Ideally, self confidence is something you develop early and
maintain throughout life. For many of us, though, that just
isn't the case - either the process of developing self
confidence is stymied early on, or we lose confidence because of
life events. Nowadays, it is relatively rare to meet someone who
is entirely satisfied with his or her self confidence.
Interestingly, this can also be true of people who might seem
(to the casual observer) to exude confidence - in fact, they can
even appear brash or
over-confident. Sometimes, this is just a
front for the lack of confidence that individual is hiding.
Developing self confidence is important, because a lack of
confidence can really hold you back. First of all, it can
manifest in a great variety of ways. Many people with poor self
confidence stay in unsatisfying careers because they don't
believe in themselves enough to think that they can do better.
Of course, this leads to a self-perpetuating problem - if you
aren't happy with what
you're doing, you are unlikely to be
working to your full capacity. Then, less than stellar results
from your work efforts reinforce the idea that you are a
mediocre or poor worker. Your self confidence naturally suffers
as a result. All of us deserve to know what it's like to work at
something we truly love.
Another frequent result of poor self confidence is addiction or
other self-destructive behaviors, such as eating disorders. Most
eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, result
from a
feeling that you are inadequate and that you need to be perfect
in order to accept yourself. As a result, some young women (who
are particularly susceptible to this type of problem) have
literally starved themselves to death. Developing self
confidence early on is probably the best defense against
developing addictions or eating disorders later on.
Finally, if you have poor self confidence, you are unlikely to
be enjoying fulfilling relationships with friends, partners or
family.
One thing that may happen is that you project your
negative self-worth onto someone else, often a child. You might
also be willing to put up with abusive behavior if your self
confidence is poor. All in all, developing self confidence is a
way to avoid a whole range of debilitating problems.
About the author:
Do you want the confidence to do everything you desire?
Learn to live your life with U
nstoppable Confidence
