With all our best intentions, January is half-way gone and some of us have not found the way to jump start the new year. “#NewYearNewYou” sounds good, but you haven’t decided what you are going to do about it yet? Some of you may have read my recent post: Top 6 Best Habits to Start Your Day with Confidence, and thought – No Way! Morning is a no go!Well, here are some things you can do in the more reasonable hours of the day. And many of them take no additional time!
Self-confidence is fundamental to our success in work, relationships and overall happiness. When we feel confident, we don’t waste time and energy doubting ourselves or others’ intentions. We are more likely to take positive actions in our lives and have more drive and motivation.
At the office: practice taking deep breaths or at least breathing fully from your abdomen in stressful meetings and teleconferences. This will help lower the levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in your blood.
All day long: Practice noticing your inner-critic. Adjust your self-talk to be as kind to yourself as you would be to your best friend.
5. Go home on time!
Give yourself a chance to enjoy your evening with family, friends or cherish your alone time. This is respecting yourself and choosing to ‘work to live not live to work’. This builds self-confidence because you are underscoring to yourself the fact that you (and your relationships!) are important.
Remember, watching TV is an illusion of pleasure. Watching TV and movies occasionally is great, but when it becomes an automatic habit, chances are you are sacrificing precious time that could be used to connect with loved ones and rest. When we are rested and feel connected with those we love, it helps us be at our best and naturally builds confidence.
For more tips like these, sign up for Coaching Without Borders newsletter or read my book The Four Channels; A Businesswoman’s Guide to Cracking Confidence.
How do these exercises sound to you? Do you have comments or other tips to share? Leave a comment below!