We have all seen them. Those people who glide through life, surfing across what appears to others as angry, frightening waves of turmoil and angst. They appear totally confident and nothing gets in their way.

What is it that allows them to bypass the drudgery, confusion and chaos that seems to paralyse others? As you watch them glide by, you notice admiringly how confident they are.

Confidence is not a thing innate within us. It is not a cloak you can grab from the closet and put on to cover and hide the self-doubt. Confidence is learned.

Learning ‘real’ confidence is the hard part. Anyone can pretend to be confident – that’s usually interpreted by the viewer as brash, foolhardy or slapdash.

Being confident requires certainty. Certainty comes from clarity. Clarity comes from understanding, knowing ourselves and everything about what we do, how we do it, who we do it for and more. Much more.

We can undertake activity to help, while we learn the real confidence:

• Be inspired – read inspirational stories; invite inspirational people into your life
• Remind yourself of all the good of your past; achievements, behaviours, activities
• Inspect habits – eliminate unhelpful habits by introducing helpful habits
• Set goals – achievable goals – and achieve them. Congratulate yourself

Nothing works as well as understanding, really understanding you – what you do, how you do it, who you do it for etc but most importantly, utterly understanding yourself.

Talk Strategy with Clive

With more than 30 years’ experience in mentoring small to medium-sized businesses around Australia. Clive works with company owners and their teams to grow their business and achieve goals through startegic coaching.