Written by: Kirsteen Williamson-Guinn, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Breaking promises to ourselves is one of the most significant ways we erode our self-confidence.
Let’s take a look at how we can cultivate self-trust and stay committed to the promises we make to ourselves. Self-trust forms the foundation of confidence, and by consistently honouring our commitments to ourselves, we can create a positive cycle of personal growth and feel good as we do that!
Here are some tips to cultivate self-trust:
Set realistic goals - I remember hearing someone say, “The bigger the change you need to make, the smaller the steps you need to take”. I love this, it is so true. How many times have you given up on something because it was too big or too much? Let’s always start small and build on it. The compound effect of small changes every day, or tiny progress is massive! Bonus, it helps us stay committed to our promises too.
Create some accountability - Accountability and support are both key to achieving our goals, especially when things get tough. Can you choose an accountability partner to hold you to this higher version of yourself? This could be a friend, colleague or mentor, or maybe someone in the same group as you are. Even better, hire a coach who will be as invested in your success as you are!
Celebrate all the way – how many times have you achieved your goals and instead of celebrating and allowing yourself to receive and bask in your successes, you just move on to the next thing. Recognising progress reinforces our commitment and boosts our confidence. It creates momentum so we can continue to create more success.
Practise self-compassion – Check in with your expectations. Things go wrong, success is not a linear path. It is so important to show yourself compassion, kindness and empathy when things don’t go to plan, rather than judgment and criticism. That will just keep you stuck and it doesn’t feel good at all. Become your own cheerleader and best friend in the fulfilment of your goals.
Review and refine – check in with your progress objectively. What’s working, and what isn’t? What changes would improve your results? What are you learning from the experience and how can you apply those learns?
Visualisation – I love visualisation, it is so powerful. Your brain and your body can’t distinguish between what is real and what is imagined, when we vividly visualise the things we are looking to create in our life and feel the experience of that, we are preparing our subconscious for that to happen. Couple that with inspired aligned action, success is on its way! See yourself every day in the fulfilment of your goal, and experience how it feels. Smile and get excited, then take another step forward.
These tips will build a stronger sense of self-trust and confidence. Remember point 4, there may well be setbacks and detours, but that’s ok, be kind to yourself and keep going and remember to celebrate every step!
Kirsteen Williamson-Guinn, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kirsteen is an experienced senior leader with 15 years at Director level in a large corporation. She has a proven track record in delivering commercial growth and cultural transformation across large teams. After experiencing stress and anxiety in her life and losing her confidence for the first time in her career, Kirsteen created her business Return to Work in November 2019 (now Elevate Women). This business was created to support people in the most stressful time in their career, when they return to work. As a transformational confidence and transition coach, Kirsteen enables her clients to build unshakeable confidence so they can step up in their career, or step out and build a business.
