A New Twist On Boosting Self-Confidence

She sat on the floor amongst a pile of papers and cried.

Everywhere she looked, something needed to be done. Bills were stacked, envelopes strewn about, unopened cards and grocery receipts cluttered the room. All she needed was a good filing system – how hard could that be?

Every day, smart people get caught in the “it should be so easy why can’t I do it” trap. Spending hours on a task or project that is not in your core strengths can make you feel frustrated, which in turn makes you feel dumb, which in turn blows your self-confidence. It’s a viscous, never ending, self-defeating cycle that can literally be changed in a moment. Imagine for a moment that you are now out into the future, in a place where you are using all of your strengths. You feel happy, joyful and competent. You are only working on the projects and tasks that suit your skills and strengths. Self-confidence soars.

Yet many are stuck in jobs and tasks that not only are not right for them, but actually cause lack of self-confidence. According to Gang & Gang, a research firm in Salem, Massachusetts, as many as 55% of all people are in the wrong career or job. For entrepreneurs trying to wear multiple hats, this number can be even higher as they attempt to fill multiple roles in their small company, causing not only lack of self-confidence, but lost profits, and lost productivity.

To begin the process of discovering how to become more self confident:

1. Take inventory. Take a written inventory of all of the tasks you do in a week. Everything. From household chores to email to whatever you do for work, write them all down.

2. Categorize the tasks. For each task, write an “H” for household/personal, “A” for administrative, “P” for productive and “SM” for sales/marketing or tasks that make you or your company money.

3. Offload what you’re doing that is wasting time (or that you’re not good at). If you are not good at paying the bills on time and you miss a payment, your self confidence will take a hit. Hiring a good bill paying service is inexpensive and saves your self confidence. If you don’t like doing the yard work, pay the kid next door to take care of it. You’ll help the economy and free up your time to do more of what you love. Play more. Visit with relatives. Start a side business. Go to your kids soccer games. Whatever you want. With confidence.

Now that you know 3 simple steps to improving your self confidence, all you need to do is put them in action. There’s nothing wrong with you. When you find yourself doing the things you love, you’ll find that your self confidence automatically improves.

By Stephanie Frank