by Laura Camacho
The reason you don’t feel confident at the precise moments you need it is because stress shuts down your brain’s memory. When facing the unexpected, many people are unable to remember how they handled past challenging events.
The solution is to build memory muscle of your competence. Here are three easy habits (baby steps, really) to raise that level of confidence in your everyday life. Remember, confidence is contagious and people want to do business with confident professionals.
Write down your daily wins
These wins don’t have to be million-dollar sales. On some days, getting out of bed and getting dressed for success is a win. Bringing your lunch to your work can be a win. Saying “no” to ice cream can be a win. Calling a potential client, even if they don’t take your call is a win.
Because of our inherent negativity bias, our brains focus on what we don’t do right, not on what we actually do accomplish.
Anchor the memory when you take a step in the right direction
I have trouble remembering where I parked my car. When I’m ready to leave the building or shopping center, I used to waste so much time – usually when I’m already tired – looking for my car.
I learned to really pay attention to the spot where I parked. What was it next to? What was the car in front of? Which building entrance was the closest? By actually stopping a moment and paying attention to the details, I became much more likely to remember where I parked my car.
Pay attention to your small successes and they will prime you for bigger success.
Decide in advance how you want to feel that day
Even before you get dressed for the day, take a moment to decide how you want to feel. This helps with managing your emotions, also known as Emotional Intelligence, a recognized success skill.
The act of deciding you want to feel confident, relaxed or enthusiastic, primes your body and your mind to actually feel that way. This emotional management skills develops with practice and helps you feel confident even when the day is not going well.
Practice these three habits and soon you’ll feel unstoppable. Because you are unstoppable.
Laura Camacho, MBA, PhD, PMP, is an executive coach, trainer and speaker who opened Mixonian Institute in 2009 to rid the world of boring business communication. She has created innovative training programs for local and international companies, related to leadership effectiveness, excellent feedback, growth mindset and emotional intelligence. Multilingual, Dr. Camacho’s career highlights include facilitating The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (in Spanish,) being editor of the leading management newsletter in Venezuela. For 10 years she taught communication classes at ECU and College of Charleston. www.mixonian.com
More articles by Laura
