Confidence is a Key to Success

Confidence is the belief in one’s ability to succeed. It is key when presenting yourself in business. Having ability is one thing, but believing in your ability is what allows you to truly accomplish your goals. If you present yourself as confident in your skills others will see that and will trust in it. Presenting yourself with honesty will also go a long way to build your network.
What many people don’t realize is that confidence is a skill that develops with awareness, practice and knowledge. The more you practice and the more knowledge you have about a product or service, the more confident you will be. Practicing positive mindset techniques will cause the positive to become ingrained. However, practicing negative mindset techniques will cause you to achieve negative results.
How do you build confidence? According to some psychological professionals, there are five keys to building confidence. Using any of them independently, can help, but using them all together, may help your confidence grow exponentially.

1. Preparation breeds confidence – Develop the knowledge, experiences, skillsets and support necessary to achieve goals. The more you learn and prepare, the better qualified you will be and, thus the more confident.
2. Mental skills – Create a mental toolbox to store the tools you will need to prepare to reach your goal. These tools will be available to help you work through any problems that might occur.
3. Adversity – Adversity can happen to anyone in a work environment, from a project you are under qualified for, to a negative workplace experience. How you handle the adversity is what matters. You need to adequately prepare by learning how to adapt to it, and making the necessary changes in how you relate to them.
4. Support – To achieve success, you need to develop a strong support system behind you. Make sure you have individuals in your life who will provide the boost you need to get over the hump.
5. Success validates confidence – Success demonstrates that the confidence you have in your ability is well founded. It rewards your efforts, strengthens your confidence, and encourages you to work hard and continue to develop your capabilities.

Being confident will allow others to see and appreciate your abilities and qualities.