Friday, September 14, 2007

Confidence

I have a few random thoughts today, but will finish up with what I really want to talk mention.
I apologize for being rude and not introducing who I am and what I do. I will post a post....ha....discussing my history, interests, and background this weekend. In addition, I wanted to mention that a lot of the material that I write about is not my own work. It is probably an audiotape I am currently listening to, or a book I am reading. As my good friend Rick Pitino once said, "try to improve every day, if you are taking your wife on a date, pretend that it is the first date you have ever been on together." Well, I improve every day by reading/listening to something and then writing about it.
Anthony Robbins believes that every person he meets is his superior to him in some way, and vice versa. As we grow up, we focus on certain tasks and become skilled and specialized in them. In which skills are you Tony's "superior"? Personally, I am Anthony's superior in technology. I am a very good programmer, and problem solver when it comes to solving Object-Oriented design (programming lingo).
Anyways, about confidence. Confidence is a state of mind, and not an experience. Can a person be confident in something that they have never done? Definitely. For example, focus on something you've never done before, like flying a kite. Do you feel confident that you could fly a kite? The answer is probably yes, even if you've never done it. Why? Well, you can probably picture someone flying a kite, whether it is a cartoon or in real life, and remembering that it is not a difficult feat.
A confidence exercise I recently learned : Stand up and raise your right hand until it is parallel to the ground, and point forward with your index finger. 1) With your feet planted in one place, turn your body clockwise until it doesn't turn anymore, without hurting yourself of course. 2) Return your body to the original position and lower your hand. 3) Close your eyes and without actually doing it, in your mind, picture yourself raising your hand and turning your body clockwise but this time move a little further, then come back to original position. 4) Still with your eyes closed, picture yourself doing the same thing but turning your body 3/4 around, then come back to center. 5) Next, still with your eyes closed, visualize yourself raising your right hand and turning clockwise all the way around, yes a full 360 degree circle, and come back to center. 6) Finally, open your eyes, and now actually raise your right hand again and turn your body clockwise as far as you can, and then come back to center.
What did you notice? Majority of people turn 1/3 further than the first time. What does this mean? It means that when you visualize something, you can become more confident without even knowing so. Whenever you are doubtful in a situation, just visualize yourself in the situation and go through the motions if you were to execute through the situation FLAWLESSLY.
In other words, if you are afraid of approaching the opposite sex, and the situation comes up. Just picture yourself in the situation, and imagine what it would be like if you approached him/her and the conversation was flawless. When you're done visualizing, open your eyes back up (some people in the grocery store may think you're weird, but that's okay) and JUST DO IT. Thus, visualization boosts confidence because it brings us one step closer to success.

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