Have you ever wondered how the two are different? Well, if not, then you need to right away. Confidence is a feeling that we get when our mind and our body are convinced that we are right and our goals are reached. And on the other hand, self-esteem is the belief that we have a right to an existence of an individual. It is the inner self that perceives these things.
Confidence is more of a psychological or emotional state while self-esteem is a matter of mind and body. For example, if an individual is feeling down because he is not happy with his life at all, he will most likely look for ways to be more positive and optimistic about his situation. This is where he will turn to his self-esteem to motivate him. On the other hand, if he is already contented with what he has and is doing, he will not think much of it because he is not emotionally distressed about it. He is actually turning to his confidence, so that he will have something to rely on.
Both confidence and self-esteem are very important. But it would really be wrong to equate the two. Confidence is where you are and self-esteem is the way you see yourself. They go hand in hand.
So how do you know if you are confident or not? You are actually assessing your own behaviors. Do you overthink things? Do you let your mind wander? Are you afraid of being rejected by others? Do you tend to blab a lot?
These are signs that you are on the right path towards building up your self-esteem. When you overthink things, you are showing that you have too many ideas and that you do not know what to do with them. When you let your mind wander, it is a sign that you do not concentrate on the task at hand. Blabbing too much means that you do not care about the outcome of what you are trying to accomplish.
But these are all just signs. How will you know if you have a high degree of confidence or not? The answer is…by testing yourself. Every time you interact with someone, ask yourself,” Did I do well? “, or” Did I do poorly?
This works the same way with self-esteem. Every time you are with someone and you give them your best shot, who’s going to give you the best shot? It’s going to be yourself. If you are not confident, then it will show. If you lack confidence, others will see it and either get discouraged from working with you, or they will notice your blabbing and eventually they will decide not to do business with you at all.
The bottom line is that in order to be successful and build your self-esteem, you need to know that you are worth it. If you feel like you are nothing more than a failure, you need to make some major changes in your thinking. Until then, take small steps forward each day until finally you can say that you have reached your goals.
Confidence affects many aspects of your life, both positively and negatively. Having confidence also affects the way others perceive you. Confidence gives you the courage to reach for your goals. Self-esteem is one of the most important traits to success.
What does confidence mean to you? Think back to a time when you felt very good about yourself. How did that make you feel? If it was because you were self-confident, you can take that same step again and begin to feel even better about yourself.
Now, if you were unsure about yourself, how did that affect your life? We often look down on those people who are not as successful as we want them to be. Why? Because they have a low self-image. Their perception of themselves is based on their negative thinking; their low self-esteem.
If you want to succeed, you must build your self-esteem first. Then, start to increase your confidence level. No matter what you are doing, if you don’t believe in yourself, you will fail. You must believe in yourself before others do.