From the course: Mindfulness Practices

Grow self-confidence

From the course: Mindfulness Practices

Start my 1-month free trial

Grow self-confidence

“

- Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in ourselves, our abilities, and our judgment. We need it to feel good about ourselves. We also need it to voice what matters, to take risks, to be resilient in failure, and to progress toward our goals. Mindfulness practice has been shown to increase self-confidence among children in schools as well as among adults. This is not the kind of self-confidence that makes us think we're superior to others. It's the kind where we're grounded in who we are. We accept ourselves fully, including both our strengths and our weaknesses. In my book Wired for Authenticity I share how accepting ourselves fully helps us be both more authentic and more agile. Our self-confidence grows over time and with practice, but there are mindfulness practices we can experiment with to feel more confident in the moment. We can practice certain mind body techniques to relax ourselves, and connect with the part of ourselves that is self-confident. A mind body practice to experiment with is mindful power posing. It's based on research by Harvard professor Amy Cuddy. Cuddy's research showed that a power pose positively impacts our own feelings of self-confidence. While the research is now somewhat controversial the practice does help us become more relaxed and mindful of our posture. Other body language research shows that power poses also impact others' perceptions of our own self-confidence. You can experiment with mindful power posing to feel more relaxed before a presentation and interview or any other situation where you will need to bring your most confident self.

Contents