I’ve been thinking a lot in the past year of how much more confident I was when I was younger. By younger, I don’t mean a child, I’m talking about just a decade ago. Trying new things, stepping outside of my comfort zone, public performances – they were all part of my life. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a comfort zone!
Sometimes I believe it’s media that causes us to have more stress and anxiety. When you are constantly bombarded with the same messages on television, the internet, everywhere you are, it’s bound to affect you eventually. Most of the messages we are getting seem to revolve around our health; whether it be what we’re eating (or not eating), our alcohol intake, exercising, whether or not we smoke. I remember a time when all of the above weren’t things we were much concerned about and we were happier and healthier!
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with your business. Self confidence is very closely related to what many call charisma, that certain compelling attractiveness and sense of power that draws people to those who exude it. It can inspire loyalty in your customers, transfer itself to your products and services to have them appear as more appealing and of higher quality while also helping you to succeed.
Your self-esteem is based upon how much confidence you have. When you come across as calm in all situations it shows your ability to handle the most difficult of tasks and this, in turn, inspires confidence in others. It’s a win-win situation. New areas of business become challenges that you enjoy, self-doubt disappears and you no longer compare yourself to others or care too much about what they think.
Modern advertising would have us think the opposite. That everything we do in both our business and personal lives has to fall in line with a certain standard, and that standard has to be the same as those of everyone else. Standing out is not an option. All businesses must cater to the same clientele within the same demographics. Our businesses must toe the line politically, socially and in every other way that might mean someone would speak up about it and say it doesn’t fit in with how they feel a business should be run.
Never forget, that your business is just that – your business. In order to be maintained efficiently and to grow successfully, the owner of a business has to believe that what they selling meshes with their lifestyle. When you’re pushed and pulled in so many different directions because of what you’re told in the media and through other advertising, you become self-critical. You lose your ability to make a decision and act on it.
Forget about comfort zones, the constant bombardments of what others think is wrong with you, what is good for you, what is not good for you. Make those decisions for yourself. You know what causes stress in your life. You know when you’re out of shape and what needs to be done about it. Quit letting others tell you what is right and wrong with your business and your decisions. Decide for yourself and watch your confidence grow.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015
image courtesy of kzntopbusiness
