What is self confidence? What is its importance in business?

Several issues should be raised here, firstly, are we able to properly assess our own value, knowledge, competences and capabilities? Are we aware of our own advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses? Do we feel good about ourselves? This is all so important because if we can properly assess our abilities, we will also be able to set realistic goals. If we evaluate our capabilities incorrectly, there is a danger that we will set a goal for ourselves that we will never be able to achieve, or that we will give up projects that we could have successfully completed.

Therefore, the problem concerns not only people with low self-esteem, but also people who are too self-confident. In both cases, achieving the assumed effects will be very difficult. As a result, even overconfident people may fall into low self-esteem. And we are talking about an extremely important thing, because if we define business as the art of achieving goals, not being able to set a proper goal for ourselves, we fall out of the game at the very beginning. By implementing meaningless projects, we will waste time and resources.

What does self-confidence depend on?

In the vast majority of cases, self-confidence depends on knowledge, experience and competence. It is natural for an inexperienced person to feel insecure in business. The problem, however, arises when someone who objectively copes well with their tasks feels insecure. And unfortunately these are common situations. There can be many reasons, ranging from relationships in the family or at school, and ending with the influence of bureaucratic institutions in which creativity and questioning the existing order are poorly viewed.

Self-confidence is also so important because one of the most important qualities a successful person should possess is independence. Independence is the key to success in both corporations and small private businesses. However, it is unnatural if not supported by self-confidence. In managerial positions, independence is related to the ability to achieve the goals set. An independent person has the initiative, mobilizes others, but can also mobilize himself. And as I said a moment ago, achieving goals is absolutely crucial – organizations exist to achieve goals.

Then let’s talk about one more concept – courage. What is the relationship between confidence and courage?

To put it very simply, courage is something that causes us to fight instead of flee. Thanks to courage, first of all, we do not give up setting ourselves goals, and secondly, we fight to achieve them despite the difficulties that arise. Self-confidence and courage are inextricably linked – it can be said that self-confidence is a source of courage, just as it is a source of independence. Here, too, the lack of self-confidence means that courage ceases to be authentic and turns into riskiness.

In this context, we should talk about one more concept – self-acceptance. The source of self-acceptance also lies in self-confidence. Self-acceptance causes us to accept our own flaws and weaknesses. We understand the reasons for our own failures. We are able to react constructively to criticism and draw the right conclusions from failures. These are all features that make it easier for us to achieve business goals, because they allow us to focus on the essence of the problem instead of having sterile emotional discussions.

What if we come to the conclusion that we have confidence issues?

The most important thing is gaining knowledge and gaining experience. Self-confidence is their natural consequence. If this is not enough, we should start by trying to understand the source of the problems. We talked about this a moment ago, but let us add that people who are not confident enough often rely unnecessarily on judgments made by someone else. So you need to build confidence in your own judgment. Again, this will be easier the more experience we have in the business.

Giving undue importance to judgments made by others can also cause poor self-esteem. In addition, it does not matter whether these ratings are positive or negative. If we are criticized too often, we will avoid taking certain actions. If we are praised too often, we will not be able to understand the reasons for our failure. Relying on your own judgment is also important for other reasons. Firstly, it shortens the decision-making process, and secondly, it makes sure that the decision will be made only in our interest. Other people may not always be interested in properly judging our actions.

We are coming back here once again to independence. However, there is one thing to remember. Ideally, the self-assessment of our own activities should be based on objective factors, such as the number of customers acquired or the percentage of sales targets being achieved. However, it should not be based on emotions, because then it is very easy to fall into various mental traps.