We often think reaching our goals come from a series of giant leaps of faith and big scary moves. The “highlight reel” world we live in right now is great at creating that illusion.
And while it does from time to time come from taking giant leaps, it more often comes from the smaller steps you take day-in and day-out.
Whether it’s the smaller actions you take toward your goal or simply the habits you form to help build your confidence, this is really where the magic happens. The underrated and hidden “highlight reel,” if you ask me.
I like to think of these as stepping stones to help us to that big, bold action that pushes us over the edge to achieve our goals.
You build up to it. You practice for it. And then you’re ready to go when it’s game time!
So what are some of those stepping stones you can take?
Keep one promise to yourself every day.
Having confidence in ourselves and our abilities is seeded in our self-trust and intuition.
We don’t trust people that don’t keep promises to us, so why would we trust ourselves if we’re constantly breaking promises to ourselves?
If you don’t trust yourself to make the right decision, then you’re not going to be able to confidently take the steps you need to take to move forward.
This is where keeping promises to yourself comes in.
Keeping one promise to yourself a day, no matter how big or small will build your trust within yourself and your confidence in return. It could be anything from getting up in the morning at a specific time, making your bed, working out, or getting that pile of laundry put away. If you tell yourself that you’re going to do it, follow through!
It may seem simple, but these small daily promises to yourself will compound over time, and soon you’ll be shocked at how quickly you decide without thinking twice because you just know deep down inside that you trust yourself and know what’s best for you.
Follow your curiosity and try new things.
One of my favorite confidence hacks is to try new things often. If you’ve ever thought, “it would be cool to try that,” then follow that curiosity and give it a go!
I know trying new things can be nerve-wracking and intimidating. No one likes to be a beginner at anything, but this allows you to learn a new hobby or skill and be proud of yourself for actually trying it.
If you love it, then you have a new hobby or skill you can continue to hone.
If you hate, it then now you know and can check that off the mental curiosity list.
Either way, you put yourself out there, and that’s something to be proud of, so give yourself the space to truly feel that after you try it out.
Create a confidence mantra.
We all need a pep talk from time to time, and sometimes, we’re the ones that have to give ourselves that pep talk. That’s where having a confidence mantra comes in handy.
This is a phrase you can repeat to yourself as an instant confidence boost. Something that really resonates with you and speaks directly to any insecurities or limiting beliefs you may have.
I prefer to look at myself in the mirror when I say mine as if I’m talking to my best friend. This really helps solidify the mantra in my subconscious by looking myself right in my eyes. Saying my mantra out loud to myself hypes me up to take whatever bold step needs to be made.
Create a feedback loop.
You’ve likely heard that smiling for as little as 10 seconds can actually make you happy. That’s because our physiology can have a huge impact on our mental state. Our mental state also directly affects our physiology. And both directly affect the actions we take daily.
Creating a feedback loop means making sure your physiology is supporting your mindset and vice versa.
If you’re not feeling confident, try standing in the Wonder Woman pose or making sure you’re standing up tall throughout the day. This physiology is one of a confident person and will help give you a confidence boost.
On the other side, make sure your thoughts are supporting you. This is where you can say your confidence mantra or write down three things you’re grateful for. This will also help put you in the mindset of a confident person, and you’ll notice that your physiology naturally will change as you do this.
If you’re doing both of these regularly, this will keep you in that feedback loop (physiology supporting your mindset supporting your physiology, etc.) so you can move confidently throughout your day.
Create an action plan to follow to make reaching your goals fool-proof.
The easiest way to take bold action toward your goals is actually knowing the steps to get you there. Creating an action plan is essentially creating a master to-do list to know every step you need to take to achieve your goal. You want to make sure you include big and small tasks and assign due dates for each. That way, you know you’re on track for hitting your goal if you’re hitting your due dates.
This is especially helpful on days where you’re completely overwhelmed. This plan will tell you what you need to do so you don’t even have to think about it. It makes reaching your goals fool-proof!
A couple of questions to ask yourself when you’re creating this action plan:
- What do I need to have done on a daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly basis to reach my goals?
- Are there recurring steps I need to take?
- Are there skills I need to develop to reach this goal? If yes, include how you’ll develop those skills in the action plan.
- Do I need support from others? If yes, what is that support, and do I need to take steps to get that support?
- Are there other resources I need to reach my goal? If yes, how do I go about obtaining them?
Building your confidence takes time and deliberate action. I know these habits seem really simple, but the more you do them, the more they create a snowball effect. As that confidence grows, you’ll feel more empowered to take bold action toward your goals…and in life!