Building your self-confidence is easy if you want to. But how can you even make it if you have no idea? There is a saying that you cannot lead people without self-awareness. You can’t be a good leader if you are not aware of your actions. Being a good leader lies in your strong character. When you have it, you give others hope and purpose. Your self-awareness also explains your success and failures. It also gives others a better understanding of who you are.
What is Self-Awareness?
Being self-aware means you pay attention to the way you think, feel, and behave. You are looking for patterns in the way you think or perceive what happens to you. It also means you understand your moods, emotions and instead of fixing them, you observe and stay curious about them even if it becomes problematic. Being self-aware also means you pay attention to how you behave in situations. In short, you are learning about your psychology.
But how can you build self-awareness? Does it happen overnight? Of course not. This post will talk about building self-awareness and how it can help you grow into a better person.
1. Meditate Everyday
Meditation is an excellent way to improve your self-confidence in the most relaxing way. When you meditate, you strengthen your moment-by-moment awareness [1]. You also improve your focus by practicing breathing exercises like inhaling and exhaling. Of course, you can choose how you meditate. You can meditate in the morning or at night.
While meditating, ask yourself these;
- What do I need to change?
- What am I trying to achieve?
- What are my goals today?
- What is slowing me down?
If you can answer these while you meditate, then you know what to do. You are self-aware, and that is an excellent start to the day.
2. Building your self-awareness tip #2: Write down your plans
Writing down what you want to do even for a day can make a difference. It will also keep track of your progress and achievements. Writing down your thoughts and plans gives you a better view of what you want and value. It also reflects what challenges you and what you can do to improve your situation to reach your goals and achieve your plans.
3. Know your triggers
Some people get annoyed by simple things, which eventually ruins their mood for the entire day. If you are the same, then knowing what triggers these emotions in you is crucial. Knowing what sets you off can help in developing your self-confidence.
When you understand the trigger, it’s easier for you to choose how to respond at that moment. For example, let’s say someone at work said something that means to you. Or, if you are a nurse, it could be something that a patient said that bruised your ego – taking a step back and thinking before responding is being self-aware. The more you practice this, the more confident you become.
4. Building self-awareness tip #4: Have honest friends
Finding people who understand you and asking for honest feedback from them can help improve your self-confidence. Honest feedback is always a refresher. Of course, we rarely ask people we know for fear of criticism, but you will never know what others think if you do not ask, right?
Don’t just rely on one person though, asking a range of people who will give you insight into who you are as a person. Evaluate the information you gathered and see what you can do to improve in general.
5. Know what makes you happy
Building your confidence is not only about identifying the negative triggers but also knowing what makes you happy. Would you rather be in a bad mood all day? Or stay happy and enjoy the moment?
The secret to this is to label your happiness and work out what makes you feel that way. Once you know these, plan activities and interactions that can help you feel this way again. Take it this way; life is short to be in a bad mood all the time. You might as well find joy in everything.
In Closing
Building your self-confidence is not an overnight journey. It takes years of discipline to achieve the kind of confidence you want truly. By practicing these five tips, you will surely meet your goals.
