Self-confidence is a crucial ingredient for success. You need to believe in yourself - and the world around you - if you want to succeed. But how do you build that confidence? Just like adults don't gain it overnight, there's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but there are some smart steps we can take. Here are five:
1) Stop Doubting Yourself
In order to be confident in yourself, it's important that you start believing in your abilities. That means everything from focusing on your strengths rather than weaknesses to taking risks when they seem prudent and making mistakes when they're necessary.
You know you have to embrace yourself in order to grow as a person, but there's also something important for you to remember: you're only human, after all. So don't get too caught up in thinking that you're perfect or that things are always going to work out.
And while confidence is a good thing, it's okay to be a little bit shaken up by even the smallest setbacks; those moments when you feel like your confidence is being shaken are more than opportunities to grow and learn. They're an opportunity for your lifeblood: a chance for improvement.
2) Learn From Your Mistakes
One of the most powerful feelings in the world - and one of the most dangerous - is self-confidence.
If you're a confident person, you can accomplish a lot in life. But if you're too confident, you can also do a lot of harm. In fact, even when confidence doesn't lead to bad things, it's still important to learn from mistakes and to make them wiser.
For example, if you're feeling confident enough to take on an unfulfilling job or promotion at your job - even if that promotion is only temporary and you know that the position isn't going anywhere - then it's probably not wise for you to make the move.
But if you're confident about the move, then you shouldn't let that feeling be your only guide. If you feel like it will help make your life better, then you should go for it.
(And if you decide to go ahead and take the promotion in spite of that feeling of unease, remember to be reasonable about what's actually happening; there are so many ways to screw up on a huge project with so many moving parts.)
3) Learn How Not to Approach Things
One of the most confident people I've ever met was the founder of something called "Project X". He was able to turn an idea for a movie into a multimillion dollar company. He made it all the way to the Forbes 400.
And when I met him, he had his finger on the pulse of the entire tech world - and yet he didn't feel a bit of confidence going into one of those meetings; he was so afraid that he wouldn't be good enough that he came off as awkward and shy.
I don't know what all went on in his life to make him so confident, but I do know that if I were in that situation again, I would've tried to relax even if it wasn't easy.
I would've tried to figure out the most impactful way to approach the situation and I probably would've put more of my energy into figuring out the best way to handle things rather than trying not to feel awkward. It's also possible that if I were in his position, I wouldn't have accomplished things nearly as well as he has.
4) Recognize That You're Not Perfect
Sometimes, people forget that they're not perfect - especially when they're too confident. But this is one thing that's important for you to know: no matter what you accomplish in life, you are always going to be human.