thomas


Years ago while running an at-home daycare, I came to realize that we're all born with an innate sense of self-confidence. Every single child underrepparttar age of five that I have ever observed has had a strong self-confidence in at least one area of their life. Most kids had confidence in all areas of their lives. It seems to me that they systematically lose that confidence and it's replaced by an inner critic. Quite often it'srepparttar 130143 child's home life, but sometimes it'srepparttar 130144 schools, neighborhood kids, extended family, or some other person who unknowingly destroysrepparttar 130145 child's belief in themselves. Children have to be told they aren't good enough, strong enough, smart enough, talented enough to accomplish whatever it is they're trying to do. Unfortunately, most of us are told exactly that. So, how do we rebuild that sense of self-confidence?

The first thing I want you to do is to imagine that you had an ideal loving emotionally supportive childhood. Think about what kind of person you would have been if you had been raised to believe in yourself and in your natural gifts and talents. What were those gifts and talents? What were you really good at? What kinds of activities came easy for you? Now write down a list of talents, traits, attributes, and gifts that you loved and probably excelled at before you were convinced that you weren't any good at them. Choose items from that list forrepparttar 130146 next step.

Self-confidence is broken a piece at a time. So you're going to rebuild it a piece at a time. Pick things from your list and plan out tiny baby steps. Were you meant to be a great artist? Then start out by doodling. Just start carrying a pencil and paper around with you and allow yourself to absentmindedly doodle little pictures. Eventually, allowrepparttar 130147 passion to find it's way through you and you will begin to draw bigger and better, adding paints or whatever medium you were always meant to use. Were you supposed to be a musician? Then start humming little tunes in your head, begin playing around with an instrument. If it's possible, carry an instrument around with you and whenever you're bored or have some downtime, just sit and absentmindedly allow your fingers to play with it untilrepparttar 130148 music within you begins calling to you again. Whateverrepparttar 130149 thing, pick something from your list and begin to play with it without paying a lot of attention to being perfect or talented or anything else. Just holdrepparttar 130150 tools and space out awhile so that you can get out of your own self-consciousness and just play withrepparttar 130151 tools. Nobody has to know if you don't want them to.

Repeat this process as much as you can. Keep picking up pieces of yourself on that list and adding them back into your sense of self. Don't wait until you've become really good atrepparttar 130152 first new skill before picking up another one. Just play with each item on your list asrepparttar 130153 mood crosses you. There's no need to beat yourself up for not being super talented because in reality all you are doing is simply playing with toys that remind you of your childhood. Allow your inner child, inner teenager, inner artist, inner musician to simply play. Eventually, you will come to realize one day that you do have natural gifts and talents and that will go a long way towards building your self-confidence.

Self-Leadership: Your First Priority

Written by Marilyn Snyder


Who should I lead in life?

How about yourself?

I use to skip overrepparttar leadership articles – “knowing” that they were only for people that wererepparttar 130141 CEOs of big companies or managers with a large number of people to supervise.

Not me. I just had myself and 2 other employees to take care of – no big deal – I could handle it.

Then I realized what leadership was all about.

If I couldn’t lead myself inrepparttar 130142 direction that I wanted to go – If I couldn’t lead myself to reach my goals or change my life – how would I be an example to my family, my employees, my customers, or anyone I met?

The hardest person to lead is yourself.

The smallest changes you want to make in your life are sometimesrepparttar 130143 most difficult to lead yourself through.

We are going to go throughrepparttar 130144 qualities of self-leadership overrepparttar 130145 next few days.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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