How to Boost Your Self-Confidence Easily

If you’re looking for ways you can become more confident

IF you want to know some practical strategies to become more confident

If you are not sure why you are lacking confidence

Read on…

Not everyone is born with a high level of self–confidence. Sometimes it can be hard to develop confidence, whether because of personal experiences that have caused you to lose confidence or suffering from low self–esteem.

There are a couple of handy things you can do to build your confidence. Some of these are just little changes to your frame of mind, and others are things you have to work on for a bit longer to get used to them.

Top tips for building self–confidence

Take pride in what you have already achieved.

Sometimes it can be easy to focus on what you haven’t done. It’s easy to lose confidence if you feel like you haven’t achieved anything. Focusing on stuff you have done, big or small, can help gain perspective on all your talents and abilities.

Write down a list of all the things you’re proud of in your life. Think of things you have achieved, whether it’s getting a good mark on an exam or even learning to ride a bike. Keep this list close and add to it when you do something you’re proud of. When you’re low in confidence, pull this list out and celebrate the things you’ve achieved so far.

Think of the things you’re good at. Everyone has strengths and talents, what are yours? Have a look at our fact sheet on strengths and work out how you can build on yours. Recognising what you’re good at and trying to build on those things can be a really valuable way of building confidence in your own abilities.

Set some goals.

Set some goals and aim to achieve them. By proving to yourself that you can get stuff done, you’ll prove to yourself what you’re capable of achieving. They don’t have to be big goals; they can even be things like baking a cake or planning a night out with friends.

Just little things that can be ticked off a list and help you gain self–confidence in

your ability to get stuff done.

Talk yourself up.

You’re never going to feel confident if you have a negative commentary running through your mind telling you you’re no good. Think about your self–talk and how that might be affecting your self–confidence. Have a read of our fact sheet on self–talk to get some handy tips on turning your negative self–talk around.

Get a hobby.

Try to find something that you’re really passionate about. Do you like playing footy? Like building model trains? Think of some of the stuff you’re really interested in and commit yourself to giving them a go. Finding stuff that you’re passionate about will help you find stuff that you’re good at. Chances are, if you’re interested or passionate about a certain activity you’re likely to be good at it as well. It can also be a skill you can master, something that will inevitably give you higher self–confidence.

Talk to someone about it.

Not everyone is going to be able to make you feel better about yourself. In fact, there are some people in the world who will purposefully try and lower your self–confidence. But if you can find someone that you trust who will tell you honestly what you’re good at and who you can talk to about your self–confidence, go have a chat with them. This might be a friend, a parent, a teacher or a counsellor.

› Take comfort in the fact that gaining confidence takes time

› Read real–life battles with confidence

› Find out more about working on confidence and other self–talk

Confidence can be a tough thing to build on but we have some handy tips that just might help you out. Things like listing what you’ve already achieved, or finding a hobby can be a really great way of building self–confidence. If these strategies don’t help, you might have to dig a bit deeper for ways of building yourself up.

Sometimes the quick fixes don’t help in the long term. If you’re feeling really bad and things just don’t seem to be getting better, it might be worth going to talk to someone who knows how to build you up.

Professionals like counsellors and psychologists have some really good strategies that can help you build up your confidence. Not only that, but they may able to help you find the underlying problem that might be causing you to feel bad about yourself.

How To Get Over Rejection

Being dropped happens to all of us at some point. Learning some simple ways to deal with rejection is really helpful. Sometimes we just need to grieve, listen to melancholic songs, eat delicious food, wallow a while, and then put things in perspective.

Rejection is an extremely painful aspect of life. Yet, it need not be a tragedy.

Here are some tips to lessen the impact of rejection and help you get back up on your feet:

How A Mind Came Back to Life - From A Deep Coma

Imagine being unable to say, "I am hungry," "I am in pain," "thank you," or "I love you,” — losing your ability to communicate, being trapped inside your body, surrounded by people yet utterly alone.

For 13 long years, that was Martin Pistorius’s reality. After contracting a brain infection at the age of twelve, Pistorius lost his ability to control his movements and to speak, and eventually he failed every test for mental awareness. He had become a ghost.

But then a strange thing started to happen — his mind began to knit itself back together. In this moving talk, Pistorius tells how he freed himself from a life locked inside his own body.

Martin Pistorius is a South African freelance web designer, developer, and author, best known for his 2011 book Ghost Boy, in which he describes living with locked-in syndrome and being unable to move for 12 to 14 years.  He began losing voluntary motor control and eventually fell into a coma for three years. He began regaining consciousness around age 16 and achieved full consciousness by age 19, although he was still completely paralyzed with the exception of his eyes.

He was unable to communicate with other people until his caregiver Virna van der Walt noticed that he could use his eyes to respond to things she said. She sent him to the University of Pretoria for testing, where they confirmed he was conscious and aware of his surroundings.

His parents then gave him a speech computer, and he began slowly regaining some upper body functions. In 2008 he met his wife Joanna through his sister Kim and in 2009 the pair was married. He co-wrote his autobiography Ghost Boy with Megan Lloyd Davies, which was published in 2011. As of 2011, Pistorius has regained limited control over his head and arms but still needs his speech computer to communicate with others.

Hear this miraculous tale straight from the horse’s mouth :

Six Movies That You Must Watch This Teachers Day

Because -

of the indelible mark they have left on our lives.
they implant a thirst for knowledge in us that grow forever.
they inject human values into us.
they shape and mould future world citizens.

Happy Teachers Day to all you Wonderful Teachers!

The Inspirational 93 year old yoga teacher

"If you have the right attitude, whatever happens to you in life, if you have the right attitude you will cope," says 93-year-old Iyengar yoga instructor, Vivien Vieritz. (ABC Multiplatform :Janel Shorthouse)

Age is no barrier for this 93-year-old yoga teacher. Vivien Vieritz has been practicing yoga for 60 years and teaching it for 50.

In her years of practicing yoga, she has perfected the poses and impressed world renown yoga guru Bellur Krishnamachariar Sundararaja Iyengar with her head stands.

"It's quite an honor to be a teacher; to help people to help themselves with posture and I really believe that everyone should do yoga for strength as they get older.

"I am so strong I cannot believe it myself. Two weeks ago I square danced all afternoon for three hours and my partner was a young man of 26. I was the envy of all the ladies in the club," says Vivien with a laugh.

"And then that night I did ballroom dancing for four hours with another 26 year-old. He's about six-foot and I'm about four-foot and nothing.

"I just have so much fun and I just think I'm so lucky and I'm so pleased that years ago I got into yoga."

A Caboolture resident, Vivien says she was the second yoga teacher on the Sunshine Coast - the first being a German lady who moved to Australia during World War II.

"I'm an Iyengar yoga instructor, so it's not easy yoga, I teach a lot of the Iyengar postures and I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

"I encourage the people to do the postures correctly and I really enjoy teaching.

"I like people to work to their full capacity and always feel like they're going a bit further than their comfort zone because that's when you really experience yoga."

Vivien says yoga has kept her strong and flexible.

"I can still do cartwheels and splits and head stands and hand stands. When I tell people that they nearly fall over, they really don't believe me. They think I'm telling fibs.

"I love doing the headstand, I'm just so comfortable, I feel like what Mr. Iyengar looks," says Vivien cheekily.

"Getting a compliment from Mr. Iyengar ...well that's the most unusual thing I have ever experienced.

"After rousing at 14 other people on the stage in Sydney, Mr. Iyengar complimented my headstand... he said 'well, at last, we have a decent headstand'. And I couldn't believe it," recounts Vivien.

"His assistant said it was the first time he has ever complimented anyone, because he never compliments anyone, no matter how good they are."

Vivien shares her motto for life

For a healthy mind and body, Vivien recommends a weekly dose of yoga.

"I actually feel the same way as I did in my fifties and sixties. I just do what I want to do, whatever it is, nothing is impossible, only to those who believe it is.

"That is my motto, and it's a good motto for everybody.

"If you think you can do something, try it, have a go, my magic word is attitude. If you have the right attitude, whatever happens to you in life, if you have the right attitude you will cope," says Vivien.

Donating every dollar she collects from her classes to give to charities, Vivien says she will teach yoga until she's called away.

"I don't think about stopping, it hasn't entered my head, so I think I'll be teaching right up until the last, whenever that is... and it could be a little while yet I hope.

"Please get into yoga and keep it up for the rest of your life," says Vivien enthusiastically.

The 16 Habits of Creative People

Many people believe that creativity is inborn and only a chosen few are creative. While it is true that creativity is inborn, it is not true that only a chosen few are creative.

Everyone is born creative. In the process of growing up, educating yourself and adapting yourself to your environment, you slowly add blocks to your creativity and forget that you had it in the first place.

The difference between a creative person and a person who is not so creative is not in the creativity that they were born with but in the creativity that they have lost.

How can you enhance your creative ability? One possible way is to observe the habits of creative people, identify the ones that you feel will work for you and then make a plan to cultivate them.

Here are 16 habits of creative people. If you cultivate some of them, you will feel an increase in your level of creativity. In the process, you will also feel tickled by life!

1. Creative people are full of curiosity.

Creative people are wonderstruck. They are tickled by the newness of every moment. They have lots of questions. They keep asking what, why, when, where and how.

A questioning mind is an open mind. It is not a knowing mind. Only an open mind can be creative. A knowing mind can never be creative.

A questioning stance sensitizes the mind in a very special way and it is able to sense what would have been missed otherwise.

2. Creative people are problem-friendly.

When there is a problem, some people can be seen wringing up their hands. Their first reaction is to look for someone to blame. Being faced with a problem becomes a problem. Such people can be called problem-averse.

Creative people, on the other hand, are problem-friendly. They just roll up their sleeves when faced with a problem. They see problems as opportunities to improve the quality of life. Being faced with a problem is never a problem.

You get dirty and take a bath every day. You get tired and relax every day. Similarly, you have problems that need to be solved every day. Life is a fascinating rhythm of problems and solutions.

To be problem-averse is to be life-averse. To be problem-friendly is to be life-friendly. Problems come into your life to convey some message. If you run away from them, you miss the message.

3. Creative people value their ideas.

Creative people realize the value of an idea. They do not take any chance with something so important. They carry a small notepad to note down ideas whenever they occur.

Many times, just because they have a notepad and are looking for ideas to jot down, they can spot ideas which they would have otherwise missed.

4. Creative people embrace challenges.

Creative people thrive on challenges. They have a gleam in their eyes as soon as they sniff one. Challenges bring the best out of them – reason enough to welcome them.

5. Creative people are full of enthusiasm.

Creative people are enthusiastic about their goals. This enthusiasm works as fuel for their journey, propelling them to their goals.

6. Creative people are persistent.

Creative people know it well that people may initially respond to their new ideas like the immune system responds to a virus. They’ll try to reject the idea in a number of ways.

Creative people are not surprised or frustrated because of this. Nor do they take it personally. They understand it takes time for a new idea to be accepted. In fact, the more creative the idea, the longer it takes for it to be appreciated.

7. Creative people are perennially dissatisfied.

Creative people are acutely aware of their dissatisfactions and unfulfilled desires. However, this awareness does not frustrate them. As a matter of fact, they use this awareness as a stimulus to realize their dreams.

8. Creative people are optimists.

Creative people generally have a deeply held belief that most, if not all, problems can be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome.

This doesn’t mean they are always happy and never depressed. They do have their bad moments but they don’t generally get stumped by a challenge.

9. Creative people make positive Judgment.

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn. It can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a right man’s brow – a businessman Charles Brower

The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones - if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and useable.

This doesn’t mean there is no room for critique or judgment in the creative process but there is a time and place for it and creative people recognize that.

10. Creative people go for the big kill.

Creative people realize that the first idea is just the starting point. It is in the process of fleshing it out that some magical cross-connections happen and the original ‘normal’ idea turns into a killer idea.

11. Creative people are prepared to stick it out.

Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through - even when the going gets tough. This is what sets them apart from others. Stick-ability is the key.

12. Creative people do not fall in love with an idea.

Creative people recognize how dangerous it is to fall in love with an idea. Falling in love with an idea means stopping more ideas from coming to their mind. They love the process of coming up with ideas, not necessarily the idea.

13. Creative people recognize the environment in which they are most creative.

Creative people do most of their thinking in an environment which is most conducive to their creativity. If they are unable to influence their physical environment, they recreate their ‘favourite’ creative environment in their minds.

14. Creative people are good at reframing any situation.

Reframes are a different way of looking at things. Being able to reframe experiences and situations is a very powerful skill.

Reframing allows you to look at a situation from a different angle. It is like another camera angle in a football match. And a different view has the power to change your entire perception of the situation.

Reframing can breathe new life into dead situations. It can motivate demoralized teams. It helps you to spot opportunities that you would have otherwise missed.

15. Creative people are friends with the unexpected.

Creative people have the knack of expecting the unexpected and finding connections between unrelated things. It is this special quality of mind that evokes serendipitous events in their lives.

Having honed the art of making happy discoveries, they are able to evoke serendipity more often than others.

16. Creative people are not afraid of failures.

Creative people realize that the energy that creates great ideas also creates errors. They know that failure is not really the opposite of success.

In fact, both failure and success are on the same side of the spectrum because both are the result of an attempt made. Creative people look at failure as a stopover on way to success, just a step away from it.

Source: Unknown

From Church Sweeper to A Legend and A Millionaire

A church in London had rules that it would not employ anyone, without formal high school education. The old pastor was benign and not a stickler of rules. He allowed Alfred Dunhill (who lacked formal education) as the caretaker to clean the pews, sweep the floor and keep the podium spick and span.

Dunhill had put off taking his high school examination till it became too late.  Once the old pastor retired, he was replaced by a younger person who followed the rule book.  As he came to know about the caretaker’s education, he issued a notice to him that either he should get a high school certificate in six months or he should resign.

Dunhill knew that you could not teach an old dog new tricks and that he had no option but to resign.  He started out his afternoon stroll in deep thought and got into Bond Street. Suddenly, he felt an urge to smoke. He could not find a single tobacco shop on the entire street.  He walked further down into a side street where he could purchase his cigarette.  He came back to the busy Bond Street. He realized that a small cigarette shop in the street would be a sound business proposition.

He resigned at the church and started a small shop on Bond Street which prospered way beyond his expectations.  He noticed that many of his customers were coming from the other side of the street. He started another shop on that side of Bond Street. The two shops multiplied to four and then sixteen In three years,

Alfred Dunhill Co. was a leading tobacconist in England. He started machine-rolling cigarettes and introduced his own brand of Dunhill cigarettes. In five years, he was a millionaire many times over. To ensure a consistent supply of tobacco, he entered into an annual purchase agreement with a couple of American tobacco farmers and went across to America to meet them.

It was a big boost for the American tobacco farmers and the contract signing ceremony was converted into a media circus, with a Senator and Governor participating. When the contracts were actually signed, Dunhill affixed his thumb impression because he had not learnt to sign his name. The Governor was impressed and said, “Well Sir! This is awesome. Even without a formal education you have achieved so much. Just imagine what would you have done if you had a formal education!”

Dunhill’s characteristic often repeated reply was, “If I knew how to read and write, I would still be sweeping the church!”

The Ten Steps to Success

1. Self-Belief: Success is begins in the mind. One has to be a believer, first, if one wishes to be an achiever. Never under-estimate yourself. You have no idea how often can you surprise yourself. So to begin with, let's get in the belief, "I Can."

2. Clarity of Vision: There is no point running around without knowing where one wants to reach. you must get your job cut out. Greatest achievers in the world have been visionaries. Know exactly what you are best at and give it your best shot.

3. Setting the Right Goals: The goals should be realistic .The goals should be achievable ,and yet challenging enough - neither too easy nor too difficult -something in the middle.

4. Be focused: If the sun's rays are focused on a piece of paper with a lens, the intensity of the concentrated energy burns the paper. Focus on your objective will enhance the intensity of the effects of your efforts.

5. No Short Cuts to Success: There are no short cuts to success. Divide your overall goals into smaller targets. Divide your monthly plans into weekly and weekly plans into daily plans and see how simple can things be.

6. Take Risks: Without any risk no progress is possible. Life comes to a stable standstill. People who take chances are the people who get ahead in life. The only way to reduce risk is to take risks.

7. Take the Initiative: People who take the initiative make the most of their lives. Proactive people do not wait for success to happen; rather they make it happen. As they say, 'JUST DO IT'. 

8. Never Hesitate to Struggle: No one has ever climbed a mountain just by looking at it. Struggle, hard struggle, is a key to success.

9. Own Responsibility: Failure to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. People, who own complete responsibility of their lives, are the people who make the most of it.

10. Never Give Up: Many people who failed in life, where those who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Success demands extra-ordinary amount of perseverance. Never, never, give up.