My Leadership ROCKETSHIP - Building Your Inner Resources. In this edition on #confidence - take home 10 strategies that will support you in invoking the confidence you need - anytime, every time.
We often find ourselves thrust into unexpected situations like - giving a last-minute presentation, navigating a tricky conversation, or facing a new challenge that require us to summon our inner strength at a moment's notice.
And right in that moment - we have been presented with this wonderful opportunity to create our mark and leave an impact. So, our ability to exude confidence in times like these, can be quite a game-changer.
But instead we go doubting our capabilities and start focusing on - what we don’t have or what could go wrong, what would others think of us, or how they would see us.
Our inner judge takes over.
The thing about confidence is that -
- It is not a skill but a state of mind,
- It is not about knowing everything but knowing that you don’t and yet you’ve got this,
- It is not fearlessness but acknowledging and embracing the fears and moving forward despite it.
- It is something we are predisposed with it, so we can invoke it any time, any where as long as we know how.
And while many of us seem to have it together all the time, for many of us it’s a journey of challenging limiting beliefs and negative self-talk and the voices in our head that hold us back.
For me personally, my journey with confidence has been that of peaks and valleys.
There are days where I feel innately confident and there are days when I just don’t and full of self-doubt.
But on my journey to being coached and becoming a coach, I learnt that I can invoke my confidence, anytime, in the moment, using any strategy that works for me.
How can you invoke confidence when you feel anything but sure of yourself?
Here are 10 tried and tested winning strategies that will help you invoke and harness your inner confidence, even in the most daunting of moments.
- Get out of your head and be present in the moment: Instead of getting lost in a whirlwind of how you will do or what people will think, anchor yourself in the here and now. Confidence begins with getting out of your head and being in the present, so take a deep breath, ground yourself in your surroundings, and remind yourself that you are capable of handling whatever comes your way.
- Shift your space and breathe: Most common response to sudden high-pressure situations is a bodily reaction - feeling cold on your hands or feet, breathing faster, heart galloping or pounding, twitching, or any other. Focus on what you are feeling and where and calm your nerves either shifting space by mindful few steps forward or backward - breathing in and out slowly - and shifting focus to the ground.
- Embrace a power pose: Embodying a powerful pose just before entering a getting or getting started can often do the trick. Practice a few power poses ahead of time and know the one which calms you down and makes you believe ‘you got this’. Stand tall in your pose, shoulders back, chin up, and occupy more space, firmly grounding yourself.
- Replace disempowering thoughts with empowering ones: Irrespective of the thoughts in your head - if they are making you second-guess or doubt yourself, making you feel nervous or feel that you are going to mess it up, redirect and remind yourself of your capabilities and strengths. Use positive affirmations like ‘I can do this’ or ‘I am prepared for this.”
- Think about past successes/highs and lean into that energy: Remind yourself of all the past times where you thought you would fail or had limiting thoughts and yet you did it anyways, successfully handling similar situations or overcoming challenges. What helped you then can help you now as well. So recall and recreate that energy, drawing from its strength.
- Find your perfection in imperfection: You are an expert and you are great at your job but that doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes or have all the answers or are on the ball all the time. Embrace your perfect imperfection, and the uniqueness you bring, focusing on doing your best, not being the most perfect.
- Invoke your warrior: We all have an inner warriors in us - or sometimes I like to call them superpowers - the innate knowing of our capabilities. Soend some time know who or what that superpower is - feel the experience of embodying it - and know how to invoke it when you need it.
- Focus on the first step: Our mind often goes racing in arranging all the pieces and all the steps, making us even more nervous. Break it down and just focus on the first step. Accomplishing that is a much smaller feat and doing that well will help you build the momentum and flow of having it together. That first step could be as simple as your introduction or setting context for the meeting or asking a question to engage the audience.
- Visualize success: Visualization is a powerful tool for boosting confidence Take a moment to vividly imagine yourself succeeding in the task at hand. Picture yourself delivering a flawless presentation, acing that job interview, or navigating a difficult conversation with grace and ease. By visualizing success, you prime your mind and body to embody confidence and competence.
- Use humor: This can often get tricky if you aren't very humorous in general but if you do have the ability to humor, injecting a bit of it can easily help lighten the mood, easing you into the energy of lightness and laughter.
Know that it’s natural to feel a bit nervous or unsure when faced with a new challenge or unexpected situation.
But remember: you’ve got what it takes to handle it like a pro.
Take a deep breath, stand tall, and remember all the times you have been stronger and more capable than you realize.
Which are 1-2 strategies you’d like to try out this week? Leave a comment and come back next week and tell me and fellow readers how it went. I’ll be waiting on this side to champion you.
Hi, I’m Preeti Kurani, your executive coach & growth partner bringing through - My Leadership ROCKETSHIP - expertise, insights, strategies, quick tools & frameworks for you to strengthen and harness your inner resources - creating the desired success and impact, one step forward at a time.
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