Where Do You Find Encouragement?

Hello, my friends.

Here is one of my favorite questions to ask:

Who is your biggest cheerleader?

Stop now and think about it. Write it down, or say it out loud.

Who is the person who is the greatest source of encouragement and positivity in your life?

If you are like most people, there is someone who fills that role. Maybe there is more than one person. Hopefully, there are many. Is it a parent, spouse, best friend, or perhaps someone you have known your entire life…someone who has always been a big fan, and really tends to lift you up when you are down…someone who encourages you?

Who comes to mind?

These are wonderful relationships to have. I am not advocating that these relationships are not worthwhile.

However, I will challenge you with this idea: that YOU need to be your biggest cheerleader.

I am not talking about being arrogant, conceited, or narcissistic, thinking that you’re “all that and a bag of chips.” But what I am saying is that, in this world that is full of challenges, obstacles, and plenty of reasons to be discouraged or confused, you need to own responsibility for your own confidence and how you bring yourself into each and every situation.

This is true for most people. In fact, I don’t know anyone for whom this is not true. You speak to yourself more than you speak to anyone else. You hear your own voice more than you hear anyone else’s voice. That is your inner voice, the inner dialog most people have when they are doing things like driving or thinking.

What are you saying to yourself?

• Are your words mostly negative?

• Are they mostly positive?

• Are they mostly neutral?

It’s extremely important for you to own self-confidence.

I work with many sales teams, helping people learn to sell.

Do you know what the number one characteristic of an effective seller is?

Confidence.

Have you ever seen some of the studies with regard to attracting a mate or a date? One of the biggest characteristics is confidence. It’s not looks. It’s not money. It’s not any of these things that people typically think. It is your own confidence.

Why is that?

Because people pick up on your self-confidence, and they attribute positive characteristics to people who have self-confidence. If you are a seller, you must buy you before anyone else is going to buy you.

If you are anxious, nervous, or seem like you are your own worst enemy, other people are going to believe, “Well, you know yourself better than anyone, and if you’re not a big fan of you, why should I be?”

What can you do to bolster your own role as a cheerleader?

1. Daily Affirmations

Daily affirmations are positive statements you say about who you are and how you are going to show up in any given period of time. Daily affirmations are statements I make every day. I say them out loud and with great passion. When you state daily affirmations, you are programming yourself. You’re telling yourself, “Hey, this is who I’m going to be today.” It is very encouraging and uplifting.

2. Inspirational Readings, Podcasts, or Videos

Fill your head with positive thoughts, positive images, or a positive quote of the day. There are a million and one places you can go on the web to get positive quotes. My social media pages are populated with quite a few positive thoughts, and I have no shortage of people who tell me how encouraged they are on a regular basis just to see what I’ve come up with. Invariably, it hits somebody exactly at the time they needed it most. You can do this for yourself.

3. Give to Other People

Do you want to feel good about who you are? Go donate your time, treasure, or talent to those who are less fortunate than you. Go and give to your community. Find a way, in whatever areas you find most interesting and inspirational, to give to others. It is amazing how giving to others actually gives us so much back in return.

These small steps will strengthen your self-confidence and help you to be your own biggest cheerleader!

If confidence is a challenge for you, I highly recommend you consider taking the Ascend on Demand course, where we talk about that and other challenges in detail. There is also a monthly accountability and support call to help you grow in this area. To learn more about this online program, click here.