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“Whether an illness affects your heart, your arm or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there shouldn’t be any distinction… we should make it clear that getting help isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of strength.” - Michelle Obama
The link below directs you to the presentation used for the “Building Confidence” workshop that took place on July 30th, 2022. This presentation went over the definition of confidence, what confidence looks like, and tips to become more confident. For a more detailed transcript of the presentation, continue scrolling down.
Building confidence is a part of emotional self-care. The definition of confidence is trust in your ability to control your life and believing that you are capable of successfully meeting the demands of a task. To be confident is to embrace who you are and be comfortable with your strengths and weaknesses.
Oftentimes, feeling confident is easier said than done. According to Psychology Today, approximately 85% of people worldwide have issues with self-esteem. That is about 6.59 billion of us who struggle with confidence. Realize that you are not alone if you do, but it is important to work on overcoming low self-esteem issues. Self-confidence can lead to a greater sense of overall mental health and wellness, as well as more successes in life. It can help you achieve your goals in both your professional and personal life when you learn to love and accept yourself.
Let’s figure out what confidence looks like. Of these 12 options, 6 of them are characteristics of a confident person. Do you know all 6?
Decisive
Open-minded
Judgmental
Compassionate
Blames others
Recognizes mistakes
People-pleaser
Arrogant
Gossips
Makes excuses
Asks for help
Optimistic
Stop comparing yourself to others.
People have the tendency to compare themselves, usually in a form of a hierarchy. Especially on social media, you might see someone who’s out traveling or celebrating their new successes. It might make you feel that you’re missing something in your life or that you’re behind. Competitiveness can motivate us to do better, but it can also lead to stress and harms our mental health. It causes feelings of jealousy. The more envy you have, the worse you feel about yourself. Instead, be aware of the impact social comparisons have on you, and try to focus more on things you can control in your own life. If you did something good, hype yourself up and take credit for your achievements.
Practice confident body-language.
People usually project the way they feel. If you want to build confidence, you have to act and look confident. Confident body-language means making eye contact, standing up straight, breathing deeply, and shaking someone’s hand firmly. Practice power poses where you act as if there’s nothing in the world that can intimidate you.