A lot of what we do re: self-improvement is done so we can have more confidence.
Sure, it’s done so we can actually achieve more, but that achievement is often something we think will deliver a feeling…
A feeling of pride, power, peace, happiness, confidence, or all of the above.
Confidence is a must. You need it.
You need it to live your best life, to achieve the great things you want to achieve, heck, even to find the right lady, to lead your family, to try new, scary, daunting things in life.
It’s something I’ve struggled with at times, and every article or book I came across talked about confidence like it’s won through a change in perspective, but I don’t think that’s it.
Confidence stems from a belief in yourself, or, believing yourself.
That is, if you tell yourself that you’re going to do something, you do it, even if that conversation is internally.
You don’t lie to yourself. You say you’re going to do something, you do it.
Think about all of the things we tell ourselves we’re going to do…
I’m going to chat that cutie up over there…
I’m finally going to tell my boss to shove it…
I’m going to get up earlier and train tomorrow morning…
I’m not going to spend any money this week on useless crap…
And so on.
We tell ourselves that we’re going to do things, they’re intuitions into how we ought to live, and yet we most often ignore these intuitions and fall into the traps or habits that are holding us back.
Sure, confidence comes from actually being better, from earning more, looking better, performing better, etc…
But more than that, you become truly, deeply confident by believing your own internal voice when it says you’re going to do something.
Imagine if you followed through on everything you said you were going to do?
Over time you’d develop such a strong belief in your own words that no matter the scope of what you said you were going to do, you’d believe that you’d follow through on it.
This begins to hedge over into the goals you say you’re going to achieve, not just the habits you’re going to break or the new ones you’re going to start.
That’s why it’s so important to follow through with yourself.
You need to believe what you’re saying, or no one will.
How to do this…
I say things to myself all the time, but they get lost if they’re left in my head. So, now I write them down.
Yesterday I wrote down 4 things I’m going to change. One of them was moving my reading time from the morning to the evening, and getting work done before I head to the gym at 530am.
This is the work I’m doing for the hour before the workout.
I like reading. But I’m seeing that it’s half avoidance of work, half enjoyment, and can be moved to a period in the day when I’m not working – I’m useless at working at night.
Following through feels good.
I believe myself when I say I’m going to do something.
Another one…
If I say I’m going to do something to pals, I follow through. Even if I blurt out I’m going to take a trip or something – who knows what… I’ll do it. That’s actually how I ended up spending 3 months in Italy a handful of years ago…
…When I could only afford the flight, not accommodations. I booked the trip because I said I wanted to go to Italy to a pal. A month in, the Man Diet started selling, and I made enough to pay for the trip and eventually a house.
Risk taken. It turned out well.
Being a man of your word isn’t just about honor, respect, or even character, it’s confidence.
When you do what you say you’re going to do, you believe you’ll do what you say you’ll do in every circumstance.
That’s powerful.
So, do it.
Keep a notepad. If you say something internally that’s good, write it down and follow through on it.
Create a new habit today. End an old one right now.
You don’t need time, you just need action.
Be Legendary,
Chad Howse
