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Be confident in your abilities. Artifact 3: How Self-Confident Are You? Improving Self-Confidence by Building Self-Efficacy by the Mind Tools Content Team [REFLECTION]

Updated: Jun 11

This website article How Self-Confident Are You? By the Mind Tools Content Team caught my attention because of its unique approach to building self-confidence. This article suggests that self-efficiency is a building block in self-confidence.


The article begins with explaining how to build confidence. It begins by stipulating that confident people can seem innately outgoing, self-assured, and assertive, but that is not always the case. Confidence can be developed through practice. These are 8 steps to help in this process:

  1. Let go of imposter syndrome- many of us feel like frauds from time to time that we will be found out overcome this by improving your self-awareness, understand where your strengths lie and take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

  2. Stop being a perfectionist- Some time good enough is fine, don’t allow the idea something being perfect stop you from doing something that is good. Learn when it is time to let go and move on to the nest task.

  3. Play to your strengths- share what you are talented at and your confidence will flourish.

  4. Reflect on your successes- take stock of your achievements and keep note of them, it very easy to forget your successes when you are feeling down so make certain that you have written them down somewhere for encouragement when you need it.

  5. Do something scary- stepping out of your comfort zone can reveal skills that you were unaware of. The more that you do this the easier it will become and the more confident you will become.

  6. Practice deep breathing- taking a deep breath when you are under pressure will help you slow the stress response that you are experiencing and relax you.

  7. Put things into perspective- if the situation begins to feel overwhelming. Put it into context. Be grateful for what you have and focus on what you can do to move on with courage and conviction.  Looking at stressful situations with hindsight can help you identify your emotions and help you deal with a similar stressful situation in the future.

  8. Pretend- even if you don’t feel confident on the inside projecting an air of confidence will inspire others to trust in your abilities. Try adopting a power stance for two minutes and feel the confidence radiate.


These steps resonated with me the most compared to the advices that I encountered in Artifact 1 and 2. This is because I was able to recognise weaknesses the MBTI personality test suggested I could have as a person with a INFJ personality. Specifically weaknesses are being a perfectionist [2]. Steps [1], [3], [5], [7], and [8] resonated very deeply with the in securities that I have and enabled me to understand how much my insecurities are holding me back.


Self-efficacy connection to self-confidence:


Confidence is when you believe that you can achieve goals or tasks you set out to do. Self-efficacy is when you believe that you can achieve a specific goal or task you set out to do. When an individual has the belief that they are highly self-efficient at a task they are doing it impacts their thoughts and actions and behave in a manner which enables them to succeed. When someone has high self-efficacy, they tend to:

  1. Develop a deeper interest in the activities they participate in.

  2. Form a stronger commitment to their interests and activities.

  3. Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments.


Building self-confidence:

This website article taught me that self-confidence can be improved through believing in yourself and your abilities. I learned a theory called Bandura's theory of self-efficacy to improve your you perception of your abilities. There are four tenets to this theory:

  1. Mastery experiences – things you have succeeded at in the past.

  2. Vicarious experiences – seeing people who are similar to you succeed.

  3. Social persuasion – hearing from others that you're capable.

  4. Emotional status – staying positive, and managing stress.

I hope that as I apply these steps in my I will begin to grow my self-confidence in my abilities.


The link to thsi website article: How Self-Confident Are You? Improving Self-Confidence by Building Self-Efficacy by the Mind Tools Content Team.

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