3. CREATING AN ACTION PLAN:
PART ONE:
Creating a plan for self-confidence is the key to unlocking your potential and achieving success in all aspects of our lives. Self-confidence is something that can be built over time with dedication and hard work, but it also requires an action plan that is tailored to your specific needs. A good action plan should include:
1. Goals that you want to achieve,
2. Activities that will help you reach those goals,
3. Metrics and milestones to measure progress along the way.
The first step to creating an action plan for self-confidence is setting a goal. When deciding on a goal, it is important to make sure that it is realistic and achievable so that it will be easier to stay motivated during the journey. It can feel strange to set goals for something abstract like our level of confidence — but I’ve included some examples below to paint the picture. It helps to think of Self Confidence as a combination of our emotional, physical and spiritual practises. So our goals can be divided / include each of these areas of our life and incorporate rituals and habits that leave us feeling great in each of them.
For example:
SELF CONFIDENCE GOALS:
To make 1 new friendship this month
Do one thing this week that scares me + that I’ve been putting off
To be more conscious of my body posture + holding my head high and shoulders back
To start exercising more every week
Nourish my body with healthy foods + balanced meals
Once you have identified areas of improvement, it's time to create an action plan that addresses each of these issues. Make sure that every task within your plan has specific steps so you know exactly what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals. Consider including activities such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, journaling or other relaxation techniques into your plan so that you can improve emotional regulation.
For exmaple
Plan out when and where you are going to exercise + how many times you can realistically commit. Don’t overdo it! The key is manageable goals.
If you want to make new friendships or seek out a relationship — you’ve got to put yourself out there! Sign up for community meet ups, dating apps, reach out to your community + get vocal. Be open with your intention to meet new people. You’ll be amazed to see how well people respond when you hold open minded energy.
Don’t just write about doing one thing that scares you — set a date for when you need to be it by. For me this was uploading a video online — in the past I’ve feel an overwhelming cringe about myself when I share more personal content. You might also face a little inner critic voice that tries to convince you of all the reasons not to act. Know that this is your fear self just trying to protect you from change. Move through it and act anyway.
Set calendar reminders! It’s easy to write things out and forget about it as soon as you close your journal. Set reminders in your calendar to hold you accountable. Or better yet, tell a friend and ask them to be your accountability buddy. Perhaps they have something they are trying to work towards as well. With kindness, you can hold space for each other to succeed.
PART TWO:
Another important part of creating an action plan for self-confidence is measuring progress along the way. It's easy to get discouraged when things don't go as planned or if progress seems slow at times - which is why it's important to set short term goals and track results regularly so you can see how far you've come in reaching your ultimate goal of increased self-confidence. Tracking metrics such as improved moods, better relationships with others or higher levels of motivation are all great ways of measuring success over time. If you can, and are not already, bring back in your daily journalling practice for the next 7 days. At the beginning of each day ask yourself the following three questions:
How am I feeling?
Whats one step I can take towards my goals today?
Whats one thing I love about myself?
Three things I’m grateful for in life:
PART THREE:
Finally, make sure that your action plan includes positive reinforcement techniques so when you do reach milestones along the way, you'll be able to celebrate them! Celebrating successes helps keep motivation high and provides an extra boost when challenges arise by reminding us of our potential and accomplishments thus far. Incorporating positive reinforcement into our plans gives us the courage needed to continue pushing forward despite setbacks or obstacles we may encounter along the path towards increased self-confidence.
By taking charge of our own development through creating an action plan tailored towards building self confidence, we can take control of our futures in ways unimaginable before. With patience and perseverance - anything is possible!