 Confidence
Crisis - Overcoming Your Inner Blocks
By Caterina Rando
No matter how much you earn, how fast you find yourself expanding your
organization, or how much satisfaction your gain from your business, you can
have a confidence crisis. Even women with high self-esteem and
self-confidence can suffer from a confidence crash. Sometimes, things happen
that knock the confidence right out of us.
At times, our confidence is already shaky as a result of a transition or
loss, and a single incident like missing a deadline, getting a bad haircut,
or spilling coffee on a document can send us storming out of the confidence
café. When you crash, it is usually because your daily diet of life has not
included enough “confidence foods”. Confidence is like Vitamin C, you need
it in your diet and it needs to be replenished regularly. Take
responsibility for planning your confidence meals and make sure you have a
large enough portion.
When you have a confidence crisis, don’t despair. Don’t reach for the bottle
of bourbon or the bonbons. Instead, start to use some of these
confidence-boosting techniques. You will gain a lot more than confidence -
you will learn to love, honor and appreciate yourself more and more.
Keep a Journal - Keeping a journal is a great way to process and
clarify your feelings. Forcing yourself to write everyday also forces you to
take time for daily reflection. Daily reflection can help you solidify what
you know, what you have learned, and what you still need to pay attention
to.
Show Gratitude - Practice Gratitude - be thankful for what you already
have and put your attention on all the blessings you already possess. Keep a
gratitude section in your journal. Everyday, write down five things you are
thankful for. This will help you feel richer and stronger in character and
that translates into confidence.
Evaluate Your Relationships - Assess the relationships in your life.
Do they support you or sabotage you? All relationships change with time;
some get better, some get worse. If you have relationships in your life that
are more of a burden than a joy, it may be time to sever your ties - or at
least loosen the reins.
Start New Relationships - Identify people that have the qualities you
admire - people you feel you could learn from and who could learn from you,
as well. Look for people you can have fun with. Boosting your confidence can
be really fun, if you want it to be.
Get Into a Good Group - This may be the time for a traditional
support group. Organize your own group of confidence boosters and support
each other in making changes.
Change Your Behavior - What do you do that boosts your confidence and
what do you do that brings it down? Exercise, getting enough sleep, speaking
your mind and dressing well are behaviors that tend to boost confidence.
Staying up late, spending all your time with Ben and Jerry, and saying “yes”
too often to avoid confrontation when you really want to say “no”, will
bring your confidence down.
Speak Up - When we withhold communication because we are afraid of
how we will be received, we chip away another bit of our confidence. Share
your thoughts, opinions, and preferences. Speak up in all situations. The
insignificant situations will be practice for the important occasions that
are sure to follow.
Take a Risk a Day - A risk is something you would do in an instant if
you knew you would be successful. It is the fact that you do not know how it
will turn out that makes it a risk. The best way to bolster your confidence
is to start doing things you are afraid to do. Make a list of risks for you
and start to do them one by one.
Sometimes, it takes a few days to boost your confidence; sometimes, it takes
a few weeks. Occasionally it can take a few months to overcome a confidence
crisis. Know that if you are consistent with your confidence boosting
techniques, you will eventually find yourself renewed, stronger and more
confident. Your new vitamin C will infuse your life with brighter, fresh and
more positive outlook.
Caterina Rando, MA, MCC coaches women entrepreneurs & direct sellers
to succeed with ease. She can be reached at 800.966.3603. Visit
www.caterinar.com
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