I have experienced over the years (both personally and from other people) that people have different levels of self-confidence. I think people struggle to ‘talk themselves up’. So for this instalment, I was inspired to think about how the attitude towards ourselves can play a huge part in our self-confidence. I would also like to share how I have tried to overcome it.

One of the main reasons I think people struggle to ‘talk themselves up’ is out of fear of coming across as arrogant and self-centred. Anyone who watches The Apprentice can picture a contestant who has come on with outrageous statements (my favourite so far has been “I’m not a one trick pony, but a whole field of ponies!”). I am not saying that you should shout your merits from the rooftops, as this often unhelpful and having humility, which I will explore in a later instalment, can be much more admirable. However, the Apprentice candidates can teach us something about how to view ourselves. They have shown me that the way you feel about yourself is very much done to the choice you make about what you want to believe.

Self-efficacy is how much you believe that you can be successful especially when faced with challenge. It is believed that the higher this is, the more likely it is that you will be successful, and the quicker you can bounce back from failure. Therefore, having the opposite opinion towards yourself has the opposite effect. The inspiration for the title of this instalment comes from The Proclaimers song I’m on my way and the lines.

“I’m on the way from misery to happiness today (x2)

I’m on my way to what I want from this world”

I hope this helps to explain my point about the power of a positive attitude and perhaps provides a good song to listen to when you need encouragement.

One way that I have tried to change the view that I have of myself particularly towards my appearance is taking a selfie every day and making that my phone wallpaper (or if you take one that you really like and want to keep it, that works too). I found it a bit confronting at first to look at it every time I went on my phone however over time, it has helped me to become more comfortable with what I look like.

I hope that you find this helpful and if you give the challenge a go, let me know how you get on. I would love to hear to it! If there are any other general thoughts you have about what I have said, it would be great to hear them too. Stay tuned for the next instalment where I will be writing a mini-series on each of the five different emotions from the film’ Inside Out’.

Until next time!

Kathryn