There is some confusion as to what is self esteem, and how do you increase it. Brian Tracy gives an excellent defintion in this article
Cultivating Your Self-Esteem Part 1
Your self-esteem is probably the most important part of your personality. It precedes and predicts your performance in almost everything you do. It is the energy source or the reactor core of your personality,…
by Brian Tracy
Building Unshakable Self-Confidence
What difference would it make in your life if you had an absolutely unshakable confidence in your ability to achieve anything you really put your mind to?
Identify Your Biggest Dream A young woman wrote to me recently, telling me that her whole life had taken a different turn since she heard me ask the question, What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?
She wrote that, up to that time, this was a question she had never even dared to consider, but now, she thought of nothing else. She had realized, in a great, blinding flash of clarity, that the main thing separating her from her hopes and dreams was the belief in her ability to achieve them.
Most of us are like this for most of our lives. There are many things that we want to be, and have and do, but we hold back. We are unsure because we lack the confidence necessary to step out in faith in the direction of our dreams.
Determine What You Really Want Just think: What difference would it make in your life if you had an absolutely unshakable confidence in your ability to achieve anything you really put your mind to? What would you want and wish and hope for? What would you dare to dream if you believed in yourself with such deep conviction that you had no fears of failure whatsoever?
Be True to Yourself The key is to be true to yourself, to be true to the very best that is in you, and to live your life consistent with your highest values and aspirations.
Take some time to think about who you are and what you believe in and what is important to you. Decide that you will never compromise your integrity by trying to be or say or feel something that is not true for you.
Have the courage to accept yourself as you really are-not as you might be, or as someone else thinks you should be-and know that, taking everything into consideration, you are a pretty good person.
Make A Plan to Achieve It Being true to yourself means knowing exactly what you want and having a plan to achieve it. Lasting self-confidence comes when you absolutely know that you have the capacity to get from where you are to wherever you want to go. You are behind the wheel of your life. You are the architect of your destiny and the master of your fate.
Use the “Act As If” Principle Act as though it were impossible to fail. Act as though you already had a high level of self-confidence. And continually ask yourself, What one great thing would I dare to dream if I knew I could not fail? Whatever your answer, you can have it if you can dream it, and if you have the self-confidence to go out and get it.
Action Exercises Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, resolve to step out in faith in the direction of your dreams; just do it!
Second, ask yourself, What one great thing would I dare to dream if I knew I could not fail?
Third, be true to yourself, to the very best that is in you. Never compromise!
by Brian Tracy
About the Author:
Brian Tracy is an authority on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. He is chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations. Brian addresses more than 250,000 people each year, to audiences as large as 20,000 people. Visit www.briantracy.com for more information
