An important part of developing self-confidence is acknowledging your strengths and getting to know yourself on a deeper level. Confidence develops from creating thinking habits that help you believe in yourself, including the ability to hold onto positive experiences while letting go of negative ones. Our perception and feelings about ourselves are directly correlated to our performance and behavior affecting everything we do. Ability and effort also interact in determining performance; in most instances, they are compliments, so that a higher self-confidence enhances the motivation to act. Easier said than done though, right? Let’s delve into a few ways to build the foundation for gaining self-confidence:

Be self-aware and committed to evaluating your self-talk and perceptions of your abilities. When people expect to fail, they fail, and failure leads to more failure. On the flip side, when we act as our own cheerleader, we are committing to the expectation of success and the expected outcomes.

Confidence can be gained from developing personal rules. The sustainability of rule-based behavior creates trust within oneself. Developing a self-reputation over your own willpower is powerful and can account as your “personal rules.” For example, setting guidelines regarding your diet, exercise regimen, resolution, moral or religious precepts, exploring your why, etc. A clear understanding of yourself will lead to a healthy sense of confidence, where you won’t fall victim to extremes of either inferiority or pride.

Your confidence is an emotion that is expressed by knowing who you really are. So date yourself! This could seem like an overwhelming task, but the most important place to begin is at the source: YOU. This can be challenging because we are so busy doing that we often forget about being. You can start by journaling, reading, practicing mindfulness or yoga. As you recenter and get to know yourself you will discover a newfound desire furthering your confidence journey.