Find confidence within!
Weekly Wellbeing Workout
Finding confidence is a subject that I am being curious about on a week where I will be stepping up and delivering part of my mental fitness programme at two separate events.
We often talk about confidence with the assumption that we have a shared understanding of what it means and how to achieve it. Yet it will look and feel different to each of us and its presence might create a different result in our lives. Finding the inner strength to speak up about something important, trying something new, standing your ground, taking action - and using the experiences as feedback to progress towards mastery. I think about confidence as the juice to jazz your thinking, being, and doing in more powerful ways.
By my definition, confidence can be cultivated by choosing courage over comfort. Brene Brown talks about being scared and brave at the same time when we get 'in the arena', that space where we risk uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
Of course, confidence can be circumstantial. In some situations, I feel super calm and confident - like when I try a physically challenging activity or hold my own in social situations. In other contexts, I can feel small, quiet, and uncertain.
My opportunities to grow my confidence will come this week from my keynote speech at the Professional Speakers Association, from my workshop at Microbusiness Unite 2023 and being shortlisted for North East & South Tyneside Awards.
Your challenge this week ...
Think about what being confident means to you - what does it look like when you feel confident, and what is possible as a result? Do something that helps you tap into your confidence within.
Polly Prescription for Confidence
Let a strong self-story become your truth
Choose a strong and helpful message about who you are and what you bring to the world. Start it with I am ...Get to know yourself
Spend time getting to know who you are and what your key values are. Stand by them.Do Confidence to feel Confident
Don't wait to feel confident to try new things, do things that scare you to become confident. Alternatively, do confident actions and allow this to influence how you feel. Some call this 'fake it to become it'.Have Courage
Say yes to situations that scare you that will help you achieve your goals. Trust that your capability will grow from this. Repeat.Embrace Failure
Remember that the more you take risks, the greater the likelihood of failure. Accept yourself as a work in progress, learn the lessons, dust yourself down, and continue to fail forward.Celebrate your triumphs on a regular basis
Make a habit of writing yourself a brag letter congratulating yourself for your progress where it is truly due. Read it regularly and say it out loud.Spend time with people who believe in you
They will encourage you, and cheer you on.I love helping people from all walks of life find and strengthen confidence. Get in touch for a complimentary half-hour slot to help you work on this.
Let's Go!
Some Inspirations
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win but think you can't
it’s almost certain that you won’t.
If you think you'll lose, your lost
For out of the world, we find,
success begins with your will
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise,
You have got to be sure of yourself
before you can ever win the prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the strongest or fastest woman or man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
