5 Ways to Boost Your Confidence

The workplace, like the playing field in sports, is packed with competition — often against oneself. It demands being at your best, reaching and exceeding goals, working hard to master all aspects of a position, and proving you’re capable of taking on more.

Some people might have all the requisite skills to succeed, but they also may become their own biggest obstacle when self-criticism gets in the way, corporate observers say. Confidence becomes a problem when difficult experiences at work, such as making mistakes or being passed over for an opportunity, cause us to question ourselves and create negative thoughts.

To produce positive thoughts and smooth the path toward success, one needs to create a mindset based on processes that are purposeful.

The mind can get lonely and focus on negative things. We risk giving our attention to thoughts that can eat away at us, destroy our confidence, and take us out of our rhythm.

We begin to listen to a cartoon version of the devil who sits on one shoulder and whispers in our ear. So, we need to develop ways to listen to that other voice within us, that angel on the opposite shoulder, to quiet the inner critic.

I suggest a five-step process to develop a more positive mindset and boost your confidence in the workplace:

Focus on winning in the present. Dwelling on past mistakes or worrying about what comes next can create self-doubt. Staying present is key and requires resiliency, which leans on past training and the skills that led to achievements. I liken a resilient worker with athletes like a placekicker, who shakes off a missed field goal and comes back to make the game winner. The workplace setting doesn’t wait for you to get over things. And rather than fearing making more mistakes, you must ask yourself: “What’s important now?” To be the best you can be in the current moment, you have to focus all of your energy on the present and embrace it.

Breathe to relax and refocus. Refocusing always starts with your breath. It casts out distractions and allows you to be yourself. Focusing on your breathing reminds you that this is something you can control, and in turn you can control your thoughts. Ultimately, you are training your subconscious mind how to use breath to settle you.

Meditate. Meditation builds off your controlled, sustained breathing, and it becomes a practice to develop clarity and create a calm space in the mind. Meditation brings control and harnesses much of the untapped power of the mind. It aligns your mind, body, and spirit.

Visualize. To reach peak performance, people must be able to see themselves performing well. The more precisely you can see yourself in action, the more you are able to adjust and control that image, change its details, and guide its outcome. Visualization also entails tapping into an emotion, feeling the confidence of the moment that you see yourself making happen.

Engage in self-talk. Learn to become your own best motivator. You can do this through the power of positive language directed at the self. We want to develop a language that creates purposeful optimism. Find specific language that can give voice to your feelings and enhance your internal drive.

Training the mind to generate confidence, qualm fear, and spark joy empowers people to be better than their negative side thought they could be.         ν

Grant Parr is a mental sports performance coach and the author of “The Next One Up Mindset: How To Prepare For The Unknown.” Parr owns and runs Gameface Performance, a consulting firm that enhances mental skills for athletes and coaches. 

Choose your enemies carefully ‘cos they will define you
Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they will mind you
They’re not there in the beginning but when your story ends
Gonna last with you longer than your friends. — Bono (U2)

No one can go it alone in marketing their business. They won’t get very far.

Sooner or later you’ll want a helping hand or a head to bounce ideas off. You’ll need to buy products and services. When you do, you’re going to have to choose good partners (or “suppliers” or “vendors,” depending on your universe) for your business to be successful and grow. 

Here are six key evaluation criteria and questions to ask yourself as you vet your next marketing partner. These are general enough to apply to any business or nonprofit organization, but specific enough to matter to every kind of organization.

Value: Can this firm add value to my company’s marketing function, perhaps with a specialization I don’t have in-house (writing, animation, media-buying expertise, data analytics, and reporting sophistication, etc.)?

Reputation: Does this firm have a solid reputation serving the market I’d like to penetrate, complete with quality references?

Portfolio: Does this firm provide an extensive portfolio of work that speaks to my business category, showing solutions to which I can relate?

Culture: Noting how important chemistry is in business relationships (as well as personal ones), does this firm share a similar culture to my company?

Price: Is this firm charging a fair price for the products and services it provides?

Fit: Does this firm know how to be a partner, not a competitor, with my in-house team, respecting our complementary roles and working to make the outcome larger than the sum of the parts?

Just as you choose friends and enemies carefully, choose your marketing agency partners, vendors, and suppliers with care as well.       

Steve Johnson is managing partner of Riger Marketing Communications in Binghamton. Contact him at sdjohnson@riger.com. Jamie Jacobs is partner at Riger Marketing Communications. Contact her at jjacobs@riger.com