Positive experiences grow your confident view of yourself when you make clear and helpful conclusions about those experiences. When you do well at anything, experience success, or receive praise, compliments, and positive feedback, it’s crucial to recognize that this information means something. The meaning you assign to these positive experiences can build a foundation for feeling capable and liked. Knowing you have the capacity to succeed, through achievement and social situations, fortifies you against life’s challenges.
Carly
Last year, Carly ran for student government president and was surprised when many of her friends worked on her campaign. When she won, she thought she must truly have what it takes for so many people to want to support her. Although this year has been hard academically, Carly created an awesome experiment for the science fair, which helped her recognize how capable she is.
Here is the list of self-confident beliefs. Circle all the ones that ring true.
Look at the labels you circled and, with a different color, circle any additional positive labels that others have called you, even if you don’t see yourself that way.
Then survey friends and family and ask them if any of these confidence labels fit you. Circle those in a third color.
Notice how many positive beliefs about you exist. Write down all the positive names you have collected here:
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Each day, take time to reflect on each of these positive labels and consider how you can use this information to grow the confident you.
The Bottom Line: Everyone has positive labels; find yours and pay attention to them.