Nicola’s 5 Tips for Boosting Confidence & Removing Self Doubt

In an ideal world, we would all be oozing the type of confidence that seemingly comes so naturally to celebrities and top CEO’s, but what about regular Joe’s? How do you step into that powerful state when your inner confidence is low and self doubt is crippling you?

With my 5 top tips, you can start to feel more like the woman you were destined to be, ready for limitless success at work and in life.

  • Change your inner dialogue

How often do you talk negatively to yourself? Are you always putting yourself down or limiting your opportunities by using fearful language such as “I could never do that”, “I will never be as good as her” or a generalisation such as “Life is hard” (which is a belief you hold which can absolutely be changed, by the way!).

Start talking to yourself in a kind, compassionate and positive way, as if you are talking to your best friend or a small child. If you wouldn’t say these things to your best friend, then they don’t deserve to be taking up space in your mind. Flip the narrative and start to see how much lighter and confident you begin to feel.

  • Practice accepting compliments

This is such a simple yet powerful way to boost self esteem, which is closely linked to improved self confidence. When you have low self esteem, the easiest thing to do is reject and rebuff any compliments as it makes you feel uncomfortable and deep down you don’t believe you are worthy. Let’s change this! By simply saying “Thank you” or “That’s so kind of you for saying” you are allowing your subconscious to accept this to be true.

The more this happens, the easier it will get to truly believe the wonderful things people are saying about you and this does wonders for your self confidence. I challenge you for the next 7 days, whenever you receive a compliment, just accept it and say thank you! See how you feel.

  • Practice Power Posing!

If I told you there was a depressed person standing behind a door and I need you to describe them for me, what would you say? Think about how you stand when you feel depressed, how you speak. How are your shoulders, what direction is your head facing. What does your voice sound like? The most powerful way to shift from any unresourceful state, such as sadness, fear or doubt, is to physically shift the body.

Standing in a “Power Pose” – think Wonder Woman (hands on hips, chest up, chin up, wider leg stance) is scientifically proven to improve your mental state. After just 2 minutes in this pose, cortisol is reduced by 18% (the stress hormone), testosterone increased by 20% and you’re 33% more likely to take positive action. So if you need a quick fix to boost confidence, let’s shift your state by moving your body into a Power Pose.

  • Brain Dumping

Whenever I’ve felt overwhelmed and low in confidence, I’ve grabbed a notebook and pen and simply started writing. Whatever comes into my mind, I let it flow onto the pages in front of me. I call this brain dumping – getting out everything that’s cluttering my mind. If I’m holding onto fear and self doubt, the real reason behind feeling this usually pours out onto paper after writing freely for around 5 – 10 minutes.

Seeing it all on paper has a powerful effect on your confidence levels. It allows you to put into perspective the beliefs and worries that are holding you back so you can tackle them head on .

  • Envision the most confident version of you

Take a moment to sit quietly and close your eyes. I want you to take 2 deeps breaths and begin to vividly imagine THE most confident version of yourself. Imagine how you are standing and what you are saying to yourself.

What are you wearing as this confident version of you? Look at your body posture, how are you holding yourself? What about your voice, is it loud or soft, steady or shaky? Notice every little detail about this confident version of you and start to use this knowledge to step into this version of yourself whenever you need it. This visualisation works best when practised often; your subconscious mind is like a muscle, the more you practice the stronger the effect will be on your actual confidence levels.

If you’re looking for more support to increase your confidence and fully eliminate beliefs that are holding you back in your career, such as imposter syndrome and self doubt, then Nicola offers bespoke 1:1 coaching programmes and an 8 week intensive online programme – The Corporate Confidence Collective, starting 9th August 2021.

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