Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so many people struggle to find it. Sadly, this can be a vicious circle: People who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful. After all, would you instinctively want to back a project that was being pitched by someone who was nervous, fumbling and overly apologetic?
On the other hand, you might be persuaded by someone who spoke clearly, who held their head high, who answered questions assuredly, and who readily admitted when he/she did not know something.

Self-confident people inspire confidence in others: Their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. Gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success.

The good news is that self-confidence really can be learned and built on. And, whether you’re working on your own self-confidence or building the confidence of people around you, it’s well-worth the effort! All other things being equal, self-confidence is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful. As you can see from these examples, low self-confidence can be self-destructive, and it often manifests itself as negativity. Self-confident people are generally more positive – they believe in themselves and their abilities, and they also believe in the wonders of living life to the full.

Tip: Balanced Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is about balance. At one extreme, we have people with low self-confidence. At the other end, we have people who may be over-confident.

Good self-confidence is a matter of having the right amount of confidence, founded in reality and on your true ability. With the right amount of self-confidence, you will take informed risks, stretch yourself (but not beyond your abilities) and try hard.

By contrast, if you are under-confident, you’ll avoid taking risks and stretching yourself; and you might not try at all. This means that you’ll fail to reach your potential. And if you’re over-confident, you’ll probably take too much risk, stretch yourself beyond your capabilities, and crash badly. You may also find that you’re so optimistic, that you don’t try hard enough to truly succeed.

So, self-confidence needs to be founded on reality: realistic expectations, your skills and experience, and the effort and preparation that you are willing to put in to reach your goal.

Building Self-Confidence
So how do you build this sense of balanced self-confidence, founded on a firm appreciation of reality?

The bad news is that there’s no quick fix or 5-minute solution.

The good news is that building self-confidence is readily achievable, just as long as you have the focus and determination to carry things through. And what’s even better is that the things you’ll do will build success – after all, your confidence will come from real, solid achievement. No-one can take this away from you!

So here are our three steps to self-confidence, for which we’ll use the metaphor of a journey: Preparing for your journey; setting out; and accelerating towards success
Develop the self-confidence you deserve! So how confident do you seem to others? Look at what you’ve already achieved: Think about what's important to you, and who you really are: Think about where you want to go: Start managing your mind-believe you can do anything.
And then commit yourself to success! Build the knowledge you need to succeed: Set small goals, and achieve them: Accelerate Towards Success:

I hope this will build you into a more constructive person in your work place.
Doing what you believe to be right, even if others mock or criticize you for it. Being willing to take risks and go the extra mile to achieve better things.Admitting your mistakes and vowing to learn from them. Waiting for others to congratulate you on your accomplishments. Accepting compliments graciously. “Thanks, I really worked hard on that prospectus. I’m pleased you recognize my efforts.”
Governing your behavior based on what other people think.
Staying in your comfort zone, fearing failure and so avoid taking risks.
Working hard to cover up mistakes and praying that you can fix the problem before anyone is the wiser.
Extolling your own virtues as often as possible to as many people as possible.
Dismissing compliments offhandedly. “Oh that prospectus was nothing really, anyone could have done it.”

You can Build yourself into a better person.

@ poster
thanks!!!!!!

this was sooooooo helpful esp as i will be starting a new job next week!

thank you, well done.this sure came in handy.

I appreciate the article.It is a job well done!I share in what u believe and as far as self-confidence is concerned,without it u cant be famous and successful.Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th Century Poet and Philosopher) is my inspiration on Self-reliance.

u did your home work well. thanks for adding colour to my confidence.

Thanks. that is a good one from you.Please keep it up.