By Richard Crawford Small – an Amazon #1 Bestselling Author and award-winning business consultant.
If the last year has taught us anything it’s how unpredictable life, and business, can be. Many businesses that were previously on a winning trajectory have seen production, output and profits nosedive.
Personal experience as well as my work as a business consultant has taught me what a huge impact setbacks such as this can have on your confidence which is why I have observed and these five life changing things that can be done to improve your confidence. The impacts will undoubtedly help you at work and in business, but also in life as a whole.
1. Use language positively
I’ve lost count of the number of times I speak to people who are running a business but the way they talk about the product or service they offer doesn’t come across positive enough and as a result they appear very unconfident.
Ultimately all businesses are selling something, whether it’s a product or service, so if the language you use about yourself and your business aren’t positive, then your client won’t be filled with the confidence that you can deliver what you’re promising. For example: ‘When we re-open after lockdown I think we’ve got everything in place to manage OK so we should be alright with revenue.’
Now compare that statement to this one:
‘When we relaunch after lockdown we’ve rebuilt our systems to maximise our efficiency meaning we can serve more people and there’s no limit to the profits we can make.’
Although only a slight tweak of language has been done in the second sentence it conveys a wholly different and more positive picture, which will fill your investor/client/customer with confidence as well as yourself.
2. Keep a brag file
A brag file is a list of all your successes. Whether it’s a chalkboard on the wall or a spreadsheet on your laptop, by keeping a record of all your successes, even the tiny ones, then gradually your confidence will be boosted. It’s also helpful practically to have this all in one place in order to remind yourself of just how much you’ve achieved and how far you’ve come, especially on days when things feel daunting or you’ve faced a knockback.
3. Focus on what you want to achieve
People use different words to describe this such as manifest, visualise, dream. Whatever you call it it’s a great tool to use to help you focus on what you really want and then work towards that goal. You can write it down or draw a picture of it if it helps, or some people prefer to record themselves talking about it on their phone and play it back to themselves when they lose focus. Pick the method that works best for you and notice how much more confident you feel when you’ve got a specific goal in sight.
4. Make ‘yes’ your default response
Instead of deliberating when you’re asked if you can do something, practice saying ‘yes’ before you say anything else. Say it with conviction and then work out how you’ll do it afterwards! If your initial response is to um and arr in front of colleagues or clients, not only will you feel unconfident but you’ll appear to. By training yourself to say ‘yes’ you’ll feel more confident in your ability and also push yourself to then work out how to achieve more rather than creating limits. Make sure you DO actually want to do it though!
5. Believe in yourself
It sounds simple but if you don’t really believe in your ability and what you can achieve then no one else will either. For some people they can improve their self-belief through meditation or yoga, others find post-it notes with words of reassurance helpful. This is a hugely undervalued concept which I really can’t emphasise enough how important it is. Once you really believe that you can achieve anything that you set your mind to, your confidence, or lack of it, will stop inhibiting you.
About the expert
Richard Crawford Small is an Amazon #1 Bestselling Author and award-winning business consultant. He helps ethical businesses to develop by using proven techniques to help maximise the efficiency of their existing business and then grow using sound ethical principles. Learn more at www.richardcrawfordsmall.com