Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Dedicated to His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
(Founder Acharya- ISKCON)
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
1. What is self-confidence?
2. Why people lack self-confidence?
3. Self assessment
4. Practical tips to increase Self Confidence
Agenda
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
What is
Self-Confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-confidence is a
term used to
describe how
secure a person is
in his own decisions
and actions and
how free he is from
doubt.
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Activity
Identify the
characteristic
Activity
Identify the
characteristic
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Assertiveness SELF CONFIDENT
Distrust LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
Eagerness
Affection
Self- doubt
Isolation
SELF CONFIDENT
SELF CONFIDENT
LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Sensitivity to
criticism
Depression
Feelings of inferiority
The ability to handle
criticism
Emotional maturity
LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
SELF CONFIDENT
LACK OF SELF
CONFIDENCE
SELF CONFIDENT
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Main causes for
lack of self-
confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Activity
What are the
various causes of
people lacking
self-confidence?
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Let’s do
Self
Assessment
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Activity
Identify the
characteristic
Activity
Comparison
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
One
characteristic at
a time will be
displayed on
screenPlease tell the opposite
characteristic
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Behavior based on what
other people will think
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Behavior based on what
other people will think
Staying in comfort zone,
fearing failure and avoid
taking risks
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Behavior based on what
other people will
think
Being willing to take risks
and go the extra mile
Staying in comfort zone,
fearing failure and avoid
taking risks
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Behavior based on what
other people will think
Being willing to take risks
and go the extra mile
Staying in comfort zone,
fearing failure and avoid
taking risks
Admitting mistakes and
learning from them
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe
to be right, even if
others mock or criticize
Behavior based on
what other people will
think
Being willing to take
risks and go the extra
mile
Staying in comfort
zone, fearing failure
and avoid taking risks
Admitting mistakes and
learning from them
Working hard to cover
up mistakes
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Rank yourself on a
scale of 1-5 for all the
three characteristics.
Add up scores and find
out total score out of
15
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Self-Confident Low Self-Confidence
Doing what you believe to
be right, even if others
mock or criticize
Behavior based on what
other people will think
Being willing to take risks
and go the extra mile
Staying in comfort zone,
fearing failure and avoid
taking risks
Admitting mistakes and
learning from them
Working hard to cover up
mistakes
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
What is your score?
• 1-3 – Low
• 4-8 - Average
• 9-12 – Good
• 12 and above - Excellent
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
How to Increase
Your Self-
Confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Tolerate
reversals with a
positive frame of
mind
1
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
I have not failed.
I've just found
10,000 ways that
won't work.
Thomas Alva Edison
“ “
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Death is not the
greatest loss in life.
The greatest loss is
what dies inside us
while we live.
“
“
Norman Cousins
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
I've missed more
than 9000 shots in
my career. I've lost
almost
300 games. 26 times,
I've been trusted
to take the game
winning shot and missed.
“
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
I've failed over and
over and over again
in my life. And that
is why I succeed.
“
Michael Jordan
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
mäträ-sparçäs tu kaunteya
çétoñëa-sukha-duùkha-däù
ägamäpäyino ’nityäs
täàs titikñasva bhärata
REF. Bg 2.14
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
TRANSLATION
O son of Kunté, the nonpermanent
appearance of happiness and distress,
and their disappearance in due course,
are like the appearance and
disappearance of winter and summer
seasons. They arise from sense
perception, O scion of Bharata, and one
must learn to tolerate them without being
disturbed.
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Identify the person
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
• 1832 - lost his job & defeated in legislature
• 1833 - failed in business
• 1835 - sweetheart died
• 1836 - had a nervous breakdown
• 1838 - defeated for Speaker of the U.S.
House
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
• 1843 - defeated for nomination for Congress
• 1848 - lost re-nomination
• 1854 - defeated for U.S. Senate
• 1856 - defeated for nomination Vice
President
•1858 - again defeated for U.S. Senate
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
In 1860 he was
elected President
of USA
Abraham Lincoln
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Sometimes hardships and
reversals can bring out the
best in us
They can be blessings
in disguise!
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Cocoon of
a butterfly
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Choose your
friends well
2
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Avoid
individuals who
suck your energy
and diminish your
confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Pessimists drag
you down, as do
whiners
and critics
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
You are the same today
as you will be in five years
except for two things,
the people you associate
with and the books you
read.
JOHN F KENNEDY
“
“
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Cultivate friendship
with a person who is
closest to you
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Most powerful
and loving Lord in
the heart!
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
sarvasya cähaà hådi sanniviñöo
mattaù småtir jïänam apohanaà
REF. Bg 15.15
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
TRANSLATION
I am seated in everyone’s heart,
and from Me come remembrance,
knowledge and forgetfulness.
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Our most
trustworthy
friend
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
FOOTPRINTS IN
THE SAND
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
We have to practice
remembering the Lord
always, by chanting His
names and molding life’s
activities in such a way
that we can remember
Him always.
SRILA PRABHUPADA
“
“
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Dwell on your
strengths &
not on your
weaknesses
3
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Each one of us have
strengths and
weaknesses
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Amazing will!
Enter
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Richard Arthur
(An instructor of English
at Rutgers University)
Chanting makes me more
aware of what to do
and what not to do.
And now, I naturally feel
happy about doing
the right thing.
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
The psychologists have found
chanters brimming with
self-confidence
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Nathan Zakheim
(Famous art director)
"After years of being
a closed-in person
and trying to protect
myself from experiences,
now I'm really different.”
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Essence of Chanting
Enter
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
“Chanting makes
me so exuberant
that I easily sail
through all
challenging
situations in life.”
Marco Ferrini
(Italy’s top furniture
designer)
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
The man who does
not read good books
has no advantage
over the man who
can not read them.
“ “
MARK TWAIN
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
When doubts haunt
me, when
disappointments stare
me in the face, and I
see not one ray of
hope on the horizon, I
turn to Bhagavad-gita
“
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
“
Mahatma Gandhi
and find a verse to
comfort me; and I
immediately begin to
smile in the midst of
Overwhelming
sorrow.
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
By reading we discover
ourselves
& our world.
“ “
OPRAH WINFREY
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
If one properly follows the
instructions of Bhagavad-gétä, one
can be freed from all the miseries
and anxieties of life. One will be
freed from all fears.
(Gétä-mähätmya 1)
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Dr K Kasturirangan’s speech
EnterFormer Chairman of ISRO
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Read Bhagavad Gita?
What is the use?
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Every man who reads
has the power to
magnify himself, to make
his life full, significant,
and meaningful.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
“
“
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Cultivate a habit of
reading regularly
at least for 15 min
Building Self - ConfidenceSecrets of Success
Summarize
• Negative experiences, feeling of guilt, fear etc
diminish our self confidence
• Self confidence is influenced to a large extent
by the kind of people we associate with
• Our self confidence can be boosted by chanting,
reading and developing faith in the Lord
Self-confidence is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful.
Ask the participants & note down on flip chart.
Ask the participants & note down on flip chart.
We often develop feelings of inferiority and lack of self confidence through various negative life experiences at home, school, on the job, etc.
Self confidence can diminish when confronted with tragic life situations like death of a very close family members or breaking up of relationship with a very close friend.
By dwelling unnecessarily on failures and reversals in life
Criticizing yourself and your abilities and blame yourself for your failures and disappointment.
Experiencing too much pressure from your parents and/or peers to meet the demands and expectations that they set out for you deprives you of the opportunity to develop your own identity, independence and autonomy.
Believing that because you have failed before, you will fail again. Fear sets in which depletes self-confidence.
If you experience many guilty feelings, it will cause low self confidence and esteem.
In the following table only one characteristic at a time will be displayed on screen and the participants should tell the opposite. Then the participant will rank himself on a scale of 1-5. At the end, ask the participants to add up their individual scores and find out what is their score out of 15.
If you experience many guilty feelings, it will cause low self confidence and esteem.
In the following table only one characteristic at a time will be displayed on screen and the participants should tell the opposite. Then the participant will rank himself on a scale of 1-5. At the end, ask the participants to add up their individual scores and find out what is their score out of 25.
If you experience many guilty feelings, it will cause low self confidence and esteem.
Say: Those who are lacking self confidence need not worry this session will bring out the confident person in you , and for those who are brimming with self confidence, this session will help you maintain the same and will also show you in whom to place your confidence.
Edison _failed_ more than ten thousand times before he succeeded in creating the light bulb.
Edison _failed_ more than ten thousand times before he succeeded in creating the light bulb.
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gone as far as it could and it could go no farther.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
Avoid individuals who suck your energy and diminish your confidence. You know who they are: Steer clear of them. Hang out with the people who see you at your best, and remind you about it every so often. Pessimists drag you down, as do whiners and critics.
Avoid individuals who suck your energy and diminish your confidence. You know who they are: Steer clear of them. Pessimists drag you down, as do whiners and critics.
Hang out with the people who are wise and have good positive attitude.
Cultivate friendship with a person who is closest to you. He is your real well-wisher.
He is always accompanying us.
Always remember that Lord is always with you and He is beyond any limitations.
You may be having many limitations, but your dependence on the Lord can bring the best out of you.
Many times we struggle through life thinking that we are all alone.
The most powerful and loving Lord is right there within our heart, always willing to guide us, provided we seek His guidance and follow His instructions
He is our most trustworthy friend always accompanying us!
He is our true well wisher. In trails and tribulations, He is always with us, ready to help us.
Problem is that we are forgetful of Him & don’t follow His instructions.
We doubt His guidance. We don’t have unflinching faith in Him.
FOOTPRINTS IN SAND
One night, a man had a dream. He dreamt that he was walking on a beach with the Lord. When he turned to look behind him, he saw two sets of footprints on the vast stretches of sand which he had crossed. One set of footprints, he clearly recognised as his own; the other set, as the Lord's.
Scenes from his life flashed across his mind's eye, as he recalled his past. The expanses of sand behind him seemed to symbolise the life he had lived till then.
All of a sudden, he noticed that at certain places, there was only one set of footprints on the sand.
He thought, "These were those critical moments in my life, when I was in the depths of despair- all alone!"
And the thought struck him that the single set of footprints signified that even the Lord had forsaken him, when he needed Him the most.
"Where were you. Lord?" he questioned. "How could you have abandoned me during my most troubled times?"
"Look closely, my child," the Lord replied. "I love you and I would never leave you." ,
Looking back once again, the man realized that the single set of footprints were not his own, but the Lord's.
Then the Lord uttered the words which we would all do well to remember for life! "My precious child, during times of trial and suffering, you see only one set of footprints because that was when I carried you!"
Realize that there are certain things that you are more adept and competent in than others, and that it is impossible to expect perfection in every aspect of your life.
An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavad Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavad Gita just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavad Gita do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.
The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.
"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavad Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."
We strongly recommend you buy a copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is