Jim Rohn would use that phrase all the time. “Success is simple. It isn’t easy, but it’s simple.”
Building confidence is the same. It’s simple. It takes some work and some time, but it’s simple.
Here’s how you start.
Step 1 – Make promises to yourself.
Step 2 – Keep them.
That’s the best place to start.
You’re worried about your upcoming test. You’re anxious and nervous just thinking about it.
Here’s what you do: You have small talk with yourself. You say, “Self, I’m going to start practicing confidence. I’m going to start building it up like a muscle. I’m going to start small. Then I’m going to add more and more until I can do anything.”
You DECIDE to start with one very small thing. But the key is you decide to promise it to yourself and remember you are now keeping your promises to yourself. You can’t trust someone who doesn’t keep their promises, right?
So, you pick something small but important.
– Flossing
– Making your bed in the morning
– No dishes in the sink overnight
– Put on nice clothes to leave the house
– Program the coffee pot the night before
You pick something and you promise yourself you are going to do it, and then you go and do it.
“Self for the next 30 days we are not going to sleep if there is a single glass, knife, plate, or water bottle in the sink – no exceptions.”
Once you complete that small challenge, you have a major win. You are now someone you can count on.
Wait, wait, wait!!! What about my test anxiety???
Self-confidence gained in one area of your life spills over into all areas of your life. Once you are someone who keeps promises, why can’t you be someone who does well on exams? All it takes is a little work. A little practice. If you can be counted on to make your bed, you can be counted on to learn to take exams, to learn any new skill really.
And studying and taking tests is no different than any other skill you learn. You aren’t born knowing it. You have to learn and practice.
You may have to change how you’re studying. You may have to change how you approach exams.
But, keep your promises to yourself, and you will get there. Every time you keep a promise, or get a win, you put a deposit into your confidence bank account. Every time you don’t keep a promise, or you do poorly, you make a withdrawal.
Small wins and small promises add up pretty quickly. It won’t change overnight. You floss one night and that’s easy. It won’t help much. But, by day 20, not only will you have healthier teeth but you will also believe more in yourself.
David Blaine constantly sets little goals when he is training for a stunt. Things that have nothing to do with the stunt he is going to perform. “Getting your brain wired into little goals and achieving them, that helps you achieve the bigger things you shouldn’t be able to,” says Blaine
In the book, “Will Power” by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, Blaine talks about how when he goes for a run he sets up challenges for himself. For example, when he runs in a bike lane, he steps on the heads of the biker logo on the road. Every single time. Right on the head.
Seems small. Seems downright silly. You know what it does though? It builds confidence. It builds a well of confidence that he can count on.
Another way to boost your confidence is to know some basic information from the blueprint. Know it so well that you don’t have to think about it at all. Know it like you know 10 x10 = 100. If you know the basics that well, then, when you see them the exam, you’ll smile, get the question right, and your anxiety will cool down on the spot. The Final Step was designed with just that in mind.
Good luck.
Brian Wallace