Today I have great news for you. In a recent post in which I wrote about the Connection Between Self Confidence and Courage,. One aspect of that was that we can use courage and doing things that scare us a little to boost our feeling of self-worth and confidence. In other words, we can increase self-confidence by being courageous or doing something that takes a little courage more often.

Why is this such great news? Because courage is a habit. It’s something that’s completely in our control and a habit we can cultivate. All it takes is a little awareness and the drive to make it happen. We just need to get the ball rolling for a little while. Over the course of this 30 day challenge is a great time to do that. If you can take small steps towards courage every single day for the remainder of this challenge, you’ll be well on your way to creating this new positive habit.

It doesn’t have to be anything big. Small acts of courage will work just fine to build this habit. Remember that as you take each next step your self-confidence will increase.  That bravery will make it easier to take another courageous move. Remember, it will become easier with each day as you practice this new habit.

You may be wondering how you can start to cultivate this new habit. Habits take practice so try not to let 24 hours go by without doing something that scares you.

We’re creatures of habit and comfort and we don’t like venture outside of our comfort zone unless we’re forced to. To make courage a habit, you have to actively look for daily opportunities to practice. What can you do to make that happen?

Make A List

Sit down right now and start making a list of things you can do to be courageous. Start by thinking of things that scare you or challenge you. Keep adding to this list as you go along. Refer back to it often and use the items on the list to keep you moving forward.

Look For Opportunities To Be Courageous

Start paying attention as you go about your busy day. Get in the habit of not shying away from challenges but embracing them and doing things anyway. You’re probably encountering a lot more challenges throughout your day than you realize.

Make Friends Who Will Challenge You

Step out of your comfort zone and make friends, or spend time with people who will challenge you. You can also encourage your loved ones to help you face your fears and step out of your area of comfort on a more regular basis. Ask for their assistance to help you fight the fear.

Get A Coach

Last but not least, you can get a coach. Find someone that can help you in the area you need help in.  In life, business, sports or anything else you can think of, coaches are great at forcing you to test your limits, face your fears and help you to find your inner courage.

Start By Looking Back And Seeing How Far You’ve Come

Realizing how far I’ve come and how much I can actually accomplish when I put my mind to it, is always a HUGE confidence booster for me. I’m sure it’s no different for you. To be honest, there’s a lot each and every one of us has done over the past few days, weeks, and even years that we can be proud of. Yet we often don’t see it. There always seems to be so much left on the to-do list and to be perfectly honest, the stuff we didn’t do, or the things we failed at often stand out much more than our successes. It’s time to change our perspective and focus on the wins and how far we’ve come already.

Reflection and Gratitude

The simplest way to make sure you see and notice what you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve come is to get in the habit of spending a few minutes either in the morning or right before bed for reflection and gratitude.

When you wake up in the morning, before you jump out of bed, while you’re drinking that first cup of coffee, or even while you’re taking your shower, think about what you’ve accomplished and what you’re grateful for. I like this morning habit because it sets a positive and confident tone for the whole day ahead. If that doesn’t work for you, try it at night, before you fall asleep. Make it a daily habit and watch your confidence grow.

Journaling And Habit Trackers

If you’re the type of person who needs to see it in black and white to believe it, give journaling a try. Spend a few minutes each day writing down your wins. If you’re trying to establish better habits, try a habit tracker. You basically set up a grid with the habits you want to establish and little check boxes next to them. Grid paper and excel spreadsheets work well for this. Then, as you complete your habit for the day, you get to check it off. It can be very motivating to see a month’s worth of little checkmarks on your habit tracker.

With the journal, make it a point to go back and review your wins on a regular basis and of course whenever you need a little boost of self-esteem and confidence. Look online for plenty of journaling and habit tracker ideas. Give the ones that look good a try and come up with a system that works for you.

Your Own Personal Cheerleader

Last but not least, consider getting your own personal cheerleader. No, I’m not suggesting you hire a person with pompoms to follow you around everywhere. Instead, find a good friend or family member who’s encouraging already and ask them to cheer you on. Give them a call whenever you’re feeling low, or don’t want to do something so they can encourage you and cheer you on to give you that boost of confidence to do what you need to do. Of course they should also help you by pointing out how much you’ve accomplished already.