Confidence in oneself reveals our comfort with who we are. It is natural for us to be intimidated by alien surroundings, dominant people or difficult situations. Therefore, we need to train ourselves to remain calm yet assertive, even in situations that do not allow us to remain comfortable. To develop self-confidence, you will require skill-building in how you look and sound, how you communicate, and how you deal with difficult situations and people.
1. See Yourself from Others’ Eyes
We have a self-image that is our projection of how we look and who we are. Most of the time, our self-image is different from how others see us. To find out whether you are self-confident or not, or to what degree, you need to see yourself through the eyes of others. Observe how others treat you. You may even ask those close to you for an honest opinion.
2. Work on Your Looks
Do an experiment. Mark the difference in how you perceive yourself when you are shabbily dressed and when you are smartly dressed. You subconsciously give your mind a visual feedback when you are dressed well. It enhances your confidence in yourself.
3. Sound Confident
We can astound ourselves by the extent to which we can change our lives by training ourselves. Communication is one of them. You can train yourself to communicate confidently. Practice what to say and how to say it in particular settings. Prepare your words for meetings, especially if you are nervous about how it will go.
4. Feel That You Deserve
People who lack confidence often think that they do not deserve whatever they are getting or what they have. They shy away from people, feel uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, and avoid newness. To overcome nervousness when at a certain place or with certain people, you need to feel that you deserve to be where you are. Believe that you belong to that place and you will feel yourself growing comfortable and regaining your confidence.
5. Prepare to be in Control
Be it giving public presentations, interviews or talks, preparation — both mental and physical — is necessary for you to be confident. There may be challenges that you will need to face or things that may go wrong. Keep a backup plan to ensure that you are in control all the time. Explore possibilities and practice how you would react to certain situations or people.
Even a purely imaginative exercise can help you to feel more in control of your surroundings because you then believe that you are equipped to handle any sudden or unpleasant occurrence.