Your Morning Coffee Isn’t Destroying Your Financial Future

When you live paycheck to paycheck, everyone (including you) likes to blame your financial woes on the tiniest expenses. However, you’ll have a harder time than you think ruining your retirement plans by buying a morning coffee.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1rbiHSC

Why You Shouldn’t Worry If You’re Not a Creative Success By Your 30s

We love stories about people who succeed by a young age. The Mark Zuckerbergs of the world become heroes while the rest of us feel like failures if we haven’t succeeded by 30. That mindset is completely backwards.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/22LPonp

Thank You For Arguing Is a Master Class In Modern Rhetoric

Arguments aren’t won with information; they’re resolved with rhetoric
, the art of persuasion. In Thank You For Arguing, author Jay Heinrichs reveals the secrets to mastering rhetoric, identifying logical fallacies, getting what you want through persuasion, and keeping arguments from turning into nasty fights.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1TXjDrp

Boost Your Self Confidence With These 6 Tips

You’re reading Boost Your Self Confidence With These 6 Tips, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Image of young businessman showing superhero suit underneath his shirt standing against city background

how to be more confident

How would you rate yourself if you were to measure your level of self-confidence? Are you as confident as you really wish to be? Do you still stutter and feel inadequate when you are about to meet people or carry out an assignment?

Having low self-confidence means you feel inadequate to take up a task because you doubt your abilities. You shy away from responsibilities, and when a particular situation that you dread arrives (such as speaking before an audience), you just wish the ground to open and swallow you.

It invariably impacts every aspect of your life, and determines to a large extent how people will appreciate you in the society.

If you lack self-confidence and have very low self-esteem, don’t despair! You can overcome it. Acquiring self-confidence is a skill that you can, and should learn as it is the foundation of success.

How?

  1. Make sure you are fully prepared for every action you want to take.

Preparation helps you develop poise which is akin to self-confidence.  Failure to know what you will say or do at a given situation will intensify your feelings of nervousness.

For a preparation to increase your levels of confidence, it must be done properly and not in a rush.

At times, though, you may feel well prepared for a certain event only to be found wanting. So, real preparation also involves a good and clear knowledge of what is expected of you. Be willing to go beyond the material or information you have received and do some research on your own.

  1. Don’t just sit there, take action immediately

Some tasks can look very daunting till you try your hands on them. And you may never start feeling confident until you start doing something.

As a public speaker for instance, I always feel my heart beat increase just before I am to climb any stage to speak. And as the time draws closer, my palms will start sweating, and then my heart then starts thumping.

But I have trained myself to ignore those feelings. This is because in my experience, those feelings always give way once I climb the stage or start speaking. In other words, I noticed that the feeling of self-confidence comes when I start taking the action in view. It is a cycle.

Are you feeling jittery and like your heart I s about to fall out of your mouth? That’s fear speaking. Ignore it. But don’t just sit there. Put your best foot forward. To your surprise, you may find it interesting once you get the hang of it.

As you step out in faith, your confidence level will rise.

 3. Always adopt a realistic approach

In spite of how well you have prepared, and despite the level of knowledge you must have acquired in a given subject, you must try to be realistic as you build your self-confidence.

For instance, you shouldn’t attempt to speak to a crowd of 10,000 people if you were stuttering while trying to speak in an informal meeting of 10 people.

The secret here is to get better through constant practice. But as you practice, make sure you don’t set standards that are too high. They may boomerang. And if they do, it will do more harm than good to you.

  1. Walk Tall

Being tall or standing tall enhances our self-image, and makes us feel more self-confident. According to this study, tall men seem to be more confident and have the world at their feet. The study suggests that the tallest quarter of the population earns 10% more than the shortest quarter.

This asserts that height and self-confidence are enmeshed.

“Being tall is associated with greater career and relationship success. Height is taken to convey authority and we feel taller when we feel more powerful” said Daniel Freeman from the University of Oxford. According to the same source, people who are short may suffer from paranoia.

Being short however, doesn’t mean you are sentenced to a life of low self-confidence. There are countless men and women who don’t have the height advantage but have been able to achieve amazing feats and live very confident lives.

Being short is not a disadvantage. And if it bothers you so much, use high heeled shoes if you are a lady and use an addheight insole as a man. They will make you add a couple of inches to your height.

  1. Take Regular Exercise

Regular exercise promotes good mental health and improves intelligence. It stimulates the brain, and of course the mind by giving you a sense of well-being. The quality of your sleep improves, and helps you deal with stress.

Besides, being overweight can be a resultant effect of low self-esteem. Reducing weight through exercises can soar your sense of well-being, and indirectly affect the way you feel about yourself.

  1. Learn to use relaxation techniques

They act like palliatives to cushion the effect of stress on you. All the steps mentioned above are helpful, but especially when coupled with a relaxation exercise.

Suppose you face a sudden unexpected event, or you are about to do something that makes you feel nervous, these techniques help. A few of them are autogenic relaxation, visualization, and deep breathing.

In conclusion, do not let your flaws blind you to your value and accomplishments. Applying these cool tips will boost your self-confidence, and lead you to greater success in the long run.

 

 

You’ve read Boost Your Self Confidence With These 6 Tips, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

http://ift.tt/214D1RW

The Computer Repair Briefcase

You don’t need as many accessories as you used to for a computer repair job, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need some specific instruments. Case in point, reader Mark Jordan’s briefcase, packed full of everything he needs.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1t3tKia

Turn an Unwanted Scarf into a Fashionable Kimono-Style Jacket

If you have a large, thin scarf you don’t wear anymore, turn it into a kimono-style jacket that you will. It takes less than an hour of work and a few supplies.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1X7RwGb

Remains of the Day: You Can Now Post Directly to Instagram From Other iOS Apps

Instagram is finally taking advantage of iOS share extensions so that you can post photos without ever opening Instagram itself. But then you wouldn’t get to play with all those nice filters, and I’m all about the filters.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1TSrnp0

The Essential Supplies You Need In a Basic Home Cleaning Kit

There’s an endless number of cleaning products out there, but you don’t need to spend a fortune to keep a home looking nice. These are the only essentials you need.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1UaDOQN

Deadspin Blackballed MMA Reporter Admits He Was UFC’s Paid Shill | Jezebel Me Before You Critics Tak

Make Keeping Secrets a Little Easier by Expanding Your Idea of Honesty

Keeping a secret often feels like a lie of omission, and that puts a lot of pressure on you mentally. To make it less taxing on yourself, expand your concept of what being honest means.

Read more…

http://ift.tt/1t38g4M