How to build Self Confidence?

I got a message through WhatsApp asking how to increase the self-confidence. Even though I had discussed this through my YouTube videos, I thought of sharing something I read in Dan Sullivan’s book.

When we are asked to do something that have never done, we feel scared and says, I will do it when I am confident about it. Most of the people won’t take an action until they feel confident about it, but confident is not something which can be created suddenly. It is an ability achieved through the continuous process called 4 C’s Formula.

1. Commitment
2. Courage
3. Capability
4. Confidence

Commitment

If you are going to do something, that you have never tried or something you want to achieve, declare publicly. It can be among your friends, relatives or colleagues. This will create a positive pressure in you to achieve what you declare. E.g. If you declare that you will improve your public speaking skill within a month. You have to use every small opportunity available to improve that skill. If your acquaintances know that you are working on it to become a skilled one within a month, you will be careful and cautious enough to achieve it, fearing that they will tease you.

Courage

Once you commit you need courage to do what you  have committed. The things you have done with comfort will be sometimes discarded to try new things. E.g. You usually prefer texting to speaking, and you are comfortable with it. But as your goal is to improve your public speaking skill you have to prefer one to one speaking as a step towards the public speaking skill. Many people stop here because going through this stage is difficult.

Capability

If you are willing to go through the courage stage, your capability increases. The first time when you started doing public speaking, it won’t be remarkable. Slowing avoiding the mistakes you had done will help you to improve the skill. Repeating the same thing many times may help you to be strong in the practised skill.

Confidence

Developing the capability will help you to reach this stage. With new confidence and capability, you will be able to commit bigger things and the process repeats.

By doing this you can build your self-confidence and achieve excellence in your life.