I recently heard someone make a comment  about growing confidence. It sounded so strange to me.  How do you grow confidence?

My mind conjured up this image of running down to the local store to buy seeds, planting them, and then just watching the confidence spring up.  If it were only that easy…

In truth, it actually is kind of like that – only we don’t have to buy seeds.  We naturally have those seeds of confidence within our very being.  Perhaps they are sitting on a dusty shelf in our unconscious, but they are inside somewhere.

Most of us have lost some of our confidence at some point.  It can leak out through life experiences that are challenging or don’t quite turn out right from our point of view.  And of course, there’s negative programming that could  come from parents, family and friends, schools, the media… the list can go on and on…

Perhaps the most damaging to our self confidence is our own self talk. Our unconscious mind hears and remembers everything.  Imagine talking to a young child the way you talk to yourself.  You know if that dialogue is healthy or not!

If we need to rebuild our faith in ourselves, it takes time.  Those old habits can be hard to break.   But once we have even a little bit of confidence, then it grows even more.  It’s like compound interest, only this interest is in you, about you, and for you.

Imagine being a newborn and having to learn everything you needed to learn from scratch.  You did that!  As you were growing, it didn’t matter how many times you fell learning how to walk, how many times you tried to coordinate your body with your goal, or how many times you struggled to do any of the tasks you don’t even think about any more.  You didn’t let self judgment and fear stop you back then.

And those seeds of confidence are still inside you!  

Here are a few tips to cultivate more confidence in your own life:

• Acknowledge how far you’ve come – even if you’ve got a long way to go.  Remember you were that newborn once upon a time.
• Appreciate yourself.  Talk to yourself in supportive ways.  Tell yourself when you’ve done a good job.  Everyday! Even the little things.  They count too!
• When things don’t work out the way you’d like, don’t beat yourself up.  Find a way to laugh or put a positive spin on things.  Part of life is about learning, and the best way to learn is through trial and error.  Mistakes are good teachers if we are willing to learn from them.
• Remember if you start to respect yourself more, so will everyone else! 
• Posture can adversely affect your mood.  No more hunched shoulders or shallow breathing –  those things support stress and anxiety.  If you’re always looking down, your mood could be down too.  Stand up tall. Be present in your body. Allow yourself to feel strength in your core.
• Don’t compare!  You are totally unique.  And you come here with a totally different skill set than anyone else on the face of the earth.   You have your own path that is yours alone and a life purpose that no one else can fulfill. Don’t try to be like anyone else. Be you!
• Do your inner work!  Let the past go.  Don’t marinade in it.  If you need help, get some.
• There are Canadian Tree Essences that can help you release old emotions and patterns and help you see your Light.  Contact me personally for more information.

Remember confidence and courage are the foundations of

living your purpose and being your authentic self!