Confidence; in its most basic of elements is a combined feeling of trust, belief and certainty. And for 99.9% of humanity, confidence isn’t something that comes naturally. Fortunately, it is something we all have the capacity to gain with the right tools. In whatever area of life you seek that confidence — love, sports, school, work, passions or finances — the tools are fundamentally the same. Today I’m partnering with Capital One to share my fool-proof tools for gaining confidence so that you’re prepared for anything life throws at you!
Look to your future and define what you want and who you want to be.
By defining a goal, it becomes more achievable. Dream big, or dream small, but just begin by dreaming about where you want to be. And as in basketball, archery, and golf, you are more likely to achieve your goal if you have a defined target in mind before you begin.
Set up milestones to measure your progress.
When you set up these “mini-goals”, you are setting up many successes. These small successes can keep you motivated and on the path to achieve larger goals. These are critically important and I’ve noticed that I being to gain my confidence at this stage when I achieve them.
Acknowledge your shortcomings but don’t allow yourself to get down because of them.
We all have those “palm-to-the-forehead” moments throughout life. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be human. Sometimes mine happen with a white knit sweater and a cup of chai tea at a local Seattle coffee shop, sometimes they come in the form of conversations gone wrong or even, gulp! financial missteps. But just because we made an error – or twelve, does not mean they are not correctable. So, keep your chin up and know that with every misstep we make, we have been given another opportunity to learn while correcting them.
Reward yourself responsibly when you hit every milestone.
You know that good feeling you get when you’ve done something really nice for someone and they acknowledge it? Well in this case, you ARE that someone. So, don’t deny yourself the same feelings of accomplishment just because you’re doing something for yourself and not someone else. It’s not only fair but appropriate to give yourself kudos and it will help you stay motivated to keep on track and gain confidence.
Repeat positive behavior.
You’ll find that achieving goals will become easier when you set up systems and processes to create patterns of behavior to make it easier to replicate.
When you have one goal in place, and implement your systems and processes to achieve it, you’ll be able to dream bigger and achieve more in the future.
Don’t forget that what you think about controls you. Confidence is a mindset, as is defeat and the more we reinforce one with the tools we have, the more we become it so just remember, the tools above are life building tools and are not limited to only one aspect of life.
Put the tools into practice.
What better way to put the tools into practice than by gaining confidence with your money?
I sure was able to put it into practice recently with my goal of gaining financial confidence. When Capital One stopped in to Seattle with their Banking Reimagined Tour to showcase their new Capital One Cafes coming soon, my boyfriend and I popped in to check it out. It was such a fun experience as I engaged with their interactive tour, and it was my first time using augmented reality glasses — pretty crazy! But something else I noticed was how they are changing the way banking is done and I realized that money doesn’t have to be a cause of stress when you plan ahead and visualize a reality that excites you. Imagine that – using technology to excite my passions and help determine where I want to go with my future.
I don’t know anyone who’s thought of a bank as a place to hang out but my mind is quickly being changed because of the Capital One Cafe — can you say mmmm Peet’s coffee and goodbye formal bank branch?! I am constantly blogging in cozy cafes all around Seattle, and with one of their cafes opening very soon in South Lake Union I will have a new spot to hang out. With dream goals of traveling the world and a free money coach to help keep me on track, I will have a new place to work and stay inspired so that I can travel the world with confidence and smiles!
How about you? What’s the one area in your life you wish you had more confidence?
Keep smiling!
*This post was sponsored by Capital One, but all opinions in this blog post are my own. I have had an account with Capital One for years and appreciate their dedication to their customers. If you’d like to learn more about Capital One Cafes and to see if there’s one near you, please visit their website. To have a fun experience like I did at their Banking Reimagined tour you can go here and see if one will be coming to your city. Thank you so much for helping support sponsors who help support me!
I’m Molly Lawson! I live in Seattle and am an optimist, adventurer, and bold lipstick wearer. I created this space to inspire and empower women with words of encouragement known as #MollysWords and share inspiration through my personal style. I always want my readers to leave with a smile and I hope you do!
These are all great tips, Molly! I love your coat!
Jamie
Treats and Trends
Author
Thank you, Jamie! Glad you found the tips helpful! Plus, this is my confidence boosting coat 🙂
I love how positive and uplifting your posts are!! Such great reminders for all of us. Happy Friday!
Liz
http://Www.lizzieinlace.com
Author
Aww thank you Liz! Always looking for ways to make people smile and feel uplifted. Happy Friday!
Great tips all around! My confidence started to boost when I started getting out of my comfort zone, it was really anxiety inducing at first but now I’m more confident than ever!
XoXo,
Tamara – LoveofMode.com
Try On Haul
Author
Thank is such an important detail I love it! And you’re totally right. Staying in our comfort zone doesn’t lead to growth, it only holds us back further from reaching our full potential!
Author
Thanks Tamara! You are absolutely right! Nothing great happens when we exist inside of our comfort zones. It’s the time we get out there, stretch ourselves, that we truly see the potential within ourselves!
Girl, you never cease to astound me with your positivity and encouragement to others in reaching for their goals! I know whenever I go to read a blog post of yours, I’ll be pushed to move towards my dreams! Capital One sounds like they’re doing big things by turning their branches into cafes. Seriously appealing! Can’t wait to see one for myself!!
Stephanie // SheSawStyle.com
Author
Awww thank you so much Stephanie! Reading this certainly made my week and having your support is literally the best. Thank you! Hope your week is off to an amazing start!
These are wonderful tips! Love this edgy chic look. The boots and necklace are amazing.
http://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Author
Thank you Katherine! I love to rock edgy chic. Have a great week!
Love this! Confidence is one of the most important things we must continually cultivate and practice!
Author
Yes, yes, and YES! You are so right and I just quoted this on Twitter! Thank you!
Great positive energy! Setting milestones and celebrating wins is so valuable to gaining for confidence.
Author
Thank you Elizabeth! I have found setting milestones to be SO necessary to keep growth moving forward and feeling good about what I do!
Rewarding yourself after milestones…I can admittedly be BAD at this sometimes. I’m so hard on myself. But these points are all SO important and NEED to become commonplace for all!!! Great post, Molls!
Coming Up Roses
These are all fantastic tips. I’ve never heard the way you defined it above. The added trust part makes a lot of sense.
Great post! Such a cute look, love that fab trench, so perfect for Spring! Wonderful tips for more confidence…always working to be intentional and make improvements. Sooo good, great inspo!
I love your style!You look amazing:-)
http://www.lostindaydreams.com/
These are awesome tips! Totally off topic – but your boots are super cute!
Really love your tips, just postive vibes 😉
Nati xx
http://www.simplyartdicted.com
What a fun (and great) idea to turn banking into something enjoyable instead of the stiffness that we usually think of when it comes to banks! I’m a perfect example of one of those 99% as I had ZERO self confidence to begin with, but as it is now, I don’t think I need more self confidence in any area really. Just saying that because I’m proud of how far I’ve got, not to sound arrogant or full of myself. 🙂 Confidence is a work in constant progress though and thus these tips are helpful for everyone out there!
xoxo
Thomas
http://thomasfalkenstedt.com
These are all such great tips! You look so cute here!
Great tips! I love that you can use all of these tools in any situation where you feel you are lacking.
This is such a wonderful post, Molly! You’re always so inspiring and this post was no different, I loved reading your suggestions for gaining confidence, especially in today’s world when its so easy to feel less than enough with all the highs we see going on everyone’s life in social media. I think it’s wise to be realistic in knowing that we all will have mishap moments, but to learn from them and improve in those areas and like you’ve said, reward ourselves when we do! Thanks for sharing and I hope you have the best week ahead, beauty!
XO,
Jalisa
http://www.thestylecontour.com
These are awesome tips and you look stunning as you always always do 🙂
Confidence is a funny thing isn’t it? Sometimes it is here today and gone tomorrow..its a constant practice and an important one. When you are confident you open yourself to some wonderful opportunities. Thank you for sharing!
Erica
http://www.lifestyledbyerica.com