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eLearning Series: Self Confidence
How Do I Improve My Self Confidence?
( 50 articles in this series )
Find
Your Self Confidence thru Reading
With all of the flashy media available to
us today, it's sometimes easy to forget the pleasures of reading.
Beyond being an enjoyable activity, reading can also bring
you plenty of inspiration on your journey to self-confidence.
The most obvious source of confidence building in books comes
from self-help titles. Whether your road to confidence includes
losing weight, building better familial relationships or becoming
more assertive, just to name a few, there's a title out there
for you. These motivational works often include detailed plans
for turning your life around as well as inspirational stories
and examples. While not every detail will work for you, they
can provide a good base for your own personalized plan of attack.
Biographies
and autobiographies bring the rich and famous
to you. You can find out their secrets for success. Even if
they don't talk directly about the source of their confidence,
you can draw inspiration from their achievements and the hard
work they put into them. They may even admit that they really
don't feel that secure and confident, which can certainly make
you feel better about yourself.
Why think poorly of yourself when you're in a slump when even
successful people don't always feel confident? Just don't use
this as an excuse to stop working on your own confidence.
Memoirs are another source of true-life characters to emulate.
Memoirs are often more literary in nature than autobiographies.
Usually a writer publishes her memoir because she has faced
compelling and universally-applicable struggles in her life.
Sometimes memoirs can provide readers with a negative example
of what not to do in seeking greater confidence.
You don't need to confine yourself to true stories, though.
You can draw confidence from the example of strong characters
in even the most fantastical fiction. Simply look for the essential
qualities that make a character confident or what is lacking
in a character who does not display self-confidence.
Going online can expose you to even more stories of courage
and inspiration.
You can find thousands of pieces to read on everything from
online versions of print magazines to small personal websites.
One advantage to reading online is the chance for interaction
between readers. Whether you're posting comments on a blog
or adding your thoughts to a message board, you can get an
added sense of having a support group behind you in your journey.
You can even find confidence through reading newspapers
and magazines. There are stories of triumph from all corners of
the globe that can provide inspiration. Look to stories of
tragedy to help you put your own problems in perspective.
To make the most of your reading, it's important to maintain
realistic expectations, though. Use the strong, confident heroine
of your favorite romance novel as an example of the person
you'd like to be, but don't expect a dashing Prince Charming
figure to suddenly arrive in your life. Not everyone can be
as successful as Bill Gates or Michael Jordan. That doesn't
mean there aren't aspects of their work ethic and talent worth
emulating, but you should keep it all in perspective to avoid
disappointment.
You don't always need to read books with an eye on imitating
the characters. Sometimes you should just read for fun. The
very act of reading can help relieve stress and provide you
with an enjoyable pastime. The more you read, and the more
variety you include in your reading, the better your fluency
and comprehension will be. Good reading skills can also lead
to good writing skills and better communication skills in general,
all of which are essential for success in school and on the
job.
You can also use books to learn a new skill or build your
confidence in your knowledge of an area, whether it's for school,
work or your own personal enrichment. There's a book out there
on practically any subject; you just need to go out and find
it.
Seeing how others, whether real people or fictional characters,
deal with problems and face life with confidence can provide
you with models for acting with confidence in your own life.
At the same time, reading can be a skill-building and educational
enterprise.
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: 2006
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