Building self-confidence through whole person wellness

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” - Golda Meir

Self-confidence is something we all want more of! It has a profound influence on the quality of day to day life. In the wellness inventory system, it’s represented by the dimension of self-responsibility and love, which underpins all the other aspects of wellness.

What is self-confidence?

Oxford Dictionaries defines self-confidence as "a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment". In day to day life it includes knowing yourself, following your own path, making prompt decisions, trusting your judgement, taking positive action and accessing your calm centre. These qualities need to be cultivated from the inside, rather than relying on external validation.

Why is it important?

You level of self-confidence will influence your feelings, thinking habits, and the way you communicate with yourself and others. A high level of self-confidence brings courage, self-belief and a successful life (on both the inside and outside).

Where does it come from?

Self-confidence is a set of attitudes, skills and behaviours that can be cultivated by all of us. It means developing a positive, loving and compassionate relationship with yourself, combined with a willingness to climb into the driving seat and take control of your life. We all start from a different place, but the important thing is to be willing to work at it from where you are now.  

How can whole person wellness help in this process?

Whilst the challenges, obstacles and unpredictability of life can challenge self-confidence, they also reveal areas of potential growth. For example, the disagreement with your boss might show up your own lack of clear priorities, boundaries or unwillingness to say what you really think.

The wellness Inventory provides a helpful frame of reference, dividing the human operating system up into 12 dimensions – self-responsibility and love, breathing, sensing, eating, moving feeling, thinking, playing and working, communicating, intimacy, finding meaning and transcending. 

You can refer to these 12 dimensions when exploring how self-confidence or lack of it shows up in your life and ways to increase it. For example by working on moving to keep yourself fit and healthy, communicating by learning about assertiveness or in the meaning dimension by clarifying your priorities.

How do you build self-confidence over time?

The process of building self-confidence must be integrated into your daily life as an ongoing commitment. The fire needs to be regularly stoked to keep it burning, which means taking action on a daily basis. Small, regular and achievable actions are the way forward to create bigger changes in your life.

Some ideas for building self-confidence:

  • Observing your thoughts about yourself.
  • Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
  • A daily acknowledgement.
  • Doing something you enjoy weekly.
  • Undertaking a challenge.
  • Find a self-confidence buddy.

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” - Brene Brown

I wish you well on your journey to greater self-confidence!

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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