Reframing confidence

Ask someone to describe a confident person, and they’re likely to paint a vivid picture. Confident people don’t hold back, whether that means expressing an opinion, speaking up at work, or addressing a crowd from a stage. We view confident people as being comfortable within themselves and unafraid to try new things. And we tend to believe that it’s something innate. A blessing bestowed, like curly hair or a great smile; you’ve either got it or you haven’t.

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But, in fact, confidence is something we can cultivate. ‘In psychology, we prefer to use the term “self-efficacy”,’ explains psychologist Dr Meg Arroll. ‘Self-efficacy refers to the belief that we have the ability, capacity, and resources to carry out certain actions that are necessary to attain goals.’

If we reframe confidence as having a high-level of self-efficacy, and a belief that you can do what is needed in a given scenario, it disempowers the idea that confidence is something you’re born with. By the same token, a lack of confidence is simply a low level of self-efficacy. ‘This is often based on erroneous beliefs, cognitive distortions and fear of failure, including thought patterns such as, “If I try, I might fail, and everyone will see how rubbish I am”,’ explains Dr Arroll. It’s clear that greater confidence, if we seek it, is within our grasp, and a skill that we can choose to strengthen and develop.

Challenge your thinking 

So, if you want to feel more confident, dealing with the ‘performance-inhibiting core beliefs and/or cognitive distortions that drive low efficacy’ is key. Doing this will improve your confidence regardless of which specific area of your life is affected by a lack of confidence, because ‘the impact will trickle through to all arenas of life, including work, interpersonal relationships, and your sense of purpose,’ adds Dr Arroll.