It is a common sight to see people suffering from lack of confidence yet not everyone is ready to admit it. People often try to hide their lack of self confidence because they fear about the perception being formed in the minds of other people. Thinking about self confidence, actually it’s nothing but perception of oneself where one is able to identify his strengths and weaknesses. World is not too kind to low confident people because they are assumed to be too timid to power their way in a competitive world.
There are several symptoms of lack of confidence. People with low confidence are unable to take decisions for themselves. They always seek others’ approval and have an inherent fear of other people’s opinions and criticism. Lack of self confidence is reflected in the way affected person shows deficit of courage of take any initiatives. Rather than looking at brighter side of the things, they think of impending failures. Their minds are always occupied with ‘what if’ factor instead of ‘how’ and ‘how best to’. Either they go back in a shell or react aggressively to criticism. They often pretend to be somebody that they are not. People who do not have self confidence try to avoid social gatherings and events and often judge themselves by what people say and think about them. They often display defensive postures and are easily panicked.
People are not born super confident or low confident. The circumstances often affect the way they turn out to be. There could be a number of causes for lack of confidence in an individual. It could be triggered by insecurity or abuse or looks or poor childhood or any other factor. Absence of love and care from parents during growing up phase or lack of encouragement from parents can greatly affect a child’s confidence level and when he grows up he carries the impression of childhood and turns out to be a timid person who does not have the wherewithal to face the world. Looks or appearance also play a major role in self-confidence. Poor self image leads to poor self confidence.
Inability to fulfil expectations imposed upon an individual triggers low confidence. Lack of self confidence often leads to stress and depression and sometimes even to psychological disorders. He keeps thinking about his weaknesses and not his strengths. It has also been observed that some people even resort to extreme reactions liking cutting or harming themselves. That indicates, lack of self confidence can lead to disastrous consequences.
Dealing with lack of confidence will require one to adopt confidence boosters. Using medicine or sulking alone will not help. One needs to stop condemning himself and start believing in his strengths. It will help if one can accept that no one is perfect and life does not always go smoothly. Allow yourself to make some mistakes.
Confidence building is a process that must be pursued with patience. There is no short-cut to it. One needs to handle his insecurities and realise that every great person has had his shares of pain, disappointment and failures. No one achieved the pinnacle of confidence in one night. It requires perseverance, patience and will power. Talk about your feelings to someone you can trust, he could be an elder person, a friend or a counsellor. It will definitely bring you relief. Finally, learn from your failure and use it to your benefit.