5 Things Confident People Do

And how you can emulate them

Photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash

If you are like most people, you might feel inadequate or incompetent at times. Or in other words, you might experience some level of Imposter Syndrome.

This usually stems from a lack of confidence in one’s ability and skills.

Confidence is not something that you can learn overnight. It has come from within. It is a by-product of self-esteem, ambitions, and self-belief. Hence, confidence is not merely a trait but an attitude.

“Confidence is everything. Confidence is what makes that simple white tee and jeans look good.”– Ciara, American singer

However, confident people do share some core habits which I am going to list below.

1. Value your own judgments

Self-confident people listen to their own intuition. They don’t sell themselves out to the judgment of others. They have the self-belief to come up with the answers and they understand that at the end of the day, they have to live with whatever decision they made.

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval” — Mark Twain, an American writer

This doesn’t mean that they don’t seek advice. Confident people recognize that others might provide a solution from a different point of view but they also recognize that they know themselves better than anyone. Others offer input, but they make the final call.

Takeaway

Acting on your judgment is necessary to build self-confidence. You have to remember that others are just providing you input and it is you who has to live with the decisions.

When making decisions on your own, you have to remember the “why”. You have to identify and remember the reason behind your decision. This “why” will help you understand your frame of mind and perspective which led to that decision.

2. Don’t fake appearances

People who have confidence don’t fake their appearance to appeal to anybody. Neither they show they are greater than someone nor put on an act just to appease others. Confident people don’t seek approval.

As Steve Jobs said,

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

They appreciate themselves. No matter how many followers you have on social media, how many team members you have, or how much you earn, you will never be satisfied with your life if you are not authentic.

Takeaway

Authenticity comes with confidence and staying true to yourself. When you don’t fake appearance and be authentic, people will start trusting you more as your behavior and ethics will become predictable. You have value your uniqueness and don’t expect to blend in everywhere.

When you aren’t authentic and allow others to dictate your mood and actions, you disrespect yourself. Not only that, but you also suppress your feelings and emotions, which leads to frustration. Hence, you have to embrace your imperfections, and don’t let fears prevent you from being yourself.

3. Praise other’s success

When we celebrate other’s accomplishments as our own, we experience positivity and joy. People who are confident in themselves and in their own success and achievements do it all the time. They don’t put down someone just to show they are better.

They don’t feel jealous or bitter when their colleagues or friend move ahead in life instead, they embrace their feats. They build healthy relationships and healthy relations means sharing both ups and downs.

Blowing out someone else’s candle does not make you shine any brighter

Takeaway

When you praise someone genuinely, you experience feelings of joy and satisfaction. You also build stronger and healthier relationships which are imperative in one’s life. Self-confident people aim to build positive and healthy relationships. You have to appreciate other’s success and learn from it instead of feeling jealous and bitter.

4. Act without the permission

Confident people don’t need permission to act. They don’t wait around for somebody to tell them what to do. This encourages them to take more such initiatives which are a sign of confidence and authority.

They are not afraid of failure and don’t put things off. Whether it’s planning the agenda or going the extra mile for someone, when they see something that needs to be done, they do it.

Takeaway

When you see a pending job that is in your capacity, be proactive, and take the initiative of completing the task. This subconsciously develops a habit of relying on self-judgment and taking more such initiatives which will boost your self-confidence.

Taking initiative might feel uncomfortable, mostly because you are getting out of your comfort zone. Pushing yourself in unfamiliar situations helps you understand yourself better and forces you to ramp up your pace, drive as well as decision-making ability. This makes you trust your instincts more.

5. Play to your strengths

You can do a thousand things right, but most people will still remember for you the one thing you did wrong. This is why confident people always play their strengths. Our strengths and how we portray them speaks volumes about our thinking and behavior.

People with self-confidence don’t underestimate and hide their weaknesses, they just prefer to show their strengths to the world. Not only this, but they also look and encourage other’s strengths. When they identify their strength, it shows that they have trust in their qualifications and skills.

Takeaway

Always showcase your strengths. Only you can tap into the talents you have and it is important to remember that it will always be easier to find flaws than strengths. Strengths don’t just refer to things you are qualified but things you enjoy doing and look forward to doing it again.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to conceal your shortcomings. Don’t be shy to discuss your weaknesses but at the same time, keep in mind that you can make significant advancements in life by focusing on strengths. You can’t be great at everything in your life but you can be great at your strengths. Nobody remembers Michael Jackson for his business but for his dance and music.

Final thoughts

Self-confident people recognize their own worth and power without any regard for the situation they are in. It’s difficult to distinguish between people who are faking confidence and who are actually confident but confident people share certain traits that I have listed above.

Being confident is not something that you can learn from a book. It is a behavioral change, something which you can’t achieve overnight. You can become more confident when you start to accept your worth, value your ability, and understand that its okay to do mistakes as long as you keep learning from them. Self-confidence is contagious and so is lack of confidence.

“If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life” — Marcus Garvey.

You have to remember that confidence is an emotion, just like happiness and sadness. You may not feel confident all the time, but that does not mean you are you lack self-confidence.

When you go through an experience without self-confidence, you come out as a person who is more courageous, wise, and self-reliant.