SELF CONFIDENCE -If you think you can, you can!

Alexl gets a promotion and is excited about his new position and status in his team.

He is highly enthusiastic about playing this new role and is looking forward to take up the senior role.

He prepares himself mentally to be a smart professional, however somehow deep inside he feels he is losing it and is really not able to meet the new challenges.
Do you also sometimes go through feelings like this? If you do, read on.

You need not just try to look confident. You can learn to think positively and silently boost your confidence in every potentially threatening work situation.

Here are a few more situations, which occur commonly at work.
• Does your confidence go down at meetings?
Your colleagues appear more knowledgeable, more professional, and more vocal - they even seem totally relaxed and enjoy the small conversation that is an integral part of most meetings.

Appearances, however, can be deceptive. Look objectively at the situation. There is no real reason for you to feel intimidated. You are just as worthy as anyone else in that room and your contribution is just as valuable.

Keep this fact in mind throughout the meeting and avoid trying to blend in with the background. Once you have successfully raised your points and enjoyed some positive feedback from your colleagues, your confidence will grow. It will be much easier next time.
• Do you hold back on general office conversation through lack of confidence?
This situation can change if you take a step back and look at your position within the group. If you think that everyone else's conversation is much smarter than yours, think again. The best way to tackle this self-doubt is to stop comparing yourself with others. Everyone can offer a unique point of view and everyone's views are valuable.
• Do you lack confidence in your academic ability?
Remind yourself of the fact that, in today's business environment, academic achievement is being used less and less as a basis for evaluating people's intelligence. Communication skills are more important. The ability to get on with people, negotiate compromises and smooth over difficult work situations is far more relevant. In addition, if you show people that you respect them for the above qualities, they will reciprocate. This will boost your confidence in your ability to interact with colleagues.
• Is lack of positive feedback crushing your confidence?
Lack of positive feedback often stems from pressure of work and everyone suffering a heavy workload. It is not a personal issue and does not mean that you are no good at your job. In quieter moments, take the lead and ask for constructive feedback from your boss or colleagues. More importantly, make a point of mentally praising yourself at the end of every single working day.
• Do you secretly take work home with you on a regular basis in an attempt to keep one step ahead?
Recognize that you are not "slow" or uninformed. It is more likely that you have unrealistic expectations of yourself. If you tend to take work home with you at night, it could be that you are simply a perfectionist, putting too many demands upon yourself. Alternatively, others could be just expecting too much of you. Your confidence will improve once you accept that it is impossible for any worker to be perfect. You are in fact, doing your best and that is certainly good enough.
• We need confidence, but can we really improve on our self-confidence? Can we really make our lives more enjoyable, or is that just an unattainable dream?

Confidence can be improved. We can learn to be more confident. However we have to go about it the right way; we have to work at it. We have to make an effort, and if that effort is well directed we can make tremendous improvements in our confidence and thus in our sense of well-being. We can get more enjoyment out of our lives, more fulfillment and satisfaction. That is worth working for!
Building self-confidence is not just about thinking good of yourself; it's about not thinking bad about yourself for no reason!
• Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that a certain amount of humility or the occasional hint of self-doubt is not necessarily a bad thing. It can often work to your advantage, provided that it is kept in perspective. It can indicate that you are really thinking about what you are doing.

Here are a few tips to boost your self-confidence.

Feel good when you want
When you need to boost your self-confidence or self-esteem, find 3 things that make you feel good. These could be memories of good times, your achievements, a piece of music, a holiday souvenir, or a person's face - use photos if it helps. Make a conscious effort to think about them and bring them to your mind.

Beat Self-consciousness
Self-consciousness is the No.1 enemy of self-confidence. Learn how to keep your attention off yourself. If you feel self-conscious in a social situation, it's usually because you don't have enough to do! Focus on what your purpose in the situation is. Whether you're there to:

Find out if you like the other people in the situation.
Make others feel comfortable.
Find out some information
Make business contacts. And so on... It's easy to feel self-conscious if you have nothing to do, and much more difficult if your attention is occupied by a task. And so on...

It's easy to feel self-conscious if you have nothing to do, and much more difficult if your attention is occupied by a task.
Don't take undue criticism - even from yourself!

Remember:

Confident-looking people have bad moments too.

If you're saying things to yourself like "You're no good at anything" then rest assured, your confidence will go down.

Just because you feel under-confident, it doesn't mean other people can tell.