If there’s one trait that can empower you to achieve what you desire, it’s confidence. Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in your own abilities and the belief that you have everything it takes to face any challenge that might come your way. When you are self-confident you trust and have faith in yourself and the future.

Confidence is the powerhouse behind everything you do. If you have strong confidence you’ll be unstoppable. Your belief, your confidence that you can achieve something will power you through.

But if you lack confidence you’ll second guess yourself.

An enabling New Year’s resolution is to build, develop and enhance your confidence.

Strong confidence allows you to build other resolutions in the certain knowledge that you can achieve them.

Take a look at some of the tips and techniques for building your confidence:

New Year Resolutions

One of the best things about the New Year is the chance to re-evaluate yourself and your life. For example, if you find that you’re constantly beating yourself up for some nagging reason, now is the perfect time to clear some clutter from your brain and focus your energy on what really matters.

In addition, you should consider taking a year long self-confidence building sabbatical. Not only will you get a fresh perspective, but you’ll also get to see your strengths and weaknesses in a new light. The result is a more balanced and confident you. You might even come up with a few goals for the coming year that you never dreamed possible.

It’s no secret that being confident can make you happier and more productive at work, but it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. You can achieve your full potential while minimizing the stress of your day-to-day life. Fortunately, there are plenty of nifty tips and tricks to help you reach your goals. Here are some of them.

Choosing the right type of goal can be tricky. For example, you need to pick an objective that is relevant to your career and life goals, and that you can realistically attain. Similarly, you need to ensure that your motivation is consistent. If you have no idea how to do this, you should consult with a professional. Aside from that, you should take note of any advice given to you.

It’s a good idea to do a few comparative analyses of the various goals you have in mind. Specifically, you should determine what your priorities are, and what you need to do to achieve them. Doing this will provide you with a road map to success. Taking a look at your past successes and failures will allow you to gauge the best course of action to take in the future.

Boosting Self Confidence

Recognize The Positives

One of the most effective ways to boost your confidence is to give yourself a pat on the back for the right things. There are many ways to achieve this, from volunteering to joining a gym, but the most straightforward approach is to acknowledge your accomplishments, and . Lastly, try not to beat yourself up for having a bad day. This might be a hard thing to do, but if you can reclaim some of the energy you expended, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your objectives.

Build A Support Network

Appreciate the people in your life that support you. If there are some people who constantly criticize and put you down, consider whether you want these negative people in your life. This kind of constant toxic feedback can really hit your self confidence. One New Year’s Resolution could be to distance yourself from toxic company. If this is not possible, look for any positives you can in the negative conversations. Some negative people may believe they are trying to help you and looking out for your best interests. If this is so, then you MAY be able to find a positive comment or you may be able to turn around a negative comment to extract the positive from it. This however, may take considerable self belief, which you may not YET possess. Build positive relationships. Those who are negative and try to bring you down can often drain your confidence.

Be Kind To Yourself

Be your best cheerleader and even when things don’t go as well as you would like, don’t “beat yourself up”. We all know people who call themselves “stupid” or “worthless” when they make a mistake. This is not true. Everyone makes mistakes. Tell yourself that your next try at this will be better. Practise self-care. Self-confidence and self-care are often closely linked. Think of things you can do to practise self care, these can be as simple as a long hot bath or shower or taking a long walk.

Practise Affirmations

Affirmations are stories you tell yourself about how you want to be. They are always positive and formed in the present tense, eg “I am” (NOT Future, not “I will”). You say these to yourself several times a day and put as much belief into them as possible. Here is one affirmation: I am confident and value myself. You can find many similar affirmations online and you will be able to find one that resonates with you. You can write several of these down on a small card that you carry with you and read several times a day.

Set Yourself A Challenge

Find something you would like to try or improve on, whether it’s playing a musical instrument, running a marathon, volunteering, building a website, travelling, blogging, improving your education or whatever you would like to do, find something that you would enjoy and that would be a challenge for you. It should not be really, really difficult but neither should it be easy. It should be something at which you can feel true satisfaction for completing.

Having a solid list of goals can be a daunting task, but it’s a fun challenge. When deciding what to do, you can go with a list that contains everything from activities you enjoy to those that will advance your career. Also, don’t forget to think about the best way to spend your free time. Whether you prefer to play golf, ride a bike, or simply spend your time at the office, be sure to take advantage of your free time by using it to build your self-confidence.

Looking for something to help you in your self-development? We recommend learning to play golf rather than reading self-help books. 

Self-development may sound like a yawn. If you subscribe to the old-school way of thinking, you might be thinking of therapy, hours of lying on a sofa talking about your insecurities. Or maybe a bookshelf of self-help books, all of which say contrasting things. 

But the truth is, every day, every situation is a chance for self-development. Work, recreation, interactions with others… The opportunities are endless. 

But one of the things that supercharge your self-development is learning something new. A language. A skill. Or a sport. We’re a huge fan of learning sports as self-development because it incorporates both physical and mental improvement. 

If you’re wondering which sport specifically, learning to play golf is one of the best sports to help you in your self-development. Here’s why! 

 

It Includes Physical, Mental, and Emotional Development 

One of the greatest things about golf is that it helps you to develop multiple skills at the same time. Physical, mental, and emotional skills are all at play on the golf course, so that makes it a wonderful opportunity for self-development in many areas… All at the same time. 

If you’re looking for physical development, golf is a great place to start, no matter your fitness level. It’s an excellent way to get in moderate cardio, because a round of golf contains close to 10,000 steps! You’ll also get a decent upper body workout when you swing. 

Physical self-development aside, you’ll have the chance to work on mental and emotional skills as well. Learning how to stay calm under pressure, thinking strategically, handling unexpected situations (like a rogue wind), and focusing on the task at hand are all important self-development skills you can work on while you’re on the golf course. 

It Requires Consistency & Practice 

You can’t improve your golf game without consistent practice. In the same way, you can work on your self-development without consistency and patience. Just like you can’t develop a precise putt by watching YouTube videos, you can’t work on self-development skills by reading self-help books. 

You need to actually practice. Often. Want to improve your handicap? You need to spend enough time on the course for improved skills to become muscle memory. Want to become more patient? You need to spend enough time working on it for it to become your default. 

The beauty of golf is that you can do both at the same time. Working on your handicap means you’re automatically working on your patience, your focus, your strategy, and a number of other things at the same time. 

You Can Learn No Matter Your Skill Level 

Golf is a great sport for anybody, regardless of skill level. If you’re totally new to the game, you can easily begin with mini golf or adventure golf to get a good feel for the clubs in your hand and the nuance of putting. 

From there, you can move to the driving range, where you can learn how to swing and work on your aim before you get to the course. You can also play around with training aids on the putting and chipping greens, getting comfortable before you play a full round. 

That means that whether you’ve played golf before or you’re a complete newbie, you can still have fun learning both the game and self-development skills! 

It Gets You Close to Nature 

There’s something to be said about playing sports surrounded by nature. Playing on a sports field may be outdoors, but there’s nothing quite like playing your way through trees, over water, out of the sand, and with lovely 360-degree views of nature. 

Research suggests that being close to nature is great for mental health. Not only do you get sunshine on your skin and fresh air in your lungs, but nature is calming. This is the best place to be when you’re trying to work on self-improvement! 

You Can Work On It Alone or With Others 

Self-development may begin with “self”, but that doesn’t mean you only have to do it when you’re alone. The support of others is important when it comes to both sports and self-improvement. 

Golf is unique in that it can be an individual sport, but you can also do it with friends. If you’re working on both your game and your self-development, taking a supportive friend along for a round can be motivating both for your game and your self-development skills. 

It’s Extremely Rewarding 

Working hard on your golf game does yield results if you’re consistent. There’s no feeling quite like hitting your first perfect, powerful drive right down the fairway. Or sinking a long putt on a difficult green. The markers of improvement are easy to see and give you great goals to aim for along the way. 

Self-development is similar. The sense of pride and peace when you realize you’ve crossed a threshold in your self-development is something that you don’t forget. Whatever skills you’re aiming to develop, you don’t forget the rewarding feeling when you realize all your hard work has paid off. 

Conclusion 

Sport is a fantastic way to work on your self-development. Whatever you want to improve, you can do it with sports if you just wrap your head around it the right way. 

Golf isn’t the only sport that can boost your self-improvement efforts. But we definitely believe it’s the best one! We may be biased, but between the proximity to nature, the safe level of activity, the accessibility, and the mental, emotional, and physical benefits, we can’t find another sport that even comes close. 

If you already play golf, consider this an excellent excuse to play more often! If you’re only learning to play golf now, enjoy every moment, and remember you’re working on yourself in many ways while learning. 

And if you’ve never played before, now may be the best time to start! It could make the biggest difference to your mental, emotional, and physical health. 

About the Author

Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer who understands first-hand the effect golf can have on one’s mental, emotional, and physical health. When he’s not on the course, he’s researching and writing articles for his website, Golf Influence. 

Going back to school as an adult may seem like an impossible task, especially if you have a full life as it is. But if you are planning on returning to school again, here are some helpful tips on how to make it look easy.

Try to get as organized as possible

One of the first things you’ll want to do when getting reacquainted with school again, whether online or in person, is to familiarize yourself with your coursework and try to get as organized as possible regarding your course milestones. Reading through your course framework as well as jotting down important information such as your tutor’s details and who to contact when you have a query should help you save time should you encounter hurdles along the way.

Getting your home schedule in sync with your work schedule

If you have other obligations to see to, such as family commitments or even another job to work around, then it might be helpful to get all your schedules in sync with each other so that you don’t run into difficulties down the line. Technology can help with this if you want to make sure everyone is aware of what’s on the agenda daily with apps such as Cozi or Flayk.

Track your goals

Keeping track of your goals is all the more worthwhile if you can achieve them in the timeframe you set out to achieve them. Therefore, it is vital to keep track of your goals on a daily and weekly basis. For example, you may want to diarize important assignment dates as well as set weekly goals for yourself so that you stay on track with your syllabus.

Establishing what your ultimate goal is

Speaking of goal setting, perhaps your goal is to achieve your education so that you can open up your own business one day. If so, it would be helpful to look into the various business structures that are available to ensure you select the right one from the start. For example, an LLC might just work out the best for you if you want a business type with plenty of benefits, including tax benefits such as not having to pay corporate federal income tax; more flexibility when it comes to the management structure of your business should your business scale up one day; limited liability, etc. Furthermore, a formation service can assist you with all the ins and outs of registering your business and are even on top of the different regulations that apply in each state if you decide to move one day.

Branch out

Suppose you already have extensive experience in a certain field, then why not take a professional development course rather than going the longer route of acquiring a new or more advanced degree in your field? For example, if you are in the medical field and are already quite familiar with medical codes, then you can choose from among online medical coding courses to help extend your knowledge even further. You can even take an assessment at the end of the course to verify your skill level in this area to ensure that you know how to assign the correct medical codes and what they mean in terms of medical procedures and service claims.

So, if you plan on studying further, don’t let the passage of time prevent you from achieving your dreams. Also, you can help to reduce your length of study by using professional development courses to help save you time in the end.

For motivational tips on various topics, visit the Keep The Fire Lit website for more information.

 

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Many entrepreneurs choose to hire independent professionals rather than full-time employees because the former provides several unique benefits to the business. This article from Keep The Fire Lit outlines some of these benefits and shares tips on hiring freelance sales and marketing professionals.

Why Hire Freelance Sales and Marketing Professionals?

Freelancers operate independently. They offer specific expertise, such as designing, writing, sales, and marketing. Freelancers take projects from different clients and set their own schedules. If you’re looking for sales and marketing professionals in Toronto, hiring them on a freelance basis offers several pros and cons.

According to Fora Financial, the pros of hiring freelance sales and marketing professionals include:

• Minimal commitment. Hiring freelancers lets you access sales and marketing expertise without having to commit to the professionals long-term, as you would with full-time staff.
• Flexible rates. You can agree on rates based on the specific projects or tasks the freelancers take on.
• Large talent pool. The freelance market provides you with a large pool of highly talented and motivated sales and marketing professionals that you can deploy almost immediately.

The downsides of hiring freelance professionals include:

• Limited control. Your oversight is limited because freelance professionals operate with significantly more autonomy than full-time employees.
• Limited scope. Buscom notes that a freelance workforce is relatively difficult to scale because expanding the scope of a freelancer’s work involves renegotiating your contract with them.
• Training and onboarding costs. Hiring freelance professionals often involves some up-front training and onboarding costs, which can add up if you frequently hire new freelancers.

Investing in certain off-the-shelf services can also help save your business time and money. For example, the right accounting software may offer all the benefits of an in-house accountant while saving you the cost of hiring one. Likewise, you can save money on the fees lawyers charge to incorporate a business by hiring a business formation service at a reduced rate.

Incorporating your business can help you save on taxes, limit your personal liability for business debts, and give you access to better ways of receiving payments from customers.

How to Hire Freelance Sales and Marketing Professionals

Freelancers vary widely in their expertise and rates. You want to hire freelance sales and marketing professionals who match your business’s needs and budget. Of course, you’ll need to be able to pay for your outsourcing needs, so seek out sources of funding. If you need to take out a loan, keep in mind that lenders will examine your finances closely, and if you have a young company, personal finances will be especially scrutinized. Among other criteria, lenders will consider your debt-to-income ratio to determine whether to issue a loan, so it’s good to know what yours is before approaching an institution.

There are different places to find talented freelancers.

• Search on Google for the websites of smart, organized freelancers.
• Hire sales and marketing professionals through LinkedIn after reviewing their profiles.
• Look for sales and marketing professionals on freelance marketplaces such as UpWork.com and Freelancer.com.

When looking for sales and marketing professionals, check for the following:

• Ability to maintain meaningful relationships with key customers
• Strong corporate communication skills
• Experience selling products similar to yours
• Proficiency in using digital tools for sales or marketing
• A good culture fit for your company

Additionally, check their stats and client referrals to make sure they have a strong history of excellent performance.

Hire the Best Talent

Freelance sales and marketing professionals can be a great addition to your workforce. With the right hiring strategy, you can find freelancers who meet or even exceed your expectations.

Disclaimer

This article does not provide legal, financial or hiring advice. If you need advice, please consult a relevant professional in your jurisdiction.

Feeling self-confident is key to success in any area of life. When you feel good about yourself, you’re more likely to take on new challenges and achieve your goals. Sadly, 85% of people worldwide struggle with low self-esteem. If you’re one of those people, don’t worry! You can do plenty of things to start feeling more confident. Here are four of them.

1. Try Power Posing

You don’t need superpowers to reap the benefits of the power pose. The power pose, or superhero stance, is a simple body language trick that can make you feel more confident and ready to take on the world. All you need to do is stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your hips, and chin up. As little as two minutes in a power pose can increase confidence and reduce stress.

When you stand in a power pose, it signals your brain to release testosterone or the power hormone. Testosterone makes you feel more self-confident and dominant. It also reduces the stress hormone cortisol. So, not only do you feel better, but you also look better.

Start practising power posing right now, and see how it can change the way you feel about yourself and the world around you.

2. Set Goals

If you feel overwhelmed, try starting small. Set a goal that’s attainable and manageable. For example, making your bed can be a great first step. It’s a simple goal, but it can make you feel good about yourself when you accomplish it. Research has shown that completing small goals, such as making your bed, leads to a greater sense of self-efficacy and improved moods.

 

3. Consider a Career Change

Finally, if you’re feeling stuck and unfulfilled in your current career, it may be time for a fresh start. A career change can be daunting, but it’s also an exciting opportunity to explore new possibilities. If you’re ready to take the plunge, start by exploring different career paths.

Alternatively, start a business or side hustle that aligns with your passions and goals. This can be a great way to gain some confidence and feel empowered in your career. If you choose to start a business, do your research, and create a solid business plan. The business plan acts as your roadmap and helps you stay on track.

A winning business plan needs to include the following:

• A clear description of your business and its products or services
• Your business goals and objectives
• A detailed outline of your company structure
• A marketing plan defining your target market and how you plan to reach it
• Financial projections and funding requirements

This helps you navigate the early stages of starting a company and increase your chances of success. If you’re feeling lost and uncertain about your career, you can always seek out professional guidance.

4. Stay Confident When Things Get Tough

Confidence is a state of mind, and it can be cultivated. Follow these tips, and start feeling more confident today. If you’re looking for more ways to build confidence, check out these blog posts on Motivation for Success.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article should be taken as providing financial or legal advice. If you intend building a business, take professional advice relevant to the jurisdiction you are in.

This article contains affiliate links.

Growing up, many of us were encouraged to keep a journal or a diary. We might not have been aware of the benefits it came with but we did it all the same. Writing your thoughts in your little book of secrets seemed so mysterious and exciting until we grew out of it. With the everyday jostle and a busy schedule, sometimes it becomes hard for one to consider writing in a journal. Just like how we become so pumped up at the beginning of the year, we see the need to document our resolutions and how the previous year went, it should continue like that throughout the year. The reason why many of our resolutions are never realized is how we choose not to make a habit of journaling.

One might be wondering why they should keep a journal as it might seem trivial. There are many benefits to keeping a journal, it has been seen to be a great way of reducing stress and anxiety in turn improving a person`s mood. People who keep journals have better mental health and even physical health as the immune system is boosted. It helps you to organize, clarify, and articulate your thoughts. You develop better self-knowledge and problem-solving skills. It even aids with creativity and innovation as you get time to brainstorm on ideas, enhancing the curiosity to learn new things.

Keeping a journal sounds easy, l mean what could go wrong with just writing your thoughts in a book? Plenty of us at some point picked up a book and started journaling maybe for a couple of days and probably just lost interest in the process. It takes a lot of willpower and organization for one to be able to be consistent about keeping a journal. Below are some amazing tips to help you keep going once you start, all the while enjoying the process as well as getting the most out of it.

Always have your journal with you

Your journal shouldn’t be a book for special occasions or just one you use when you want to write something special.  Dump all your thoughts into it. By always being with your journal you give yourself more chances to write in it. You get to scribble down ideas and decisions you might need to get back to. Inspiration can strike anytime. And if you have a journal that you can also color in, it allows you to have something to do that is both therapeutic and relaxing. A coloring journal allows you to plan out your week or further ahead, while also having fun coloring.

Make lists

It is not always easy to make detailed entries in your journal especially when you always have a busy schedule or when you are someone who doesn’t really like writing. A bullet journal will work just perfectly for you. Write lists instead,

• things you like,
• what excited you today.
• Interesting quotes you come across
• bucket lists.

You don’t have to narrate your whole day.

Create a layout that works for you

Write in a way that makes the experience enjoyable, one that allows you to go back at some time and still understand what you were writing about. If you list your goals, things you want to work on, let them be clear also with a specified time frame that allows you to go back to them and track your progress. Include how you plan to achieve the desired goal in well-articulated steps.

Don’t be hung up on perfection

Many times we end up losing the zeal to write because we will be obsessing about doing it the right way. There is no right way to do it. Embrace your thoughts and go wherever they take you, it is alright to be spontaneous. Your handwriting doesn’t have to be perfect, that idea doesn’t have to make sense entirely before you can scribble it down. If you find it difficult to write anything down unless it’s “perfect”, then before you start, write at the top, “no one else has to see this”or  “practice  pages  only”  or  something  else  that  will  encourage  you  to write,  rather  than  edit  yourself  before  starting  to write.

Don’t overthink it…

Write it down no matter how ridiculously big or how small the idea might be. Write about what scares you; your long-term goals, the short-term ones and be sure to always document your wins and celebrate them no matter how small they might be. Keep your journal entries short and easy to follow up on. Use diagrams  or mind maps or speech bubbles or drawings of scrolls or whatever you want to record a few words and make them stand out.

Journal consistently

Make it a culture, it might not necessarily be every day but to make the habit stick it is advisable to write daily and even push it with a specific time you find flexible. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time you give yourself – five minutes daily to write up a few thoughts. You can even choose to write during a specific activity during your day, if you take a bus to work or to school you can even make the bus ride a time for reflection and writing daily. Set reminders if you are one to forget.

Eliminate distractions while journaling

To be in sync with your mind and to able to tap into the creative realm your mind should be free of distractions. Find a serene spot that is relaxing which makes it easier for you to focus. If music calms you down, play some to shut out all other distractions. Or maybe color in and focus on the coloring. It is surprising what useful ideas suddenly start appearing!

No need to make it too serious!

Journaling should be fun. If you love color and glitter, if you are into pictures include some in it. It does not have to be strictly writing. Spice it up to keep it interesting in line with your preferences. Sketch a drawing if you want to.

If you have not yet started the journaling journey, anytime is the right time to do it. Don’t wait for the beginning of the month or the year, start now. Grab a book and get on it, you will not regret it!

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts come and they go, the same goes for wonderful ideas capable of changing the course of your life for good. I could liken them to the rain, in due season it falls but if we aren’t witty enough to build dams to retain it then it goes deep into the earth wasted. The sun as well with its magnificent shine and the heat it comes with consistently rises and sets but only those with solar systems can harvest its power. Without the proper infrastructure and organization, it would be impossible to take a day just to go and admire nature’s beauty in animals at the zoo or game park.

All these are natural phenomena that follow a certain pattern engraved in their being; but without human effort to make the best out of them, their full potential cannot be known. See a man leading a confused life, making unwise decisions, and perhaps blaming one person or the next thing for his disadvantaged fate? There is disorder even in his thinking. Disorganized thinking leads to actions and words of the same nature and the opposite is true. There is something about keeping a record of one’s thoughts and plans that helps eliminate grey areas of doubt in their path. This is because naturally when you set out to keep a journal, as opposed to a diary which is often a chronological list of events, you are inclined to note down only important things and so the more you write them down the more you focus your mind on those.

 

1. Journaling empowers you to gain clarity about where you are.

Sure, you may read your diary years later and laugh at some of your folly and immature thinking one day but if you want a fair assessment of where you stand today, start writing down your experiences, your reflections, and your takeaway from these in a JOURNAL. It’s a busy world we live in and without sufficient time taken to analyze ourselves, we gradually lose touch and just blend in with everything else happening around us. Give yourself a kind reminder of who you are and what you represent, your values, your pains, your joys, regularly to make sure you aren’t just existing. A business cannot know how well it is doing and how much improvement it needs without thorough bookkeeping. You also, unless you keep your personal account books cannot be sure of where you stand and what you need to improve to lead a more profitable life.

2. You need to appreciate how far you’ve come.

Going through a picture album with all my photos from babyhood to childhood through teenagerhood gave me an interesting perspective recently. I realized how much I had been ‘mutating’ over the years without even realizing it! It is the same feeling when you read your journals or diaries written in past seasons. You can only look and be grateful for the character growth and otherwise. Sometimes when we are hard-pressed by current challenges, we only need to look over our shoulders and see where we have come from. Reminiscing how we won over the Goliaths of that time gives us the courage to face the present ones. Keep journaling so that you may not forget to be patient and always hopeful in every circumstance.

 

3. Journaling removes the mist around your future.

This is by far the most important part of all this: using the power of writing things down to paint a clear picture of the future you want.  The mind can be a dangerous place to keep important information because it may not keep it all ready for reference at anytime. We may forget. Or time and circumstances change our notions of what we want to be and do. With our imaginations, we see what could be but when we write it down, we cement our imagination thereby increasing the chances of us living to see the dream. Without clearly defined goals written down, one can only hope to stumble upon a favorable future.

Something else very interesting happens when you take the step of keeping a record of your life. You may not be a skilled writer but somehow your level of excellence in writing advances when you set your mind to do it. This then spills over to even the way you execute your plans. It as if your mind hears the message, “We are organized and we are taking ourselves seriously” and so it passes it on to every fiber of your being.

After adopting the winning habit of writing you will find it useful to organize the journals themselves because if they look like trash it’s only a matter of time before you toss them out. Neatly written and well-organized work will make you want to read and keep it. Imagine that day in the future when you will want to tell your story to inspire others, your written work will be most valuable then so keep at it, and don’t forget to insert dates and even times in your journals.