No-one needs to be ‘stuck in a low confidence state. After all, your confidence level isn’t fixed. It can wax and wane over your lifetime. You may feel more confident at different stages of your life. Remembering this may help the next time that you experience a dip in your confidence.
The idea that confidence isn’t a permanent state isn’t new. Here are a few inspiring quotes that help explain how confidence rises and falls repeatedly throughout your life.
“Practicing positivity is like brushing our teeth – it doesn’t last, so we have to repeat often. That’s where the effort and practice come in.” – Tina Hallis.
Hallis expresses the importance of continuing to take steps to maintain your confidence. The strategies that you used months ago to boost your confidence may not leave a lasting impression. Continuing to use neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques gives you the tools to deal with setbacks and challenges.
For example, you can learn to challenge your negative self-talk, which is one of the main causes of a lack of confidence. Questioning your assumptions can help you see things from a different perspective. Challenging your beliefs can keep you from turning a minor concern into a major disappointment.
“The truth is bad things don’t affect us as profoundly as we expect them to. That’s true of good things, too. We adapt very quickly to either.” – Daniel Gilbert.
Gilbert makes a valid point about resiliency. People can adapt and move on from good and bad things surprisingly quickly. A negative outcome doesn’t need to have a lasting impact on your confidence. You can stop your mind from inflating the severity of the problem or placing too much blame on yourself. Each setback is a temporary issue that you can overcome by taking the time to evaluate your options.
You can also try reframing a setback as a learning experience. Dissociate yourself from the setback to look at it from an outside perspective. Use this perspective to identify the actions that led to the setback and the actions that you can take to solve it without any judgments.
“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.” – Ellen Langer.
According to this quote from Ellen Langer, your mindset directly influences your outcomes. You’re more likely to succeed when you believe in yourself. If you constantly doubt yourself, you’ll struggle to achieve success.
So, how do you believe in yourself when you lack confidence? You should first recognise your strengths. Make a list of the things that you’re good at. Focusing on positive thoughts can help reduce the impact of negative ones.
Other solutions include surrounding yourself with positive individuals, eating healthy, and getting adequate sleep. Treating your physical body well can boost your mental health.
Even the most confident people occasionally experience self-doubt. If you’re currently dealing with low self-esteem, remember that confidence isn’t a fixed state. Your confidence level can increase and decrease over time. Continue to challenge your negative self-talk and recognise that setbacks are temporary.
