Self-Confidence

A person's confidence level is impacted by:

• Their genes
• The social pressures in their environment
• Their responses to challenges and setbacks
• All of the above

This statement is an examples of a "fixed mindset"

• "It doesn't matter how hard I try; there are some things that I will never be able to learn"
• "With hard work and a lot of practice, I can learn anything"

This statement is an example of a "growth mindset":

• "I wasn't born with natural talent for sports, so I'll never be good at them, and this is why I don't play them"
• "Learning and playing sports that are challenging to me, even when they are difficult, helps to develop my talent"

The best way to increase your confidence after you have failed at something is to:

• Immediately quit. Obviously you'll never be good at it, so you should just give up
• Acknowledge your failure, figure out what went wrong, think of different strategies or get some advice on how to be more successful, then try again
• Switch to doing something you know you are good at, and then stick to doing only the things that you are certain you will find success
  
• Find someone else to blame... it's best if the failure wasn't your fault

Some quick ways to feel more confident before a challenge are:

• Give yourself a pep talk
  
• Strike a power pose
• Imagine yourself succeeding at first
  
• All of the above