PPI #147: How To Be More Confident

Confidence is the most powerful predictor of success. Before you can achieve anything, you need to believe that you can. Without confidence, that happy and fulfilling life that you're looking for will always be out of reach as risk and obstacles and adversity stop you dead in your tracks. Today I'm going to share the daily habits that you can start right now to become the most confident greatest version of you.

Hi, I'm Eric Partaker and I've been recognized as the CEO of the Year and I'm also the author of two best selling books including the Three Alarms. So one of the first things that you can do is get into the habit of learning something new every day. And I find that the best time of day for me to do this is right in the morning before my day starts as one of the very first things that I do. For example, if you want to start getting into more of a reading habit and you find that you have all these books that you want to read, but they're not being read well, try to do just 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes of reading before your day starts. Because we all know what it's like once the day starts. It can be very difficult sometimes to find that alone time, that time just for yourself. And then once the day ends, if you have other commitments, again, it might be difficult as well and you could get to the end of the day and suddenly find yourself too tired to focus on that skill development. So one of the secrets to learning something new on a daily basis is to schedule that into your calendar before the day begins. Whether that's taking a new course, whether it's doing some reading, watching some video content, or listening to an audio book, try to do it before your day starts. And then another quick tip thing that you can do with regard to learning something new every day is to do what's called habit stacking. So to stack your learning with another thing that you do on a daily basis. So for example, taking the idea of listening to an audiobook, you could be doing that while you're say, on the treadmill or going for a walk or for a run or for a jog, so that you're doing two things at once and you're making the most of your time. Second thing that you can do to boost your confidence is to take ownership of your decisions, behaviors and your life. So on a daily basis, again, at the start of your day is often best. Here is to look at the day ahead and ask yourself, okay, what am I doing today to further my dreams and my goals? What am I doing today, that's actually going to move the needle. That's actually going to make this day be a day that creates progress, rather than just another day. You have far more control in your life than you realize that. So make sure that at the start of your day, you're taking that control. Create your own destiny, design your future, decide what it is that you're going to do when, and then once again, make sure that that's scheduled into your day so that it's actually getting done. This next one is a bit of a surprising one, but getting into the daily habit of giving praise and recognition to others for a job well done has actually been shown to also boost your own confidence. When you're confidently saying to someone else that they've done a great job and you're pointing out what it is that they've done that's so noteworthy, so remarkable, then you start to look for those own things within yourself as well. So on a daily basis, just develop the habit of looking for an opportunity to give praise and recognition to someone else in your life, whether that's professionally or personally. But develop that habit and it will slowly start to even boost your own confidence as you boost the confidence of others. And this next one's a great little hack too. If you want to boost your confidence, seek to teach and actually give back to others. One of the best ways to learn a new skill, for example, isn't to continually go over that skill or reread, for example, whatever it was that you've just read, but to actually force yourself to teach it to someone else. The act of having to teach it to someone else more deeply embeds whatever that skill or knowledge is in your own head, and it also gives something to that other person. So you're getting like this two for one, you're more deeply embedding the knowledge for yourself and increasing your skill level, which will make you a more confident person. And then you're also helping someone else. And similar to the previous one about recognizing and praising others, when you make others more confident, it actually has been shown to boost your confidence as well. Next up is be sure that you don't put others down. Confident people do not need to step on others, do not need to make others feel less, and in order for themselves to feel more, confidence comes from within. So be careful and recognize if you are actually making comments that are quite negative or making others around you feel inferior. True confidence once again comes from within. You do not need to make others feel less in order for you to feel More attentive listening. That's next up on our confidence boosting daily habit list. When you listen attentively to others with a growth mindset approach, with the approach of I wonder what it is that I can learn here? What is it that this person's saying that might benefit me if I apply it? Having that curiosity, having that attentiveness when you listen will allow you to acquire new skills and boost your confidence along the way. On a daily basis, you're being exposed to so many things, so many learning opportunities, so many pieces of advice, all of which can benefit you, provided that you're attentively listening to to what's being said around you. Last but not least, if you want to develop your confidence on a daily basis, get into the daily habit of scanning and taking advantage of opportunities. Every now and then somebody will suggest something to you, an opportunity or something new to do, and in that moment you are faced with a decision, oh, should I do that? I don't feel quite prepared yet. Do I need to prepare a little bit more? I've never done that before. I don't feel ready. Or you can leap, you can jump. You can take advantage of that opportunity and use it as a forcing mechanism, as a forcing function for you to acquire whatever the skill is or for you to complete whatever the preparation is in order to do that thing or to take advantage of that opportunity. So be in the habit of scanning the day for opportunities. Sense when that discomfort presents itself. When you're effectively being asked to to walk forward into this growth, step into that discomfort and rather than shy away or try to put it off until you're a little bit more prepared. Be bold. Be confident. Say yes. Step into it and see the magic that unfolds as you get into the habit of boldly stepping into opportunities as they present themselves to you. And I'd love to hear from you, so don't forget to leave a comment and a rating as well. And if you'd like to get a copy of my new book, the Three Alarms, please head over to my website at ericpartaker.com that's E R I C ericpartaker.com where you can pick up a free digital copy of my new best selling book, the Three Alarms.