A Single Strategy to Eliminate Low Confidence

Confidence is how we talk to ourselves. This simple explanation is the best I know and it comes from mental skills maven, Dr. Michael Gervais. Dr. Gervais has worked with the world’s greatest performers and his articulation of confidence is both effective and elegant.

What does this mean for people with low confidence? 

The way I see it is that low confidence presents itself when we either talk to ourselves poorly and/or don’t trust the person speaking when we speak positively about ourselves. In either case, the best way to build confidence is to build trust with one’s self. How?

Nothing builds trust like a track record of trustworthiness. Let’s put this notion to the test. Imagine the most genuinely confident person in the world. You might agree that his or her confidence emanates from a consistent ability to say they want to do something and then, despite the odds against it, they find a way to pull through. I’d trust myself if I continually lived up to my own commitments.

While you might agree with me so far, but the idea of becoming more confident may still feel improbable or far away. Here’s the one thing you can do:

Put a “W” on the board. 

That’s right… get a win! Say you’re going to do something and then do it! It sounds silly, but I think we can agree that a great way to lose confidence is to attempt something and fail at it. So, do the opposite! Start small and start stacking wins. Soon you’ll be on a winning streak and you might just gain the confidence that people on winning streaks have!