{"id":47036,"date":"2017-02-01T20:24:42","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T04:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=47036"},"modified":"2017-05-27T08:46:29","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T16:46:29","slug":"is-this-one-critical-mistake-crippling-your-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/is-this-one-critical-mistake-crippling-your-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Is This One Critical Mistake Crippling Your Confidence?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><\/p>\n<p>Are you\u2019re freaking out at the thought of meeting new people, speaking up at that meeting or going for that job interview?<\/p>\n<p>Have you tried all the standard advice on how to be more confident, more self-assured?<\/p>\n<p>And have all your efforts actually left you <i>less <\/i>confident, less self-assured?<\/p>\n<p>Take heart. You\u2019re not alone. There\u2019s a really good reason.<\/p>\n<p>You see, it\u2019s still good advice&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Talk louder<\/li>\n<li>Walk faster<\/li>\n<li>Strike a \u2018power pose\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And so on.<\/p>\n<p>Good advice that is \u2026 for anyone not like <i>you.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not because there\u2019s anything wrong with you. In fact, it\u2019s the opposite. It\u2019s because everything is <i>right<\/i> with you.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is you\u2019re making one critical mistake that\u2019s crippling your confidence\u2026<\/p>\n<h3><b>The true, authentic you.<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>You see, you were born with a fierce desire to be you. And you naturally want success in your personal and work life. But not at the <i>expense<\/i> of who you truly are.<\/p>\n<p>And you feel that if you follow a lot of the good, but generic advice out there on how to be confident, you\u2019ll end up a walking, talking, posturing caricature of yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trying to build healthy self-esteem and confidence by imitating others is like trying to eat healthily on a diet of fast food.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your self-esteem and confidence can only flourish in the person it belongs to \u2013 you.<\/p>\n<p>You are unique and have always had your own unique self-confidence. What you need is to <i>unlock<\/i> that confidence and use it to permanently rock your world.<\/p>\n<p>You see, the critical mistake all this advice is making is treating self-confidence as if it were somehow an <i>external<\/i> thing.<\/p>\n<p><b>True, lasting confidence is an <i>inside <\/i>job. <\/b><\/p>\n<p>The advantage of <i>inner <\/i>confidence is that it doesn\u2019t rely on \u2018faking it or external techniques designed to impress others. Techniques that, even though they may work in the short term, leave people like you and me feeling less confident and often with lower self esteem in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, the only thing NO ONE on this planet can do better than you \u2026 is be YOU.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You! &#8211; Dr Seuss<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Or if you prefer:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. &#8211; Oscar Wilde<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You will always be a poor imitation of anyone else. Only by unlocking your true inner confidence can you :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>stop feeling intimated by others<\/li>\n<li>stop feeling inferior to others<\/li>\n<li>stop saying \u2018yes\u2019 to everyone and everything.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And instead:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Start feeling good about yourself<\/li>\n<li>Start feeling more confident about your capabilities<\/li>\n<li>Start saying \u2018no\u2019 and standing up for yourself without creating conflict or feeling guilty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So here\u2019s a few suggestions to start unlocking your inner confidence&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Instead of talking louder, try talking quieter \u2013 Gandhi never raised his voice and a nation listened.<\/li>\n<li>Instead of walking faster, try walking at your own pace \u2013 I\u2019ve never seen the Dalai Lama rushing from one place to the next.<\/li>\n<li>Instead of striking a \u2018power pose\u2019, try letting your authentic body language speak for itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Unlock you inner confidence<br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Stop missing out on great social, personal and work opportunities<\/p>\n<p>Imagine being at ease when meeting new people.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine speaking up with confidence at that next meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine acing that next job interview.<\/p>\n<p>Let your authentic, inner confidence rock your world.<\/p>\n<p>From the inside, out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bio<\/strong>: Laura Tong is a former health professional, a regular contributor on The Huffington Post and Assistant Editor at Goodlife ZEN. Along with Mary Jaksch, a psychotherapist and authorized Zen Master she has created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.udemy.com\/the-confidence-blueprint\/\">The Confidence Blueprint<\/a> to help you feel good about yourself and unlock your authentic confidence with proven strategies and techniques. Or take her fun and revealing <a href=\"http:\/\/goodlifezen.com\/how-confident-are-you-quiz\/\">Confidence Quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you tried all the standard advice on how to be more confident, more self-assured? And have all your efforts actually left you less confident, less self-assured? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/is-this-one-critical-mistake-crippling-your-confidence\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10784,"featured_media":47230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,32,29,21,112,6],"tags":[5404,233,4641,66,207,4629,4640],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is This One Critical Mistake Crippling Your Confidence?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you tried all the standard advice on how to be more confident, more self-assured? 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