5 Confidence Building Exercises - Which helped me personally to raise my Self-Confidence

Do you believe, there is within each of us a desire to be right, think right and act right? When we go against that desire we put a cancer in our conscious. This cancer grows and grows by eating away at our confidence. Avoid doing anything that will cause you to ask yourself, "Will I get caught? Will they find out? Will I get away with it?

 When we do what is known to be wrong, two negative things happen.

First, we feel guilt and this guilt eats away confidence. Second, other people sooner or later find out and lose confidence in us.

Do what is right and keep your confidence. Confidence action produces confidence thinking. So to think confidently, act confidently. Act the way you want to feel.

These 5 confidence building exercises I started doing from last couple of years consciously and today it has become part of my life. It has helped me to increase my confidence level in multi-fold and I am sure it will help you too provided if you lack in confidence.

1.Be a front Seater - Ever noticed in meetings, in classrooms, in church, in town-hall and other kind of assemblies - how the back seats fill up first. Most of the people scramble to sit in back rows so they won't be "too conspicuous". And the reason behind is lack of confidence. Sitting up front builds confidence. Practice it. From now on make a rule to sit as close to the front as you can.

2. Practice making eye contact - How a person uses his eyes tells us a lot about him. Next time when you see someone who does not look into eyes, ask this question to yourself, "what he is trying to hide?, what is he afraid of? Is he holding something back?"

• Usually, failing to make eye contact says one or two things. It may say, "I feel weak beside you. I feel inferior to you. I am afraid of you." Or avoiding another person's eye may say, "I feel guilty. I have done something or I have thought something that I don’t want you to know. I am afraid if I let my eyes connect with yours, you will see through me."
• Looking the other person in the eye tells him, "I'm honest and above board. I believe in what I am telling you. I am not afraid. I am confident." Make your eyes work for you. Aim them right at the other person's eyes. It not only gives you confidence. It wins you confidence, too.

3. Walk 25 percent faster - We can change our attitude by changing our posture and speed of movement. Observe carefully, and you discover that body action is result of mind action. The extremely beaten person, the real down-and-outers, just shuffle ad stumble along. They have zero self-confidence.

•  Average people have the "average" walk. Their pace is "Average". They have the look of "I really don’t have very much pride in myself."
•  And then here is the other set of people, who show super-confidence. They walk faster than the average. There seems to be a slight sprint in the way they walk. Their walk tells the world, "I have got someplace important to go, something important to do."
• Use the walk 25 percent faster technique to build your self-confidence. Throw your shoulder back, life up your head, move ahead just a little faster and feel self-confidence grow.

4. Practice speaking up :- Have you ever observed whom you know very well in any group discussion or in meeting, he knows the answer but somehow he hesitates to speak or he does not speak. It is not that he does not want to get in and wade with the rest. Rather, it's a simple lack of confidence.

•  They feel, "my opinion is probably worthless. If I say something I will probably look foolish. I will just say nothing. It's better to be quite then getting embarrass. I don’t want the others to know how ignorant I am." Each time our clam fails to speak, we take one more dose of confidence poison. We become less and less confidence of himself.
• And other side the more we speak, more we add the confidence in ourselves, and easier it is to speak up the next time. Speak up. It’s a confidence building vitamin.
• I made a rule to speak up at every meeting I attend. Speak up, say something voluntarily at every business conference, committee meeting, community forum you attend. Make no exception. Comment, make a suggestion, ask question. And don’t be the last to speak. Try to be the ice-breaker, the first one in with a comment. And never worry about looking foolish. You won't. For every person who does not agree with you, odds are another person will. Quit asking yourself, "I wonder if I dare speak?"

5. Smile Big - We have heard may times that a smile is an excellent medicine for confidence deficiency. It gives a real boost. But lots of people still don't really believe this because they have never tried smiling when they feel fear.

•  Make this little test. Try to feel defeated ad smile big at the same time. You can't. a big smile gives you confidence. A big smile beats fear, roll away worry, defeat despondency.
•  A real smile melts away opposition of others - and instantly, too. Another person simply can't be angry with you if you give him a big smile, sincere smile.
• Next time suppose you banged someone car from back and you don’t know what to do, rather trying to run away, practice to pass a big sincere smile with most earnest voice and say "friend, I really did not mean to do that." believe me after that other person will get melted.
• Smile big and you feel like "Happy days are here again." But smile big. A half developed smile is not fully guaranteed. Smile until your teeth show. That large smile is fully guaranteed.
•  I heard many times, "Yes, but when I fear something, or when I am angry, I don’t feel like smiling." Of course you don't. No one does. The trick is to tell yourself forcefully, "I am going to smile." and then SMILE. Harness the power of smiling.

Do practice these 5 exercise consciously on daily basis, it does not cost any money but yes a strong desire! I would love to hear from your comments on this.

 Reference : - Book - The magic of thinking big #David J. Schwartz