Want to learn how to build confidence in 2024?
If so, you're not alone, yet so many people believe it's not possible. They think if they're not confident now, they never can be. Like it's a thing you're either born with or not. If you're one of those people, here's why you're wrong...
Because confidence isn't a thing. It's a skill.
I can't give it to you any more than I can give you fluency in a foreign language. You have to want the skill enough to cast aside your preconceived notions and (in keeping with my analogy) begin learning the alphabet, verb conjugations, and idioms necessary to become fluent in confidence. But no worries. You can do this!
How to Build Confidence and Make 2024 Your Dream Year.
Confidence is like a superpower that can transform you. It's the key to pursuing your dreams, speaking your mind, and living a happy, fulfilling life.
However, for many people, building and maintaining confidence can be a struggle. The good news is that confidence is not an innate trait but a skill that can be developed and nurtured.
And as you develop it, you can use it to confidently go after the life you want in 2024.
In this article, we'll explore actionable steps to help you boost your self-confidence and go after the life you really want.
1. Reconnect with the Person You Knew You Were at Age 8.
The first step in building confidence is understanding and appreciating yourself as you are (check out How to Build Confidence: The Answer is in Your Past.). Your strengths, your quirks, your successes, and your "failures" all contribute to the value you can add to the world. In fact, some of your greatest assets are your flaws and past mistakes, because they make you unique and wiser. Self-acceptance is the foundation of confidence because it frees you from the mistaken idea that you have to somehow fix or otherwise improve yourself before you have worthwhile value. Your value is in who you are, flaws, features, and all.
2. Understand Uppercase vs. Lowercase Confidence.
There are two kinds of confidence, and for all-around success you need to develop both. First is lowercase "C" confidence. This confidence is tied to skills, knowledge, and/or attributes. If you're going after big dreams in 2024, skills and knowledge will be important tools for your success. But to put your skills and knowledge out in the world, you'll also need to hone your uppercase "C" confidence. This is confidence in who you are, what's unique and therefor special about you, and your sense of entitlement to put yourself out there as you improve yourself. If you lack uppercase "C" confidence, no amount of working on your skills will improve it. So work toward improving both.
3. Develop Your Relationship Skills.
Believe it or not, uppercase "C" confidence skills are tied directly to relationship skills. Working on your relationship with yourself (liking and appreciating yourself), your relationship with your peers (feeling like an equal among them), and your relationship with the world and/or audience (you have something they need) will help you become a genuinely confident person in 2024.
4. Turn Your Flaws Into Features.
Don't feel like you have the experience and know-how that others in your field have? Instead of looking at the ways you lack, start looking at what you can offer that THEY lack. This is how you turn "flaws" into "features."
5. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences.
The people you spend time with can have a significant impact on your confidence. Surround yourself with supportive, positive individuals who believe in your abilities and goals. Avoid toxic relationships that drain your self-esteem. One of your first confident acts of power in 2024 can be standing up to, or walking away from, the people who bring you down.
6. Get Help if You Need It.
If you're struggling with confidence despite your best efforts, don't hesitate to seek out guidance, support, and techniques to help you overcome your challenges.
Consider scheduling a free consultation with me. No high-pressure sales. Just a great conversation with no obligation to continue beyond the session.