3 Habits That Create Confidence and Courage.

The word “courage” is interesting, and it comes from the Latin “cor,” which means “of the heart.” To be courageous means to live from your heart.

To live with courage is to embrace the insecurity of life, the fear, and the failure. If you live only seeking safety and security, you cannot live life to its fullest; you cannot be fully alive.

Will you make mistakes? Of course, you will! Will you make errors in judgment? Yes! We all do. Fear and failure are inevitable, but more importantly, they're purposeful.

“Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me.” ~Isabel Allende

As you set out on your quest to accomplish your dreams and goals, you will fail. But, you will learn and grow, your courage and competence levels will rise, and you’ll become infinitely wiser and more confident.

Failure is inevitable, and it serves a purpose. It’s how we become better versions of ourselves. Decide not to play it safe. Instead, head into the unknown take a few risks.

If something doesn’t work, learn from it, make a new decision, and take a different action; just keep moving towards your goals. The faster you go, the quicker you learn, the more confident you become.

Courage thrives in a fast-moving, decisive environment.

If you want to live an extraordinary life, keep moving forward, keep risking failure. Because failure creates courage, and courage creates confidence.

Confidence will always be an attribute we admire in people. The social media world we live in wants us to believe that what we see on the small screen is confidence.

Don’t be fooled. Confidence is the outward manifestation of courage, and courage comes from learning and growing from mistakes. If you’re afraid to make a mistake or fail, you lack courage. And as a result, your confidence will always be lacking.

Instead, learn to build courage and confidence from these 3 habits.

Face Your Fear and Welcome Failure.

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

Reframe the situation. Change the story. The words you choose to describe an event can profoundly affect how you feel about it and react to it.

View challenges as opportunities and avoids exaggerating perceived negative consequences. When faced with frustrations and difficult circumstances, ask yourself; what can I learn, and how can I grow from this?

Evaluate your inaction. It’s natural to want to run away from the things that scare you, but inaction comes at a high cost.

You might lose a friend because you sidestep a sensitive conversation where you could work out your differences if you’d faced the situation.

The worst that could happen, though, is that you learn nothing because you refuse to face it head-on.

Manage the stress. Maybe you’re not even sure about the source of your fears. Dealing with and facing daily stress reduces your anxiety levels.

Find relaxation practices, such as meditation or listening to music, that work for you. My favorite stress reliefs are taking walks in the morning and spending time with people I care about.

Seek support. Asking for help can be a sign of courage. Reaching out to loved ones or a professional counselor when you need help is not only fearless but creates confidence quickly.

Some of my greatest life lessons have come from situations where I had to courage to reach out for help during difficult circumstances.

Start small, then big. Major undertakings become less overwhelming when you break them into more manageable parts. Work your way up to asking your boss for a raise by being more assertive in situations where you have less at stake.

Start with small bouts of courage doing some things that force you out of your comfort zone. As that works, start to take on some of life’s more significant challenges. Trust me; there is courage inside you!

Strengthen Your Courage.

“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you have to face the questions you have been avoiding.”― Shannon L. Alder

Dream big. Courage expands your vision. Imagine what you could do if you could set aside all your limiting beliefs. What is it that you want so much, that you’re willing to set aside your pride or comfort?

Push through your fear and go after what you truly want. You have everything to gain by courageously pushing through your fears and going after what you truly desire in life.

Clarify your goals. You must translate your vision into a practical action plan to get tangible results. Identify exactly what you’re going to do and how you will get there.

Make sure you understand why you want each goal; if you can’t answer, why remove it to focus on what you truly want.

Create a timeline. You’re more likely to stay on track if you decide what actions you will complete today or by the end of the month. Each goal should have a date by which it will be accomplished.

Having a daily plan and priorities will increase your accountability and move you much faster towards achieving your goals.

Keep a journal. Put your plans in writing and keep them someplace where you can review them often. (In addition to my journal, I use post-it notes on my bathroom mirror, in my car, and on my desk at work.) That way, it will always be fresh in your mind.

Journal daily about your wins and failures. Record how you’re going to be better tomorrow and the coming months. Chronicle your success to use to look back for motivation. Confidence is born from reading often about your wins and victories.

Developing Your Confidence

You gain strength, courage, and confidence from every experience where you stop to look fear in the face. You can say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ — Eleanor Roosevelt

Think positive. Focus on what you have to gain. Use your positive self-talk to give yourself reassurance and encouragement. Identify areas where you want to make changes, and be willing to laugh at yourself.

Get organized. Cleaning up your surroundings makes you feel more relaxed. Clear off your desk each evening and cut down on clutter at home. Rid your mind and your life of the clutter of things you don’t need.

Come prepared. Doing your homework creates more trust in your abilities. Research a company before going on a job interview or talk with a carpenter before tackling a home improvement project. Take steps to be informed and prepared; it’s incredible how much more confident it makes you feel.

Stay fit. Caring for your health and wellbeing is a great way to value yourself. Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep and rest. One of the most confidence-building things you can do for yourself is developing the self-control needed to exercise, eat right and lose a few pounds.

List your accomplishments. Boost your morale by reviewing your accomplishments often. I keep mine in my journal so I can review them often. Past victories prove that YOU can and will succeed at future tasks.

Stretch your skills. You’ll have more confidence in your abilities when you consistently increase your competence. Take business courses online, read and listen to videos, or study a foreign language. Make it a habit to constantly learn and grow.

Conclusion

“I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion.”― Yohji Yamamoto

Finding your confidence is a journey worth taking. As you progress through the above steps, your interest and belief in your own life will grow exponentially.

You’ll realize you can do anything you put your mind to.

Visualize being confident, and discover your motivation because it will urge you in the direction of whatever you want in life. Force yourself to push through areas of fear. Expect success because you will when you start to believe you can do it.

You truly can develop the confidence you need to accomplish anything you want in life. Start your journey to confidence now. Your future is waiting!