Gain Confidence

You’re mature. You’re confident. You’re fat. Okay, maybe you’re not fat, but weight is starting to accumulate around your mid-section and no matter what you do, it’s not going away. You’ve cut your caloric intake, you’ve started doing stomach crunches, you’re parking further away from the entrance at work and you’ve even started taking walks through your neighborhood to burn some calories and lose this additional weight. Still, the pile of mush that overlaps your waistband remains. It’s ugly and it jiggles, but it loves you and it’s going nowhere. Why? These remedies worked just fine when you were younger, but they’re not quite as effective now that you’re approaching menopause.
There’s a very good reason for the stubborn weight surrounding your abdomen. As a matter of fact, this explanation is quite simple – it’s your hormones. I know they’ve caused numerous problems for you from the day you started menstruating, but your hormones are not quite finished wreaking havoc just yet. You see, as you approach menopause your hormone levels have begun to decline drastically, thus causing the weight gain you’re now experiencing. Many women become complacent and accept this gain in weight as just a normal part of the aging process. While this is certainly an option, it’s not the only avenue that can – or should – be taken.
It’s inevitable – every woman approaching menopause is going to experience symptoms associated with declining hormone levels. As a matter of fact, the decrease in your estrogen level plays a significant role in the weight gain you’re now noticing. You see, estrogen is the hormone which is responsible for causing monthly ovulation. Obviously, as you enter the menopausal years your estrogen level decreases, thus causing your body to eventually cease ovulating. Since your body is producing less estrogen it’s only natural that it will look for other places from where to get needed estrogen. It just so happens that fat cells in your body are capable of producing estrogen, therefore, your body works harder to convert calories into fat to increase estrogen levels.
Unfortunately, you’ll also experience a decrease in your level of testosterone. Why is this unfortunate? Well, testosterone is the hormone that helps your body to create lean muscle mass out of the calories you consume. As you may know, muscle burns more calories than fat cells do, which will contribute to increased metabolism. Obviously, your body burns more calories with a higher metabolic rate.
With the combination of a decrease in estrogen and testosterone levels working against you, you’re now faced with a body determined to be a walking pile of fat. Is it the end of the world? Must you accept this terrible fate bestowed upon you? Absolutely not. Now that you know what’s taking place inside your body, you’re armed and ready with the tools you need to combat these changes, right? You’re well aware of the significant role muscle plays to burn calories, so if you want to be lean and toned you’ll need to build muscle to help your body burn calories.
You’ll benefit tremendously by committing to a regular exercise regimen, which includes weight training to lose the extra weight you’ve gained. It’s not rocket science; it’s simple common sense – build muscle, burn calories and keep the weight off. By making a few simple lifestyle changes you will reduce many of the menopausal symptoms you’re experiencing and you’ll begin to feel beautiful, youthful and energized once again.

We humans have always had a need for security. This mechanism has been built into us a long time ago when we were first hunter-gatherers and then later, when we learn to cultivate our land. From our early days, we have learned to survive by preserving meat or store grains in case our hunting expeditions are not good or our harvest fail. However this basic survival instinct does not always benefit us. We often cling on to our various safety nets, refusing to try out new ways of doing things. We become secure in our own comfort zones. Our credit cards, our big homes, our expensive cars, and a good stable job with many benefits – most people believe having these things will give them security. But these illusions may prove to be their undoing. A well paying job may become obsolete as the company outsources the tasks which you may specialize in. No one is indispensable. It pays to always be on a lookout for emerging trends and learn new skills.

There are also some people who go through life with the oppressive feeling that no matter what they do, they will still fail. People with such thinking have lost confidence in their own abilities and believe that they have no control over their future. Instead of taking hold of new possibilities, and accepting life with all its uncertainties, they adapt to life out of sheer convenience. It is the inner voices in them that tells them the rewards in trying are not worth it, it is best to just give up.

Those who choose security above all else are those that are afraid of making mistakes or making any form of decisions. They stay well in their comfort zones and won’t take the risks. Successful people know that failures are not the end of anything but the beginning of something. For within every failure lie the seeds to success. Taking the necessary risk of a second attempt is what separates the leaders from followers. People who don’t try hard enough will always allow small failures to discourage them permanently. How sad.

Leaders in any fields know that real peace of mind come from within. The only safety net that you can truly rely on is your own self-confidence. True leaders know that courage comes from building on their own strengths to venture unto unknown paths and work decisively and confidently towards their goals. If you want to avoid losing this inner security, you must above all, learn to control negative thoughts. It’s true that bad luck seems to follow those who believe in their own bad luck.

To gain courage and energy, you should try to fix your goals clearly in you mind’s eye. Your imagination is the most powerful God-given tool that you can use. You must form an image of what you wish to achieve, and imagine the positive situation you will be in when you have achieved success. For instance, let’s say you want to get a job of your dreams and have secured an interview, you must imagine yourself as a strong, confident candidate. If your thoughts are filled with doubts, of your own previous failures, chances are, you will not be a confident person during the interview. Your lack of confidence will show in your body language and your speech. Seeing yourself as an ideal, indispensable candidate with enough experience for the job will move you forward in the direction of a successful candidate.

Or take another case, perhaps you’re a weak student and every thought of taking any tests or examinations will make you break out in cold sweat. You can learn new study skills, take up simple memory training and learn easy to master memory techniques to improve your memory and help you remember many things like mathematical formulas, historical dates or important scientific facts. You will find that you memory can perform astounding feats of memory recall and this will give you the added confidence in yourself. A calmer student invariably performs better in tests or examinations, all things being equal. This will show up as better grades and every success builds on itself.

Maybe you’re thinking of moving to a different part of the city. Imagine yourself in your new life, in your new home. Think about the colorful new neighborhood, and try to picture the nice people around you. You will find yourself looking forward to a new chapter in your life, a new beginning rich in promises. You have what it takes to make your own more fullfilling, it’s all in you, in your mind.

High school, most of us have many happy memories about it. Many of our most memorable experiences come from this carefree moment in our lives. And as each student prepare for this time of their lives, they also discover the joy of meeting the opposite sex. Teenage boys for one will do most anything to create a good impression and one of them is having a well chiseled body. This is when most teenage boys would think about working out and lifting weights. Remember your own teenage years? Do you continually compare muscle gain with some of your friends? It was that then and it is still that way now. In fact, it is more prevalent today as more teenage boys are becoming more conscious of their bodies. There is simply no denying it; gaining muscle is the in thing. As a parent, it is wise to support this mentality, not only will your teenage son be able have a healthier body, they will also develop self confidence. The problem is, some boys would go take the easier route. They would take steroids or whatever to help facilitate the fastest way in gaining muscle; this will not help them at all, especially in the determination and motivation department. As a parent it is their duty to show them the proper way to grow muscles.The best way to gain muscles would always be the tried and tested means, the proper diet and a rigorous and painstaking weight lifting workout regimen. A proper diet will be determined if your son is overweight or underweight. In the first scenario, your kid should lose weight first and eliminate body fat. Muscle building will follow suit after at least a significant weight loss is experienced.This diet would mean eliminating fats and calories; just enough should remain for fueling muscle growth. In the latter, it is the opposite, a skinny kid should eat more but should have the proper intake so that body fat is not created, rigorous strength training should be done simultaneously to build up bulk, mostly of muscles. It is not advisable to immediately push a teenage boy into a full intense workout as their body is still developing. They should be gradually introduced in the program to allow their body to adjust. Make sure also that they have sufficient rest as teenage boys are a bundle of energy. Redirecting this energy in a well planned workout program will allow them to maximize the use of their energy. Most importantly though it is the attitude that should be set first before embarking on a gaining muscle journey.  Teenage boys are easily distracted and they can easily forget that they are working on a goal. They must be determined to finish what they will be starting. With full commitment, they will be able to achieve success in gaining muscle in no time at all. These are just some of the things one must consider when starting a program of gaining muscle. There are lots more, but most importantly, it is all about discipline. Having a healthy and great looking body works wonders to a person, especially to a teenage boy. There is nothing quite like the present to start on this fruitful journey. So there you go.

Our confidence comes partly from accomplishing things and recognizing those accomplishments. When we don’t stretch ourselves to grow and reach our goals, but instead ignore matters or want things done for us because we “can’t,” then we don’t gain this kind of confidence. Negative feelings can creep in because we feel we should be doing more or mistakenly think we can’t do much.

It isn’t enough just to accomplish things. That alone won’t make us feel confident. We have to recognize our accomplishments when we make them. If we think mostly about our failures and what we haven’t gotten done, we still won’t feel confident even if we have accomplished great things. If instead we feel proud about our accomplishments, share them with friends and family, and celebrate the larger ones, then it will help us to build better confidence.

When you try to accomplish and you don’t do everything you set out to do, do you recognize what you did get done or only that you failed to accomplish it all? Many of us feel disappointed in ourselves when we don’t do things perfectly or do everything, even when we have done wonderful things and made progress.

To help yourself have better confidence set goals for yourself regularly, set some goals that will require you to grow, and learn to acknowledge your progress and successes every day. To aid yourself in this, you might wish to keep a journal and write down in it the progress you make and the things you accomplish. You can also write on your calendar what you have gotten done or progress you have made with goals like losing weight, quitting smoking, or saving money.

Eliminate “can’t” from your vocabulary and replace it with asking yourself how you are going to do what you wish to do. Believe that there is a way to make progress with any goal you have. Use failures as lessons how to do things better, but don’t dwell on them. Just use them as an education. Failure only exists when you give up. Remember that any progress is progress.

Enjoy your accomplishments. Let yourself feel good about things you do and any progress or effort you make. You deserve it.

You have within yourself a resource you can draw on to find inner guidance and discover unsuspected personal strength. You can connect with this inner wisdom by relaxing deeply and inviting an image to appear. What you receive will enable you to successfully address the challenges you face, improving self esteem and building personal confidence easily perceived by those around you.
Here is how my life coaching clients have benefited from this method:
- The perspective Paul gained when the Sun told him “I will rise tomorrow without your help” enabled him to delegate more, improving his productivity, the morale of his group, and his personal confidence.
- Overwhelmed with too much to do, Jody learned focus from an Owl who took her flying above a meadow full of rabbits, chipmunks, and mice. “If I stay up here, wondering which animal to choose, I will starve,” explained Owl. “I must select one and strike or I will go hungry.” With that, Owl shot down to the ground, snatched a shrew in his talons and flew off to his nest. Jody remembered the image of Owl whenever she felt confused by the many options available to her. She selected one task and focused her attention on that project alone. She accomplished more with greater ease which boosted her self-esteem.
- Ken developed personal confidence and calm in the face of adversity after a massive Oak showed him how to remain firmly rooted through the fierce winds of a storm.
Here is the simple procedure you, too, can use to successfully achieve your goals, improve confidence and build self esteem:
1. Focus and Formulate a Question
Create a space and time when you know you will be undisturbed. Spend a few moments concentrating on the issue you are facing. Review in your mind the challenges as well as your goals.
Then formulate a question you can pose to your inner knowing. Make sure your question focuses on the solution, not the problem. Questions such as “What is wrong with me?” or “Why can’t I do this?” focus on your problems and limitations. Questions like “What do I need to know to move beyond this impasse?” or “What am I not seeing here that will help me achieve my goal?” elicit solutions and resources you can use to move forward.
Broad questions work better than yes/no questions such as “Should I leave my job?” My favorite question is, “What do I need to know about… (supply the issue you are facing)…for my learning and personal growth at this time?”
2. Relax
A sense of deep relaxation provides the opening through which you can access your inner wisdom. Make sure your body is comfortably supported. Uncross your arms and legs.
Breathe deeply, imagining that you are breathing in calm and peace. As you exhale, imagine yourself releasing any stress or tension. If you notice distracting thoughts, let them go on the next exhalation and return your focus to your breathing. The more deeply you relax, the more easily you will be able to connect with your inner wisdom.
3. Ask and wait patiently
Once your mind is still and you are feeling deeply relaxed, pose your question, or call out and invite an image to be present. Then simply wait receptively for whatever comes to you.
You may immediately receive an answer to your question or an image may come that provides you with exactly the insight you are seeking. Or you may need to wait patiently for something to come.
It is important to allow plenty of time for your inner wisdom to respond. If a response does not come instantly, avoid the temptation of jumping in and coming up with an answer yourself. Allow your inner wisdom all the time it needs.
If nothing comes to you, your “Inner Critic” may be standing between you and your inner knowing. This is the voice in your head that says things like “You’ll never be able to do this!” or “This is stupid!”
If judgmental thoughts such as these intrude let them go and return your focus to your breathing. If these thoughts persist, thank them for being there but affirm your commitment to learning what your inner wisdom has to tell you.
By remaining consistent in this commitment, trusting the process, and allowing time for these skills to develop, you will soon succeed in dependably accessing your inner wisdom. Then you will regularly experience the rewards of Step 4.
4. Receive
Remain alert and open to any awareness that comes to you. Inner wisdom may come to you as a phrase or a simple knowing or it may present itself in the form of an image.
What you receive may feel so apparent that at first you may wonder whether it is coming from your inner knowing or if you’ve simply thought it up. Don’t be concerned about this. What’s important is that you find it useful.
If an image appears, welcome it. Dialog with whatever comes to you. Express any feelings and ask any questions you have, remaining open to the response you receive.
5. Refine
Whatever you receive may provide exactly what you are seeking and nothing more needs to be said or done. If you have questions or even objections to what you have received, simply express them, just as you would to a trusted advisor. Then be open to whatever your inner wisdom offers in response. Continue this dialog until you feel satisfied.
If there are additional aspects of the situation you would like to explore, cycle back through Steps 1-5 until you feel resolved.
In Summary
What you receive from your inner wisdom may seem no different from what friends have told you or what a life coach might say. You will find, however, that because this awareness comes from within yourself it carries a power and sense of personal truth which make the message more impactful and transformative.
Learning which comes from within, rather than through someone else’s advice, empowers you to more effectively create sustainable change in your life.
You will learn that everything you need in order to achieve any goal can be found within yourself. This awareness alone helps improve self esteem. Accessing your inner wisdom will help you succeed, which will build confidence even more.

The people who are more successful are not extraordinary people. They are just ordinary people like you and me but the only difference is that they have the passion for their beliefs. The passion, which they have, is based on their self-confidence. They constantly challenge themselves and put themselves in an uncomfortable zone and work to reach a comfortable zone. This helps in increasing the self-confidence. It is not easy to come out of our comfort zone, as it is our inherent nature to place ourselves in a comfort zone. But we secretly desire when we see people more confident than ourselves but we are scared from within to be like them. So we need to start challenging ourselves to do something, which we have never done before. Small little challenges to oneself will give confidence for bigger things in life.

This reminds me of an acquaintance of mine, who was a very talented artist. Due to family pressures she lived in her own shell and had lost all her self-confidence. She lived for her family and tried her level best to satisfy them. But she never went along well with her husband. She tolerated his bad behavior towards her as she had no other place to go and she felt she could do nothing to earn and be independent. So she used to silently put up with his bad behavior.  One day she was completely broken down and couldn’t bear any more the torture. She tried to commit suicide but was saved due to timely doctor’s help. The doctor who treated her helped her come out of the depression. The doctor stirred up her self confidence buried deep inside her. He told her “what is there that God hasn’t given you to make your own destiny better. He has given you intelligence and you are gifted with creativity. What you have, many people don’t have. Just look into yourself and you will find everything is within you to make yourself happy. You are very creative why don’t you work in a magazine, newspaper, etc. I am sure you will do very well and everything will work out fine with you. Giving in to your weakness will only kill you. Challenge yourself to do something, which you most want to do and have never done before.” This changed her life. She took the challenge. She started looking for a job as an artist in magazines. She got a job within few months as an artist in a local magazine. Now she is doing very well professionally and is very happy. Her life has changed since then. She had challenged herself to do something, which she had never dreamt of being able to do it, and never thought she could do it though she secretly wished in her heart.

We are all like my acquaintance in different situations with different desires to achieve but we are scared to challenge ourselves and go forward. Step by step challenge yourself. You will start having faith in yourself and passion for your beliefs. This little mantra can work wonders for you. Just remind yourself every night – “Did I challenge myself to achieve my dream”. The little voice inside you will give your answer. Listen to your inner voice and challenge it to come true.

By all rights, your life should be pretty much perfect. You have a wonderful family, good job, and almost everything you could want. The problem is that you lack confidence and respect in yourself. To you, it seems as if everything you touch is a disaster. It may be that you feel as if you are getting too old, or you have gained too much weight. Maybe you think you should be further in your career than you are. It might be that you feel like you aren’t a good mate or that you are an ineffective parent. Regardless of how things look to the outside world, you know that something is missing from your earthly experience and only correcting it will allow you to have the fulfilling harmonious life you crave.
You aren’t alone. Many people struggle with finding confidence and respect for themselves as well as getting it from others. When used correctly Feng Shui can help. Before you decide that this ancient philosophy is too new agey or isn’t valid consider what it is actually all about. The ideas and practice of Feng Shui make a great deal of sense when you learn more about them. The idea is to create an environment conducive to balancing and harmonizing every aspect of your life. By organizing your belongings, creating a clean environment, and carefully placing items and using colors, you can promote positive energy flow and improve all aspects of life. In truth, confidence and respect are elements of each and every part of your life. By improving the total picture, you can find confidence and inspire respect in others.
Start with your home. Object placement and color use in very important in Feng Shui. Confidence and respect are easier to obtain in a warm, clean environment. As long as consistent effort is being made, it really doesn’t matter if you start your new Feng Shui lifestyle inside the house or in the yard and driveway.
Beginning outside may help to promote respect from others more quickly though. Even those who nothing of Feng Shui or who don’t believe in its worth will be affected by a well maintained yard and welcoming plants. Any outside repairs that need to be made are worth the time. Not only will other people see the care you put into your home, but you will enjoy the sight of it and be proud of it too. Pride is a wonderful way to build up your own feelings of self worth. Once everything is in good working condition and clean, look to your landscaping. Of course the season of the year will have bearing on what type of vegetation you are able to use, but Feng Shui transcends the seasons and there are options you can use anytime. Wind chimes near the entrance to your home promote the flow of positive chi and draws helpful people to your home. Always make use of that particular Feng Shui object.
The entrance to a home is very important as well. It should be welcoming, but set up to trap any negative energy that may come from family or guests who come into your home. The use of mirrors can be very beneficial in setting up the type of environment you need to instill confidence and respect in yourself and others. When you Feng Shui your home, you aren’t only providing harmony and balance to your life, but also in the lives of anyone who lives with you.
Part of confidence comes from knowing your family is stable and happy. There is nothing more rewarding to the ego and a person’s well being than knowing they are positively influencing their family. With that in mind, take a look at your family or living room. Be sure to include an object or picture of every member of the family representing something they enjoy doing or an interest of theirs. This helps to promote unity and encourages the idea that while each one is individual, you all together are a family unit. Water is a wonderful element to employ as well. It represents growth and flowing energy. If a water fountain isn’t possible, try a picture of a waterfall or a small statue that depicts flowing water.
Depending on the level of change you need, Feng Shui is a relatively simple, straight forward philosophy to use in your home and life. With all aspects of your existence in harmony and alignment, the confidence and respect you desire will be easy to obtain. Focus on the money and fame areas of your home will promote greater respect at work, while concentrating on the bedroom and family room will encourage a deeper, more profound relationship with your partner and children. It all adds up to greater confidence and respect for yourself. Others will quickly follow suit.

A lot of men have problems with their self-confidence. Such problems are usually tied to sex, dating, marriage or work because these are the main points of contact between an individual and the society. Knowing themselves, these men tend to think that this or that issue must be glaringly obvious to members of the opposite sex and they take pains to conceal their perceived weaknesses.

In most cases, sexual self confidence issues are based on the bad reaction of women that man doesn’t want to experience. When people have no idea on how someone would react to the things they do, anxiety and insecurity set in.

And pretty high on the insecurity list are fears about bedroom performance and penis size. Most men whose penises are of average size are at least a bit apprehensive when they have sex with a new partner because they can’t help wondering how they compare with the lady’s former boyfriends. Add another bit of concern about being able to maintain an erection for the adequate amount of time or about not finishing too fast and one gets a really unpleasant feeling that, left to its own devices, can ruin the mood.

Having a small penis size can affect how a man sees himself in a number of different ways in addition to sexual performance. Self-esteem and confidence can be affected either positively or negatively by penis size. One might say that sometimes a man’s ego is equals to the size of his penis, although the world is full of men who consider a deficiency in the physical department with an overblown ego. But generally speaking, the man with the huge penis tends to get a lot of beautiful girls and is the talk of the town, so to speak.

A big penis can prove to be something of women magnet and any man’s ego would swell under the attention of a woman because that’s how men are programmed to respond. There’s no man, regardless of how successful he is in love, whose vanity isn’t tickled even a bit by the sensuous look in a woman’s eyes. It’s no wonder that many men whose penises are of small or average size are convinced that adding extra inches would improve their sex lives.

One of the simplest things men can do to improve both the looks of your penis and the control over your erection is to exercise your penis. This is the safest, most effective method of getting control of your sex life and building self confidence.

You can exercise all by yourself or buy a stretching device that will make the routine a lot easier and the results will really start to show up in a lot less time than you might think. Superior devices will give you better control on the exercises you perform. In addition, the devices are built to be both safe and effective and you get the whole picture. And safety is very important when it comes to anything that touches your penis, isn’t it?

I cannot stress enough the importance of self confidence when it comes to a satisfying sexual life. Low self confidence usually means you are very likely to miss opportunities to meet new partners or keep the ones you have.

Even if you will only gain one inch in length and girth, the exercises will help you get to know your body better and be your own master when it comes to having an erection and maintaining it for as long as you desire. There’s no need to feel embarrassed in bed when you can choose a simple and effective solution. You can change your life now and be the man every woman dreams of.

You can gain more self-confidence and more self-esteem by using hypnosis. This process helps you develop a new personal image that is conducive to positive feelings and focus. There are many reasons that you want to explore this valuable option.

Belief and Image

You have certain beliefs about yourself that are very difficult to change through the conscious mind. Some of these beliefs are not realistic and many of them can work against your ability to develop confident feelings. You might not be aware of the beliefs that are getting in your way.

The subconscious mind is a vast resource that runs automatically. This realm keeps images of your perception of who you are. Negative aspects of this image can be replaced with positive ones when you use visualization techniques as part of your hypnosis treatment.

Visualization

Visualization is a very important aspect of creating a new personal image that is realistic and positive. Hypnosis helps you see yourself behaving differently. It can help you develop new patterns of behavior that follow your new perception. You do this automatically without fear or anticipation.

The process of visualizing yourself in various situations can be considered a type of mental meal that feeds your subconscious mind. There are studies that note that athletes who envision themselves working out have the same responses in their brains as when they are physically working out.

The subconscious mind does not make a distinction between imagined visualization and actual experience. If you picture having confident feelings and esteem in your mind, your subconscious believes that you do.

Behavioral Follow Through

Your thoughts and emotions lead to behavior and your behavior is the thing that you are most likely looking to change. You no longer want to feel doubt or anxiety. Shyness and introvert actions can be overcome and they can be replaced with confident behaviors.

You do not have to fake being confident because your subconscious mind guides you along. Your behavioral follow through is effortless and automatic. You can consider your esteem issues to be nothing more than poor habits that need to be replaced with good habits.

More Self Confidence with Hypnosis

You can begin making changes by choosing the right hypnosis recording to guide you along the way. Choosing a recording that is created by a talented professional is the ideal approach to achieving great success in your endeavor. Following are a few ideas to set you off in the right direction.

The legendary Duncan McColl created a fantastic recording that can be found here – More Self Confidence. Another excellent option is by renowned hypnotherapsits and neuro linguistic trainer, Debbie Williams, found here – More Self Esteem. These are two examples of the excellent options that you can explore by clicking the link here – Confidence Self Help. Reaching your goals is just a click away.