How to rebuild self-confidence

As 2016 comes to an end, some of us may be celebrating the best moments of our lives, whether it’d be getting excellent exam results, finding our dream jobs or achieving success in our start-ups.

Yet we shouldn’t forget the setbacks that we have experienced throughout the year, especially those that have taken a turn for the worse and made us insecure in our ability and overall selves.

However, it is important to realise that losing self-confidence is nothing unusual; it happens to everyone at any time whether they are successful or not. This also means that rebounding from bad experiences can be made possible as long as we don’t dwell too much on our past mistakes.

For instance, by reflecting on both our successes and failures, we may be made more aware of our strengths and weaknesses, as well as learn and understand other lessons these experiences have given us so that we will be able to rise to the occasion when faced with similar situations in the future.

Here are some other tips you can try to regain your self-confidence:

Unwind yourself

If your current setback has been affecting you too much, take a break and do something different for a change. It can be hobbies that you haven’t had time to spend on or activities that you have never done before in your life, so long as they are not detrimental to your wellbeing.

The idea of shifting your focus temporarily allows you to reframe your thought process, stir up some creative juices and de-stress yourself in order for you to move forward better.

Confide in people you trust

As we have mentioned in our article on managing stress, opening up your insecurity to others helps in relieving the negative pressure that you have been keeping within yourself. But it is especially beneficial to talk to those who truly understand you so that they can provide their honest perspectives on your setback, thereby giving you their support as you rebuild your confidence.

Earn small successes

Confidence means trusting yourself to perform at your best, and like trust itself, it takes longer to build than to destroy it. As such, to recover from your failures, start achieving trivial successes, be it accomplishing your daily tasks quicker than usual or meeting your targeted reps in your workout routine.

Gradually, these successes with bring back your lost confidence as a result of your own efforts to improve your capability and competence.

Be persistent

J.K. Rowling was rejected 12 times before finally given the green light to publish her typewritten manuscript titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The rest, as we all know, is history.

Her persistence paid off because she let these failures motivate her to keep trying, and therefore it is an attribute that needs to be ingrained within us. By acknowledging past mistakes, taking various approaches to overcome challenges and refusing to give up, you will regain your confidence and self-belief. After all, no one believes in you unless you do.

This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.