Many will say it comes naturally to them. Others will say they need to work for it and over time; it will build. Whilst some will say it doesn’t exist and they need to fight for the smallest amount of it.

In my role as a sales and management coach, I meet many people week in week out that have the skills and attributes to deliver amazing things. They have 90% of what’s needed to be great in their chosen field. The tools, the knowledge, the product and the firepower. They merely lack on being able to execute in key times of need. And much of this comes through a lack of self-confidence.

What’s most interesting about this is that most people are completely oblivious to the fact that there are a few simple strategies and techniques we can all put in place to immediately boost our self-confidence through the varying that way in which we approach our day-to-day. First, as a small disclaimer to this post, I am in complete agreeance that confidence will naturally be drawn out through knowledge and repetition. I don’t doubt that. But if I were to tell you that with a few simple changes to your life, this will help you to walk taller, be less fearful of those things that tend to easily rattle your nerves and bring about a boost in self energy that may help you overcome self-doubt – surely you would read on right?

In its purest form, self confidence is about trusting yourself. Having trust in yourself to succeed at new challenges, new opportunities or when faced with new tasks. At the core of this is the fact we need to work on elements that build trust in YOU. Trust in what you do. Trust in who you are. Trust in the way you approach life. We’ve all heard/read about the Law of Attraction in that having positive thoughts creates positive attraction to your life. The speaks volumes to self-confidence! You are what you think you are. Self confidence leads to successful experiences which ultimately cultivates greater trust in yourself.

So how do we do it?

Consider this list of eight. None are revolutionary. None of them will happen all by themselves. You need to commit. Commit to doing the small things and watch your confidence not only spike but, more importantly, sustain an upward trajectory. This list is a choose your own adventure – it’s not a recipe. Choose the ones that hold the greatest power to you and implement. Immediately.

1. Dress nicely more often. In the corporate world, have you ever noticed the difference in your productivity when you go to work on a casual day (jeans/tee) vs a day with meetings (corporate attire). Your mind is ON. Your confidence is sky high. You’ll feel good about yourself. You’ll feel successful and presentable and ready to tackle the world. Dressing nicely means something different for everyone … it doesn’t necessarily mean wearing a $500 outfit, but could mean casual clothes that are nice looking and presentable. Make the effort to dress to your desired outcome as often as you can.
2. Photoshop your self-image. Our self-image means so much more to us that we often realise. The mental picture we have of ourselves will determine how confident we are in ourselves. But this picture isn’t fixed. You can change it. Use your mental Photoshopping skills, and work on your self-image to create the 2.0 version of yourself. For example; I hand selected everything down to the minute details of how I wanted to be perceived in life – the way I talk, the way I dress, the way I eat, the way I look. If you don’t like something about who you are, make it an absolute priority to change it. Figure out why you see yourself in that way, and find a way to fix it.
3. Train yourself to constantly think positive. Often easier said than done. I get it. One of the things I struggled with when I moved out of the workforce and into full-time consulting was not knowing when the next pay cheque would land. This created fear which was built from negative thinking. From this, I conditioned my mind on how to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. When you can actually change your thought process, great things start to happen. So how do you do it? Learn to consciously be aware of your self-talk, the thoughts you have about yourself and what you’re doing. Recognise the negative self-talk and relentlessly eliminate it. When I was going through this time in my life I would imagine that a negative thought was a bug; like an annoying sand fly or a mosquito that I would vigilantly be on the lookout for. When I caught one, I would destroy it (mentally of course). Kill it dead. Then replace that thought with a positive one on my self-worth. (“C’mon, you know this stuff like the back of your hand!)
4. Know yourself better. When going into battle, the wisest army general would learn to know his enemy very, very well. You can’t defeat the enemy without knowing him intimately. And when you’re trying to overcome a negative self-image and replace it with self-confidence, the enemy is you. Get to know yourself well. Start listening to your thoughts. Start documenting the thoughts you have about yourself through a journal and analyse those thoughts that are negative and why they are there. Consider your limitations, and whether they’re true limitations or whether you’ve allowed your subconscious to place them there. Go deep on your thoughts and you’ll eventually come out with even greater self-confidence.
5. Speak slowly. Such a simple thing, but it can have a big difference in how others will perceive you. A person in authority, with authority, speaks slowly and with a clear agenda. It shows confidence. A person who feels that he or she may not provide much value will speak quickly as not to keep people waiting and instead get through their agenda quickly. Even if you don’t feel the confidence of someone who speaks slowly, try doing it a few times. It will make you feel more confident. Obviously, there is no need to take it to an extreme, but just don’t sound rushed either.
6. Change a small habit. Not a big one, like quitting smoking or stopping eating sugar. Just a small one, like writing all important things down. Or waking up 10 minutes earlier. Or drinking a glass of water when you wake up. Something small that you know you can do. Do it for a month. When you’ve accomplished it, you’ll feel like a million bucks.
7. Do something you’ve been procrastinating on. What’s on your to-do list that’s been sitting there for a week, a month or a year? Do it first thing tomorrow morning, and get it off your list! You’ll feel great about yourself, you’ll tick off a major task that seemed like it would never go away and you’ll start your day with a confident stride.
8. Clear your desk. This might seem like a small, simple, sometimes irrelevant thing (then again, for some people it might not be so small). But it has always worked wonders for me in re-charging my endorphins. If my desk starts to get messy, the world around me begins to look like it is in chaos. Clearing my desk is a little way of getting a little piece of life under control. It will create instant calm and confidence in your ability to be able to quickly get things under control when needed.

Repetition reaps self-confidence. Doing the little things consistently and making them strong habits should be the base line in working on building your self-confidence. For many, it’s the final piece of the puzzle in being the greatest version of yourself imaginable. So let’s get after it!

Live the life you love.