Everyone agrees that self-confidence is extremely valuable and even indispensable when it comes to growing your career and living a contented life. However, sometimes advice about increasing self-confidence can seem vague or difficult to put into practice. If you're tired of struggling on your own to feel good about yourself and improve your self-confidence, you should consider using a regimen of self-confidence exercises. By using these exercises, you will give the process structure.

Getting to Know Yourself. In this exercise, you will need a piece of paper divided into four sections. Begin by listing your skills in the first section. What are you good at? These could be professional skills like writing, computer programming, mechanics, organizing, etc., as well as informal activities like cooking, decorating, or playing a sport. Next, list your qualities. These should be things like intelligence, grace, friendliness, humor, energy, and so on. Now compare your skills and qualities. Can you see how the two are related, and how each quality is expressed in a skill? Express gratitude for your qualities, and see if you can think of any more skills that would be a good match for your qualities. Working towards developing these skills will help improve your self-confidence. If you've thought of any skills you would like to develop, write them down in the third section of your paper. This section is for your ambitions, so also write down any other goals you can think of. In the last section of the paper, write down what you see as your problem areas, or areas where you lack confidence. Go back to your qualities, and see if you can imagine how you might use the wonderful qualities you naturally possess to improve these problem areas and build up your confidence. Keep this sheet of paper and use it to chart your personal growth and progress towards achieving your goals and eliminating your problem areas.

Daily Pep Talk. This exercise helps to make sure that you keep your spirits up and begin each day ready and willing to focus on the positive. In order to create your personalized pep talk, list your strengths and good qualities as well as any achievements you are proud of. From this list, create a series of affirmations, like "I am a warm, happy individual who expresses joy, loyalty, and humor." You can also create affirmations by reversing negative thoughts about yourself. For example, if you think that you lack energy and inspiration and hate getting out of bed in the morning, your affirmation might be, "I can joyously meet each morning with expectations of good. I have a purpose in life and each day builds towards this purpose. I am loved and needed and my activities today are important to myself and others." Remember, the purpose of the pep talk is to reinforce your confidence in your good qualities and reverse any negative ideas you have about yourself. Be sure to cover both of these aspects in your pep talk. With daily practice, you will be well on your way to building more self-confidence.

Author's Bio: 

Jill Magso is a member of the Silva Team and contributes to spreading enlightened ideas and sharing teachings about meditation practices. The Silva Method encompasses a variety of powerful exercises that take you deep into Alpha and Theta levels of the mind so that you can work within your subconscious as well as your conscious mind.