An important key to success is self-confidence.

You must be confident in yourself and in your ability to succeed.

You owe it to yourself, your business, your loved ones, your clients, to work on your biggest asset … YOU.

It may come as no surprise to learn that studies reveal men and women act and make decisions differently.

That men are genetically wired to be more confident, more risk-taking.

Whereas women are more risk-averse.

That men tend to overestimate their abilities and performance.

Whereas women tend to underestimate both.

Even though essentially there is no difference in the quality of their performances.

Of course, men do doubt themselves sometimes

But they don’t let their doubts stop them as often as women do.

That’s the bad news for women in the gender stakes.

The good news is that with work, confidence can be acquired.

Here are some strategies you can employ straight away to help you not just build, but radiate warmth and self-confidence.

Think positive

Your outlook towards the world colours your thinking.

Negative thoughts damage your self-esteem.

Feeling badly about yourself places you at greater risk of being depressed.

And dissatisfied with your life.

If you are experiencing frustration you need to convert that negative energy into positive determination.

Understand YOU

Get to know who you are as a person.

Become aware of your strengths and your weaknesses.

That way you can focus on those areas that need the most attention.

Manage your fear and anxiety of the unknown

Almost everybody worries about what will happen in the future.

The prospect of not knowing if something good or bad will happen to you can produce a lot of fear and anxiety.

A lack of self-confidence is simply a surplus of fear.

You don’t feel confident in your abilities because you fear the outcome.

To build self-confidence you need to pinpoint exactly what it is you fear.

With this knowledge, you can begin the process of overcoming it. 

 Preparation is key

Insecurity arises from being unprepared.

Don’t waste time talking yourself into “feeling” confident.

Instead, be more productive.

Get busy getting prepared.

The better you know your stuff, the more confident you will feel.

Set aside time to think through all the possible things that could happen.

And how you would respond to them.

It’s a matter of directing your attention away from anxiety and toward the actions you need to take.

Take action!

Doing nothing and just thinking about it will only make things worse.

You have to actually get up, go out there and do something.

Expand your comfort zone and try to take things one step at a time.

Practice present-moment gratitude

As you move through your day, pause every now and then to reflect on what you have achieved so far.

If you fall short of your deadlines resist the urge to pick out your flaws.

Do not beat yourself up.

Accept the fact that you are only human.

And in being human you are bound to make mistakes.

Don’t fear failure

Failure is a natural part of life.

Life is too short to let fear make big decisions for you.

It is not easy to overcome the fear of failure.

But once you build up the confidence to not let fear hold you back, you will achieve so much more.

Becoming a lifelong student of personal development has helped me to overcome many of life’s challenges.

If you found this article interesting, here’s another you might like to check out: UPGRADE YOUR FAITH TO MATCH YOUR VISION