The 12 Benefits of Increasing Your Self-Confidence

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In this third part of our, How to Build Confidence Series, we define 12 of the powerful benefits of increasing self-confidence. These benefits extend deeper and wider than most people realize. Increasing your self-confidence will benefit you professionally if you are a leader, manager, sales rep, individual contributor. It will benefit you personally by helping you lead your family and it even helps you feel and others to perceive you as sexier. Yes, confidence is sexy!

Here are the 12 benefits of greater self-confidence:

Being your best under stress. Athletes, musicians and actors will attest to the importance of a high level of confidence. When you’re confident, you perform up to your potential and you want to perform your best when it counts the most, when under pressure.
Influencing others. Self-confident people often influence others more readily. This helps when selling an idea or product or negotiating at work or home.
Having leadership and executive presence. Self-confidence plays a big part in leadership and executive presence. You create such presence by how you think, act (including how you carry your body) and use your voice.
Exuding a more positive attitude. When you feel confident about yourself, you believe you have an important and meaningful place in the world, giving you a positive attitude.
Feeling valued. When you’re confident, you know what you excel at and that you have value.
Rising to the top. Looking for a promotion? The more confidence you have, the more likely you are to be promoted.

confidence levels

Being sexier. Did you know that confidence is sexy? I wrote an article about it, which I published on my website and on YourTango.com. It’s one of my most popular articles, and it cracks me up that Google ranks me as number one for the keyword “confidence is sexy.”
Reducing negative thoughts. Greater self-confidence allows you to experience freedom from self-doubt and negative thoughts about yourself.
Experiencing more fearlessness and less anxiety. Greater confidence makes you more willing to take smart risks and more able to move outside your comfort zone.
Having greater freedom from social anxiety. Becoming more comfortable being yourself reduces concern about what others might think of you. How liberating!
Gaining energy and motivation to take action. Confidence gives you positive energy to take action to achieve your personal and professional goals and dreams. The more highly motivated and energized you are, the more likely you are to take immediate action.
Being happier. Confident people tend to be happier and more satisfied with their lives than people who lack self-confidence.

The bottom line: Self-confident people are generally more successful.

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Each of the 12 benefits above helps you achieve goals faster and easier, which means you enjoy more success in life. Conversely, lack of confidence means more fear, anxiety and stress, usually resulting in less success.