Lack of confidence is an indication that you don’t know what you are doing or you are not sure of what you are doing
The lack of confidence also results from a feeling that you will make a mistake as a result of doing what you are not sure of, this could be a result of doing what you don’t know or something you are not good at
What is confidence?
Confidence is the feeling that you can trust, believe in, and be sure about the qualities of something or somebody
And being confident is when you are sure about your ability to do things and succeed at them.
Here are 9 practical ways to help you become confident in yourself;
1. Practice makes perfect
Well if you are unsure of something then you should practice it until you get the feeling that not only are you good at it but also a natural at it.
When you know you are good at something, the confidence will also come by itself
For example, if you fear public speaking, practicing public speeches will make you confident with time and for a start at least always say the opening prayer at public events
2. Learn what you don’t know
Sometimes the lack of confidence is a result of not knowing what you are doing
If you don’t know what you are doing, you are very much likely to be filled with self-doubt certainly because you are fully aware that you are not very much knowledgeable about what you are doing.
This can be fixed by learning the things you are not informed about which will, in turn, make you confident because you know what you are doing
For example as a student if you are not confident of passing an exam, the chances are high it’s because you didn’t read or understand what you read.
Deciding to read what you didn’t read and understand what you didn’t understand will make you confident about passing the exams
3. Test yourself before doing something you are unsure of
If you are not sure about something and you have self doubt that’s making you lack confidence
Then first practice it from somewhere or test yourself to be sure you can do it.
If you do all your tests right without failing or making mistakes, you will now be confident that you can do it
And if you make mistakes, correct them during the practice,
This will also make you confident because you would have rectified the possible mistakes leaving no room for errors to worry about
4. Let your previous failures be learning experiences
They say experience is the best teacher and that’s true. Just because you might have failed at something in the past, doesn’t mean you will always fail at it
Use your past experience as a learning tool not make the same mistake again but not as a reason to have your confidence dented
5. Believe in yourself
Believing in yourself is a core component of confidence because you can’t be confident if you don’t believe in yourself.
Self-doubt will actually make you prone to making mistakes because in your mind you will be anticipating yourself to make mistakes which you are likely to end up doing even if you know what you are doing
Believing in yourself creates a positive your mindset in your head that helps you succeed at what you are doing well as self-doubt will create a negative mindset about what could go wrong and at times things actually get wrong as anticipated
This also comes in the aspect that your actions will be influenced by your mind and thoughts
6. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Comparing yourself to others may instead make you start doubting yourself if you are good enough as you will tend to see others’ strengths against you own weaknesses which will make you lose confidence in yourself because you are likely to feel that you are not as good as the person you are comparing yourself to
7. Be positive in your mind and what you say.
Don’t use words like I can’t or am not good enough because these words will become your thoughts which thoughts will become your actions and in this case, your actions will be showcased by your lack of confidence
So you should always be positive that you can do something and you will be able to pick up confidence in yourself when you go ahead and do it
8. Face your fears one by one
You can make the list of things you fear in life and decide to face one at a time.
Overcoming some of these fears will help boost your confidence leaving you wondering what you were afraid of all along
For this to work you will need to understand your fears are and why you are actually afraid of whatever you are afraid of.
For example you could be afraid of exams because you fear failing them, this can be solved by reading for the exams which will give you confidence that you will pass them because you read all the possible topics that could be asked
Facing your fears with full knowledge about them also gives you confidence because you know what and not what do to overcome them
Conclusion
Confidence will always come to you naturally when you know what you are doing, and self-doubt is always going to come when you are unsure of what you are doing
