Let Yourself Know How Great You Are

Religious people might actually have a good idea. Next time, when you hear the chant of monks, the homily in a Catholic Church, the singing from the Gregorian, remember that it is a way of affirmation of themselves and of their faith. And you can use it to affirm yourselves.

People from all walks of life use affirmations to keep themselves going. Warriors, merchants, students, even politicians. This is because affirmations are a surefire way of reminding the self of their choices and their goals.

Choice: Between Stimulus and Response

Have you ever tried to smile and think a negative thought? Usually the result is that one of the feelings will win out. Whether it is you will feel better because you smiled or that you will eventually feel bad and frown, this is an important fact in human psychology.

Humans cannot really hold attention on more than one thought at a time. This is the key to mastering oneself in this life.

Victor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who ended up in a concentration camp during World War II. He witnessed numerous atrocities and was a victim of German experimentation himself.

Setting Your Eye on the Bullseye

The alarm rings, you wake up. You turn off the alarm and start the series of rituals that would get you showered, dressed, fed with breakfast, and eventually on your way to work. You kiss your wife on the cheek as she readies herself for work and taking the kids to school. You say your goodbyes.

As you take your car from the driveway, you notice that all is quiet in the early dawn. You like to leave for work early to get away from the traffic. The trip is uneventful and the radio blares out music you have no fondness for.

The “Can Do” Attitude Can Take You Places

Ever noticed we are never really quiet inside our own minds? Try it out. When we sit in a corner, away from others for a break, we keep on thinking. We can’t stop ourselves from thinking. As long as the body feeds us sensory data from the environment, we respond to the environment.

In prehistoric times, man relied on his instincts to survive. Scientists have called this the fight-flight response in which a person instantly chooses to fight and overcome his adversary or run away to survive.

Self-confidence is one’s belief in oneself. It refers to one’s confidence in his actions, beliefs and competencies. Having self-confidence is the key towards a successful and fulfilling life.

Self-talk can be described as that little voice inside one’s head which can either be beneficial or detrimental to one’s self-confidence. This inner voice usually critiques, give comments, or praise one’s deeds and actions.

There are different views about self-talk in relation to building self-confidence. Some people may associate self-talk to the obstacles towards attaining true confidence in oneself. This can be true in the cases of people who have no drive to take the pessimism out of their heads. This can later become a vicious cycle where a person is perpetually trapped in a downward spiral of self-esteem decline.

It’s a cliché to say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but in more ways than one, they are. The eyes are also the mirrors of self-confidence. A person can easily assess another person’s self-confidence by engaging in eye contact. People with low self-confidence hate making eye contact. They would tend to look at the ground as if they are looking for a lost coin.

Shake Hands to Improve Self-Confidence

Body language portrays a person’s self-confidence. Shaking hands is a big part of a person’s body language. First impressions are based partly on how a person does his handshakes.

Handshakes are traced back into Ancient Egypt, around 2,800 B.C. During those times, the right hand is the hand which carries weapons. When a person offers a clean, unarmed right hand to another person, it is a sign of peace and goodwill. Handshakes have endured the test of time and it is still widely accepted as a form of social greeting in our modern times.

Walking with Confidence

People walk all the time, but the fact is, most people are afraid of walking. People would tend to look at the street (literally) rather than put their heads up and look at the people who are walking along with them. Some would stare at big billboards and advertisements, take out their phones from their pockets and pretend to call someone and do other stuff while walking. These are common signs of poor self-confidence and these are all manifested in walking.

Stand Out with Self-Confidence

Body language speaks of a whole lot of things, including a person’s self-confidence. Self-confidence or the lack of it can be manifested in many ways, one of which is through body posture.

Body posture is the way one carries himself. It can be a basis for making first impressions which generally dictates the image of person in the eyes of another. Making good first impressions can be very beneficial. Take job interviews for example, most final interviews end within 20 seconds. Of course, the interview itself can take an hour or so, but the verdict has been made seconds after the applicant enters the room. He is generally evaluated through his gestures, body language and posture.

Failure is success in disguise

Juris, a surgeon, was only three years old when he learned that one must fail in order to learn and to strive for more.  However, such philosophizing was not known to him then as he was still too young.  He only began to realize it as such when confronted with failure in his personal life and career.

His realization came hazily as his memories of such a tender age were faded by time.  What he can remember though, is that he was always striving hard to learn how to bike.  His mom and dad bought him a bike too big for his age and so he had difficulty in using the pedals.