Building Self-Confidence

Building Self-Confidence

'There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.'
-Shakespeare

The power of thought is the first step to self confidence and success. Positive thoughts produce positive attitudes. And the more often those thoughts are repeated, the stronger the attitudes become.

Tony Buzan in his book, The Power of Social Intelligence (2002) says that studies of brain cells confirm that once you have the thought, be it positive or negative, the probability of having that thought again is increased. Repetition of any thought increases the repetition of that thought. If we wish to have happier, more successful, confident lives, we need to make increasingly sure that our thoughts are positively directed towards others. This will increase the probability that they will feel positive towards us.

How do we ensure this?

Accept people, situations, circumstances and events as they occur. When you feel frustrated or upset by a person or a situation, remember that you are not reacting to the person or situation, but to your feelings about the person or situation. When you recognise and understand this, you are ready to take responsibility for your situation and for all the events you see as problems.

Take Responsibility. Don't blame anyone or anything for your situation, including yourself. Having accepted this circumstance, this event, this problem, responsibility then means the ability to have a creative response to the situation as it is now. All problems contain the seeds of opportunity, and this awareness allows you to take the moment and transform it to a better situation or thing.

Change your attitude for greater self confidence and success!
By Singapore Polytechnic