Today is Monday, so this post is on self confidence.
Like a lot of people in the U.S., I watched a lot of basketball over the weekend. It’s the NCAA national championship tournament afterall. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to see the Purdue – Florida game. Florida is the defending champion. All five of the starters on last year’s championship team are back. They’re good players. Billy Donovan is a good coach. They scored well over 100 points in their first round tournament game.
But it was a different story yesterday. Purdue is a gritty team on the rise. They led throughout the first half, and beginning of the second half. The announcers were saying that Florida looked lethargic, not really in the game. I thought they looked relaxed, in control and confident. Experience and a winning track record help with confidence.
Even though they played poorly early in the game, the Florida players and coaches didn’t lose their composure. They kept playing hard, and in the end they prevailed. I believe their self confidence was the deciding factor in the game.
This indicates the relationship between self confidence and success. Self confidence leads to success, which in turn leads to increased self confidence, which leads to higher levels of success.
You might be saying, “that’s great, but how do become self confident if I’m new in my job or career and haven’t had a lot of success to bolster my self confidence. There’s an old saying that applies here – “fake it till you make it”. In other words, “act as if” you’re successful. This will help you succeed. You success will help you build your self confidence.
How do you fake it will you make it? Begin with affirmations. If you’re in a new job, tell yourself something like “I have the skills and desire to succeed in this job”, several times a day. If you repeat this to yourself often enough, you will begin to believe it. This will help you perform at the level you need to in order to actually succeed in your job.
Affirmations alone however, are not to perform at a high level. You have to do the work. Spend the time necessary to accomplish your goals. Volunteer for projects that will get you noticed. Become an expert on your company, its competitors and your industry. In other words, bust your butt – and you will succeed.
Self confidence will come with this success. The self confidence -- success -- self confidence cycle is an upward spiral. You have to enter the cycle somewhere. Most of us don’t have a strong track record as we begin our careers, or move into a new job. Therefore, you have to “fake it till you make it” by finding ways to bolster your self confidence, until you have some real successes on which you can build.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com.TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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