WHEN SHE TALKS: HOW CONFIDENCE REALLY CHANGES THINGS

 

Raise your hands if at least once , you have found yourself no longer wanting to do something that you once loved?

Yep, that is you and me both. (you can put you hands down now) My oh ,my have I missed blogging.  However recently I felt like something was about to threaten my future in blogging: I no longer felt that my blog was 'good enough'. I have been reading your comments and I would love to thank you all for your kind words in my mini blogger break. I guess you could say that these thoughts were all to do with one major thing: confidence

Oh no, this is not the first time that low confidence had attempted to break down and pull apart something that I worked so hard to achieve, it takes me way back to year 7 . Something as small as trying out for the netball team was a struggle. Believe me, I had ball skills back then, but because of my low confidence, I was to 'scared' to turn up to the first team practise for the Netball team that I had managed to get myself a place on ... they kicked me off the team. Who knows, had I had the confidence to continue maybe I would been a massive sports star by now, the Lebron James of Netball a( highly unlikely , but you never know!)

Again, throughout majority of my high school years. High school kids can be mean. Don't let anyone else tell you other wise. Without going into too much detail (i'm saving that for another post) I was really made to feel insignificant throughout my high school years. My confidence took an almighty blow,  I was left asking myself questions  'who am I?' ' do I have any real talent?' . Any opportunity that I would have loved to get involved once upon a time, was clouded by my ever growing fear of being rejected by the majority. This was my confidence at its worst.

Enough was enough. About two years ago I decided I was fed up of missing out on opportunities, using my low confidence as an excuse for not going out there and appreciating what is on offer. I am constantly looking for ways to put myself in situations that no longer allow me to hide. I started this blog . I felt like what I had to say , was being heard by someone. I got a job, I forced myself to make conversations and get to know people better. I even made the dreaded eye contact. It is a constant building process. For now I am pretty happy with the progress I am making but I am far from done!

I am sure some of you are now beginning to ask:  well this sounds great, excellent .... how can I do the same?'

I can respond to that by saying firstly, good question, I was hoping you would ask that.

To be honest, it doesn't just happen over night , a transformation from shy to confident. It takes time, fake it till you make it may work for some, but for others it effort and dedication. However I can give you a few tips that I used that I can actually say had an impact on the way I am now.

 

1) put yourself  in situations that you can't run away from

Go to places that will require to interact with people. Go to places or events that you know you wouldn't normally go to. MOVE OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!

 

2) Always say yes

Well not always, that would just e dangerous advice. Stop shying away, actually think 'what's the worst that could happen?' Something you may have been dreading ma become something you never want to stop doing.

 

3) Be willing to change

If you are not willing to take the leap of faith, then unfortunately things are not going to improve. put your best foot forward and jump straight into the new and improved you

 

4)Look at people who seem confident, what is it they are doing?

People who are confident have certain characteristics, they behave differently, look at the way that they act: could you take any tips from them? I'm not saying be a copy of someone else, but if you notice a positive attribute of someone else that you would like to have yourself then by all means, go for it.

 

And that is all. There is still so much I would like to talk about in terms of confidence or some of my own personal life experiences so keep your eyes peel for those posts. It feels strange that I haven't bogged in a while, my fingers feel foreign to my keyboard , but I will get there! I have a lot of exams I am preparing for and I am feeling majorly stressed! I really appreciate your patience even though I have been so absent. Please comment below your own experiences as I love hearing from you.

 

Thanks for reading!