How To Build Self-Confidence

Hi! Welcome to this free lesson of Procrastinate Zero 2. Even though I refer to other lessons in the course, the content from this video can be used by itself. 

Lesson Description

We build self-confidence by building competence. The process of building confidence is like this:

1. Improve your competencies
2. Put them into practice
3. See results
4. Grow more confident
5. Repeat

A Method for Learning/Improving Competencies  

1. Start small

Don’t take on too much stuff because there’s a higher probability you’ll quit. Also, don’t do a lot of stuff at the same time. If you want to lose weight, start by focusing on building healthy eating habits. If you want to start going to the gym, eat healthily, take supplements, and stop smoking at the same time—forget it. If you want to become a blogger and start with writing, building a site, doing marketing, and social media, you will quit within a month. It’s too much. Focus on one aspect at a time. And start small.  

2. Focus on the essentials

Research your topic first and break it up into parts. For example, if you want to learn how to run, you can break it up in: Stride rate, form, breathing, foot strike, gear. Then, figure out what the essential parts are. In the example of running: form and stride rate are most important. Focus on those two aspects first, and try to master that.  

3. Do it every day

Reading ten minutes a day is better than reading one hour a week. Running 15 minutes a day is better than going for a one hour run per week. Practice makes perfect. But do it every day.  

4. Simplify

NEVER get too fancy. Always keep it simple.  

5. Track your progress

What gets measured gets managed (Peter Drucker). Find a way to measure what you do. Everything is measurable in some way. Find out how to quantify what you’re trying to do.  

6. Get feedback

Don’t lock yourself up in your room. Show your skills to other people. Get feedback, listen, discard what’s not relevant, and improve.  

How do you find out all this stuff?  

Research. If you want to start something, and you don’t know how. Here are some ideas:

• Read books on your subject
• Ask people
• Find mentors
• Search the internet
• Find YouTube tutorials
• Get an online course
• Go to meet-ups
• Most importantly: Be curious.

Play The Long Game

Learning new skills takes time. So give yourself time. Don’t get upset if you don’t see quick results. Focus on long-term results and have patience.  

Trust that your efforts will pay off.

Key Takeaways & Actions

• Confidence doesn’t appear by itself.
• Improve your skills, grow more confident.
• Learning is also a skill: Learn ‘how to learn.’
• Every skill in life is learnable. So learn.