7 Ideas for those who want to develop every day: When we don’t trust ourselves, we sabotage ourselves and prevent ourselves from achieving the success we deserve. If you want to know how to increase your security, we will tell you about it below.
There are millions of people in the world with immense potential to be happy and successful who, however, do not achieve either. We have all met someone who, despite being intelligent, valid, and full of virtues, sabotaged their own opportunities out of fear. Lack of self-confidence prevents us from living the life we want and for which we have everything we need.
As Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can do it or not, you’re right either way. ” And it is that the beliefs we hold about ourselves can lift us or sink us. Therefore, it is essential to become aware of self-sabotage and work on our self-esteem so that we stop being our most critical judge and become our biggest admirers.
How to increase self-confidence?
We are tired of hearing hackneyed phrases that invite us to love and accept ourselves, to fight for our dreams and believe in ourselves, without ever being told how to do that. How am I going to love myself from one day to the next after years of hating my flaws? How to do it if deep inside I don’t feel that I am a valuable person?
Well, there is no magic wand capable of making your self-confidence increase in a second. The only one who has the key to open that door is yourself, and to achieve this you have to generate several changes. However, with motivation and perseverance, you can increase your security, and you will see how your life changes radically. Here are some guidelines to achieve it.
Change your inner dialogue
Through our thoughts, people send messages to ourselves. We recriminate or congratulate ourselves, we judge ourselves, we comment on our actions. This internal dialogue is often automatic, and we do not realize the number of negative communications that we send to each other throughout the day.
If you want to increase your self-confidence, you have to change the way you talk to yourself. Be indulgent, understanding, and loving with yourself. Start talking to yourself about what you do well, and focus on your mistakes as opportunities for growth. If you constantly beat yourself up and punish yourself mentally, it is impossible for you to believe in yourself.
Act as if
One of the most effective tools to create change is to start acting as if what we want is already a reality. Begin to behave like a person with high self-esteem and security would:
- Walk upright and look straight ahead when you walk down the street.
- Accept challenges and carry them out as if you fully trust your abilities. If you continue to be stuck in insecurity, you will never give yourself the opportunity to develop your potential. Instead, each time you try it you will discover that you are much more capable than you think, and your self-confidence will increase.
- Start setting limits even if you feel afraid. You may be afraid that others will reject you if you refuse their requests or express your opinion. Likewise, do it and tell yourself that it doesn’t matter if the other gets angry, it’s your right to take care of yourself.
Reinterpret your fears
Believe it or not, fear and excitement are caused by the same substance: adrenaline; and although psychologically both emotions are experienced differently, both have similarities at a biological level.
This means that it is theoretically possible to psychologically re-evaluate our anxiety responses and transform them into enthusiasm. This was confirmed by a study published in the Journal Experimental Psychology, where Dr. Alison Brooks separated a group of students into three subgroups and subjected each member to an activity that usually generates anxiety (an individual presentation while a jury evaluated them).
However, prior to the activity, a different instruction was given to each participant. In this case, the members of the first group were not told anything; while the second and third groups were asked to repeat aloud “I am calm” and “I am excited”, respectively.
The results show that the third group, those who tried to interpret their nerves as excitement rather than fear, performed significantly better on the task.
In this sense, it can be affirmed that people can reassess anxiety as enthusiasm, using minimal strategies such as internal dialogue (for example, saying “I am excited” out loud) or simple messages.
In other words, adopting an opportunity perspective, rather than a threat mindset, can make a difference in subsequent performance.
Self-confidence is built
Finally, be constant and persevering with these actions. All change requires time, and you will need a period of adaptation until these actions arise naturally from you. Remember that the path is made by walking and security is built by practicing it. Talk to yourself in a positive and constructive way, give yourself the necessary opportunities to develop your potential, and always put yourself at the top of your list of priorities.
