Self-belief is a valuable skill – and one that can be learned. Miriam Cox explains how to harness the power of your mind to perform a spectacular confidence trick.

Not so long ago, there was an eight-year-old girl who had been confidently tricking her parents, teachers and peer group into believing she could read. As each day passed without her secret being discovered her confidence grew in the belief that she would continue getting away with her deception indefinitely.  

Eventually though the inevitable happened.  Her secret was discovered resulting in her being sent for reading lessons with the five-year-olds at school. 

This new situation saw the little girl’s confidence disappear over night for not only had she been tricking all those around her for so long, she’d also been tricking herself.  Believing she had such confidence was a survival tactic backed up by fear and caused by a lack of self-belief.  From the moment her secret was discovered, fear spilled into the space instantly left vacant by her transient confidence.  In fact, her fear overtook her to the point where she was too afraid one day to raise her arm to ask permission from a teacher to go to the toilet. From a confident little girl to a child with wet knickers… and all because she was missing that vital component of self-belief.

A sad little story perhaps but it’s one that has a happy ending. Forty-two years later and I’m brimming with confidence.  Yes, that little girl was me and it took over 40 years for me to understand the importance of, and gain access to, that essential life element of self-belief.  We can smile, be assertive, take in a deep breath and, with seeming confidence, deliver presentations to hundreds of people. Unfortunately, without possessing that core element of self-belief, the veneer of confidence will inevitably crumble, leaving us vulnerable to stress, depression and other mental and physical ailments.   

Whether you’re wishing to make permanent the confidence you already have in your life or whether you’ve yet to experience confidence for the first time, the way to true, consistent, healthy and powerful confidence is the same:  Nurture self-belief and confidence will follow… and you can start right now.

Remember the following on a daily basis and you will soon reap the benefits:

• Our minds are powerful to the extreme; every thought is creative.
• Everything starts with a thought.
• Our thoughts create our feelings and our feelings affect our thoughts.
• Our minds rely on patterns (habits) to stay within their comfort zone, even when that means working with old belief patterns that are no longer relevant.
• By observing our thoughts we can catch ourselves when negativity creeps in .
• We always have a choice as to what we think and therefore how we feel.
• Being aware of what we want, within ourselves and our lives, as opposed to what we don’t want, ensures we have positive alternatives ready to replace any negativity.
• Exercise, healthy eating (most of the time) and sensible sleep patterns make all the difference to maintaining confidence
• Having a good laugh on a daily basis has an incredibly positive effect on the mind and body. Develop a regular laughing routine and enjoy the results.

For information on ‘The FUNdamental Guide to Feeling Good’ visit, www.empowermentuk.co.uk