It’s Time to Unleash Your Inner Confidence

I am a confident person, however, it shouldn’t be a surprise that even confident people occasionally lack confidence. For me, it’s triggered when I’m about to try something new or enter a situation that is uncertain.

Becoming a mum for the first time really knocked my confidence. It felt like all eyes were on me to instinctively know what I should be doing. I was questioning myself regularly. What I’ve since learnt is that I should have just trusted myself and not been afraid to ask for help when I needed it.

If this wasn’t enough, my confidence had a further knock when I returned to work after maternity leave. This time I was under the illusion that I would be able to easily pick up from where I had left off. Wrong. Although everything looked the same, things had moved on whereas for me time had frozen. What I’ve learnt is, it takes time to build up the momentum after being away for so long and it’s best to show yourself some self-compassion.

You see, confidence is a powerful attribute that when nurtured can positively impact every aspect of our lives, from our relationships and careers to our personal well-being.

It’s that unwavering belief in ourselves and our abilities that propels us to take risks, pursue our dreams and overcome challenges. However, many of us, including me, struggle with confidence at times, facing self-doubt, fear of failure and negative self-talk. It’s during those times that the volume from our inner critic, in my case Vera, gets turned up.

The good news is that confidence is not a fixed trait, but rather a skill that can be cultivated and developed with intentional effort. It’s about nurturing your inner confidence and creating a strong sense of self that will allow you to deal with whatever may come your way.

So, whether you’re starting a new chapter of your life, looking to enhance your relationships or simply seeking to boost your self-esteem, let me share with you some tips that will help.

Identify your confidence blocks

Confidence blocks are internal or external obstacles that hinder your self-assurance and prevent you from reaching your full potential. Your blocks can be triggered from many sources such as past experiences, negative self-talk, societal pressures or limiting beliefs.

So take the time to identify what they are and the best way you can overcome them, which may be through self-reflection, mindset shifts, setting realistic expectations, challenging limiting beliefs and developing healthy coping strategies.

Cultivate self-awareness

Cultivating self-awareness is the foundation of personal growth. It involves being in tune with your thoughts, emotions and behaviours and understanding how they impact your actions and relationships. Self-awareness allows you to make conscious choices, align with your values and respond to challenges with resilience.

Becoming self-aware takes time and never stops. Being self-aware is enlightening and helps to make life feel easier and allows you to break free from negative patterns.

Develop positive self-talk

Developing positive self-talk is essential for building confidence and self-esteem. It’s about consciously replacing negative thoughts and self-criticism with empowering and uplifting language. All of which, again, takes practice.

Positive self-talk will boost your self-belief, encourage self-compassion and foster a growth mindset.

By reframing negative thoughts into positive affirmations and using kind, supportive language towards yourself, you can cultivate a positive self-talk practice that promotes self-confidence, self-worth and self-assurance.