Great Self Confidence

...to live the life you want

Confidence – appearance

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Nicola & Sarah off to the PromOn Friday night my sixteen year old twin daughters had their “prom”. This is a strange event that has crept into British culture in recent years – whilst well established in America and elsewhere. Having completed their first major exams, these “children” dress in all their finery and have a party to end all parties – arriving in stretch Limos and dressed in all their finery.

My daughters, like most, had spent many months planning what they would be wearing and cajoling us to acquire various items of jewelry (a tiara!) on eBay!! As you can see, the result was stunning and they enjoyed the evening. But it made me reflect on the whole issue of what we look wear. Their confidence that evening was the result of all their effort into their appearance.

“Look a million dollars and you’ll feel a million dollars”. Giving a bit of attention to what you put on each day can pay dividends in terms of self confidence. OK, you don’t have to a wear a long dress, make up or a Dinner Jacket. But there are many simple ways to give your appearance a boost and feel good.

Great self confidence – travel

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In April I was writing about my daughter having the self confidence to work in a children’s home in India for 3 months. Now I have just been listening to a colleague, Sophie, who has just given up a good job to do some voluntary work as an Occupational Therapist in the Himalayas, a remote, mountainous region of Northern India.

I say “listening” as she has just been speaking on local radio about her plans. and is going to be regularly phoning the local station to update them on her progress. This itself takes confidence, as I found out when confronted by a camera last month (fortunately my “take” didn’t make the final DVD!).

I know whilst outwardly Sophie presents as very confident, she has had doubts and fears about what she is undertaking. But only the foolhardy never have doubts or fears. Great things are achieved because such thoughts are looked at rationally, risks balanced, plans and commitments are made. Sophie – you have my best wishes, look after yourself.

Assertiveness

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ex-treeeyessmall.jpg I have now put 10 blogs into the category of assertiveness – including all the saying “no” blogs and the bill of rights. But I have yet to define assertiveness, or say why it is so important for having great self confidence.

The best definition I can find, says being assertive means:-

“expressing my rights and acknowledging others’ rights. It doesn’t guarantee I’ll get what I want – but it does guarantee that I’ve expressed myself and, therefore, maintained my integrity. It’s saying what I want/feel, voicing my opinion/saying no, being able to negotiate the best solution for all.”

I have no idea who to attribute that quote to – its on a handout I have had for years. Other definitions separate out the two components – behavior and communication. But I like the definition above because another way of describing assertiveness is “confident communication”.

So if you are building self confidence, its important to review how you communicate and whether you are generally assertive – rather than passive, aggressive or manipulative.

Simple “No”

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My final technique for saying “no”, is by far the simplest – but certainly not the easiest! By just saying “no”, and nothing else you may be perceived as rude or aggressive. But like all the other techniques, circumstances may demand it.

“Can you work tomorrows shift for me”

“No”

“Please, I really need tomorrow off”

“No”

“There’s no one else I can ask, I’ll do the same for you anytime”

“No”

In the example we have been using, this may not be appropriate if a colleague is asking you for the first time – but if you have already been through other techniques and they are pestering you again, its probably well justified. Its also useful with strangers and odd requests out of nowhere. This week a total stranger asked me to lend her some money in the middle of a supermarket…… “No!!!”

Pier to Pier update

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About 6 weeks ago I posted in Come for a swim? my intention of doing a challenge. In this case swimming 1.4 miles in the cold English sea between two piers! I also said I would raise £150.

In my mind, I’ve never regarded myself as a great one for raising sponsorship. As an adult I’ve only done it once before (Dublin Marathon 2003). On that occasion I did raise £1500 for the Alzheimer’s Society, as my father had died from that disease. But my mother was quite a driving force, holding a coffee morning and generally “forcing the pace”.

I think some of my negative attitude regarding sponsorship was down to my belief that asking someone to give you money, for doing something difficult, physically challenging, unpleasant and possibly life threatening (tragically so in April) was a bit silly. Why run 26 miles, when its quicker and more pleasant by taxi?!

My attitude now is more relaxed – asking for sponsorship for a challenge is an acceptable social formula for encouraging people to donate to a worthy cause. Consequently I feel quite confident asking people to sponsor me. I only started this week and have already I’ve got £50. Not feeling slightly embarrassed about asking friends and colleagues for money has made the process a lot easier!

As for swimming, I’ve been in the sea a few times, but its so cold and rough at the moment its hard to do any distance. And I find swimming in pools are so boring. But having made a commitment – and now got people to pledge money – it does ensure I’ll keep at it.