A person's self confidence is their ability to believe in
themselves. People with a high self confidence are optimistic,
assertive, and eager individuals ready to take on the world and
conquer the goals. On the other hand, people with a low self
confidence find themselves often distant and despondent,
constantly questioning themselves and often passive or
submissive.
Self confidence is the key to succeeding in your academic
pursuits, athletic activities, employment field, and private
life. Individuals that entertain a high sense of self confidence
usually go on to phenomenally succeed, whereas individuals with
a low sense of self confidence tend to be brought down by their
inner demons and fail.
The trap of low self confidence is extremely easy to fall into
and extremely difficult to remove yourself. That tiny voice in
the back of your
head that criticizes, questions, and insults
can easily grow louder and louder the more you listen.
Instead of traditional angel on one should and devil on the
other, someone with low self confidence finds the devil there
more often than not. Instead of boosting themselves up by
enjoying their accomplishments or congratulating themselves on a
job well done, individuals with low self esteem find their
shoulder devil is constantly picking and finding fault in the
midst of triumph.
They key to maintaining a high self esteem is positive
thinking. Individuals that think of themselves in a positive
light are more likely to have a higher self confidence than
those nay-sayers in the crowd. One way to remain positive and
keep and upbeat aura is to surround yourself with positive
people. Avoid individuals who criticize, nit pick, and put down.
These negative individuals are a sinking ship and will only
bring you down with them. By surrounding yourself with positive
people, you will find it easier to maintain your high sense of a
self worth and banish that devil from your shoulder. If you find
yourself in a situation where you must deal with individuals
with a negative outlook, confront them on the matter.
Often, office gossip, school yard taunts, or home issues bury
themselves deep within our minds and wreck havoc on our self
confidence. Instead of allowing yourself to be burdened by these
harmful words and thoughts, fight back! Refuse to stoop to their
level, but insist the back biting and drama cease with the
negative words.
This task is certain to be difficult and the easiest thing to
do is to walk away and let yourself moon over the hurtful words
and thoughts,
but the right thing to do is to attempt to put a
stop to the situation. If the individuals refuse to cease,
continue, or even worsen their actions, then break apart from
the trend. Unfortunately, this may mean ending relationships,
both personal and job related.
If you find yourself surrounded by so-called friends who
constantly make you feel poorly about yourself and lower your
self confidence, it might be time to part ways. Remember,
friends, family, and loved ones are supposed to make you feel
good about yourself and have your best interest at heart.
This is not always the case and friends by title alone can do
more harm than most enemies. Furthermore, personal relationships
can have the same--if not worse--affect on one's self confidence
level. Quite often, individuals in abusive relationships find
themselves despondent and upset about
their situation. If a
loved one is making you feel poorly about yourself by constant
criticism, abusive language, and distrusting actions, drastic
circumstances may be due.
Make the case for a change in the relationship and make your
loved one understand what his or her words, thoughts, or actions
do to your self confidence. If this fails, you may need to make
a painful break, but remember, your loved ones are supposed to
love and support you at all times. If someone is failing to do
so, they have not fulfilled their role in you life.
About the author:
Tony Robinson spent many years as a School Teacher and
Administrator. Always of concern was low self esteem and a lack
of confidence with some students. For more information visit
http://www.better-self-esteem.com
