Learn the 7 Secrets for Building Unstoppable Confidence

Become more powerful and successful in everything you do.

By Lolly Daskal

Building true confidence is a gradual process. No one is going to turn into a positive, self-confident person overnight.

But if you're in need of some extra confidence, here are seven secrets for building unstoppable confidence that are no longer undercover.

1. Stop comparing yourself to others.

The worst thing you can do is compare yourself to others. Remember that you're seeing the surface of their lives, not the underlying reality. Focus instead on what's important--your own strengths and goals.

2. Remember that the loudest is not the most confident.

We tend to look to the blow-your-own-horn types as the confident ones--but some of the most successful people are gentle giants, humble and self-effacing people who turn out to be the strongest, people we admire more and more as we come to appreciate their depth.

3. Keep your limiting beliefs at bay.

Even the most successful people have limiting beliefs about themselves, but the biggest difference is that they choose to focus on their strengths and possibilities instead of their limits.

4. Live in a positive reality.

Don't say anything about yourself that you don't want to become a reality. Positive thoughts and words alone won't make you a more confident person, but confident people do think a lot of positive things about themselves. Remind yourself of what you're capable of and what you've already accomplished.

5. Don't mask it.

Self-confidence isn't the impression you give others but how you feel about yourself. It's all about who you are, where you are, and where you want to be in your own life and leadership.

6. Change what you can.

Confident people know they cannot change the past, but they can change the future. They make daily choices that lead them toward the future they want to live out.

7. Be fully committed.

Be fully committed to doing whatever you can to build your success every single day, and to accepting full responsibility for your life. If it's uncomfortable, you're probably on the right track. Don't procrastinate; do what it takes without agonizing or drama.

These seven secrets can uncover your confidence from within--the kind of confidence that gives you sole responsibility for everything in your life. 

Source: www.inc.com/

Quote for the day

“I'm not sure one can really define why some traders make it, while others do not. For myself, I can think of two important elements. First, I have the ability to imagine configurations of the world different from today and really believe it can happen... Second, I stay rational and disciplined under pressure.” - Bruce Kovner

6 Ways to Improve Your Self-Discipline Today

By Amy Morin 

Self-discipline is like a muscle—it strengthens with use.

You hear people say things like, “I don’t have the willpower to do that,” as they watch their friend order the salad instead of the fried chicken. It’s as if they believe that some people were simply born with divine willpower while others were overlooked as self-discipline superpowers were being handed out. The truth is, self-discipline is a learned skill, not an innate characteristic.

It’s clear that many people don’t know how to increase their self-discipline, however. In the 2011 Stress in America Survey, 27 percent of respondents said the lack of willpower was the biggest barrier to making healthy lifestyle changes. Many of the respondents agreed that they could likely increase their willpower, but the vast majority felt like the key to improved willpower was having more time to themselves. What many of the respondents may not have recognized is that increased leisure time doesn’t automatically equate to increased self-discipline.

Instead, the only way to improve your self-discipline is through intentional and dedicated practice. As with all types of self-improvement, change is difficult and it takes time. Here are six strategies to increase your self-discipline:

1. Acknowledge Your Weaknesses – Whether cookies are the downfall to your diet, or you can’t resist checking your social media accounts every two minutes, acknowledge your pitfalls. Too often people either try to pretend their weaknesses don’t exist or they try to minimize the negative impact their bad habits have on their lives. For example, many smokers think, “I could quit if I wanted to,” because they don’t want to admit they’re hooked.

2. Establish a Clear Plan – No one wakes up one day suddenly blessed with self-discipline. Instead, you need a strategy. Whether you want to increase good habits like exercising more often, or you want to eliminate bad habits like watching too much TV, develop a plan that outlines the action steps you're going to take to reach your goals.

3. Remove the Temptations When Necessary – Although we’d all like to believe we have enough willpower to resist even the most alluring enticement, it only takes one moment of weakness to convince ourselves to cave to temptation. Making it difficult to access those temptations can be pivotal to increasing self-discipline. If your weakness is Facebook, turn off the internet while you’re working. If you can’t resist overspending when you go to the mall, leave the credit card at home and only take a small amount of cash.

4. Practice Tolerating Emotional Discomfort – It’s normal to want to avoid pain and discomfort, but trying to eliminate all discomfort will only reinforce to yourself that you can’t handle distress. We can usually stand a lot more discomfort than we think we can. Practice allowing yourself to experience uncomfortable emotions like boredom, frustration, sadness, or loneliness and increase your tolerance to the negative emotions that you may experience as you increase your self-discipline.

5. Visualize the Long-Term Rewards – You’ll be less likely to cave to temptation when you focus on the long-term gain. Giving in to today’s temptations may make you feel happy now, but long-term happiness and contentment requires you to forgo immediate gratification. Visualize yourself meeting your goals and reaping the rewards that you’ll gain by practicing self-discipline on a daily basis.

6. Recover From Mistakes Effectively – Self-discipline comes easier on some days than others. If you’re feeling stressed about an upcoming presentation, you may convince yourself to skip your workout. Or if you’re ecstatic about your most recent business deal, you may let your good habits slide for a bit. Making mistakes is part of the process to becoming better. The way you recover from those mistakes is what’s most important. The key is to acknowledge your mistakes and move on from them with even more resolve to do better next time.

It’s not surprising that those who lack self-discipline are somewhat envious of those who seem to be able to exert impressive self-control. After all, self-discipline is the key to reaching your goals and creating a better life. The good news is we all have the ability to be self-disciplined—it just takes practice.

Source: www.psychologytoday.com

Quote for the day

"If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!" - T. Harv Eker

Quote for the day

“You've got to look at good traders historically. If a trader can on average annually deliver two to three times their worst drawdown, then that's a very good track record, and I'd say that that's what I try to do.” - Paul Tudor Jones

13 Ways Successful People Deal With Toxic People

By Casey Imafidon

Among friends, family and co-workers, there are those whose attitudes can be demeaning and toxic. It is difficult relating to some of these people and thus it becomes a challenge. So how do we get out from the hole and be masters of our own fates?

The best way is to learn from successful people how they have approached the same role of winning the war against toxic individuals.

1. They set limits

Toxic people try to consume you and make you swim deep in their problems. They don’t want to see solutions so they can waste your time by pressuring you to join their pity party.

Successful people understand that there is a fine line between offering to listen to the problems and getting themselves involved too deep in the negative emotional twists of such complainers. That is why they set limits and distance themselves when necessary.

Quote for the day

“Whenever a trader says 'I wish,' or 'I hope,' he is engaging in a destructive way of thinking because it takes attention away from the diagnostic process. ” - Bruce Kovner