I've been coaching for a few years now, and the biggest thing I've learned - both for me and for my clients - is that confidence is the key to it all.
There are all kinds of strategies, ways of thinking, patterns of behavior and practical tips for improving your life and feeling better about yourself, but they’re all redundant if the foundation isn’t there. That foundation is the real you – your authentic self. The trick is that it takes confidence to find that and to bring out who you are – here are two keys to real confidence.
1. Get To Know Your Values
Personal values are a big passion of mine and I often get carried away with myself when I talk about them. I make no apology for that though – they’re one of the most important things you can know about yourself and are vital in getting genuine confidence. Your values are ten thousand feet down inside you, right at the very core of who you are; and they’re the building blocks, the foundations and cornerstones for you. A value is something in yourself, in others or in the world that’s most important to you, and could include things like beliefs, family, fun, nature, achievement or freedom.
Why is it that some people, situations and even workplaces leave you feeling angry, frustrated, demotivated or deflated? It’s often because one or more of your values is being denied, suppressed or repressed – and we experience that as a negative experience because it’s denying a fundamental piece of who you are. You know those times when you’ve felt really alive, amazing or buzzing? Those are the times when one or more of your values are being honored. Living in alignment with your values is really energizing.
Your values are all yours. No matter what happens, no one can ever take them away. You can have absolute confidence in them because they are there all the time waiting for you to notice and use them. When you get to know your values, you can start to make choices and align your life around them. It’s so simple and it feels amazing because all that really means is that you’re allowing who you are to live in the real world.
2. Exercise the Muscle
Confidence is a muscle, and like any muscle, you need to exercise it so that it doesn’t shrink and waste away. The problem is that unlike your biceps or glutes, which tend to stay in the same place, your confidence muscle can be harder to find. How do you develop your biceps or firm up your glutes? By doing exercises that are designed to work that muscle over a period of time until you see the results you want.
It’s just the same with confidence. Let’s say you’re the kind of person who doesn’t take many risks, the kind of person who goes through each day doing what needs to be done and doing it well, but not really stretching yourself. You might talk yourself out of doing something because it’s too scary or because you think to yourself “I’m not good enough,” “that’s not who I am,” or “what will others think of me?” That kind of person lives within what they know and what keeps them safe and comfortable. The fewer risks they take, the less confident they need to be and so the less confident they become.
To work your confidence muscle, you need to be prepared to take risks – big or small. You need to be willing to stretch yourself in an unfamiliar direction, to try something new or try something in a slightly different way. You need to open yourself up to the possibilities around you and push yourself to increase what you know, what you do and who you are. The more open you are to risk, opportunity and possibility, the more confident you need to be, and the more confidence you will develop. That’s your confidence muscle – the question is, what are you going to do to exercise it?
Work with me
Need some help building that confidence muscle? I work with women all the time who are looking for a partner to help them take that next courageous step with confidence. Click here to schedule a time so we can talk about building your confidence this year.