Not everyone is born confident. As we grow, we make mistakes and we learn from mistakes. But nobody likes making mistakes. When we realised we made a mistake, feelings of incompetence, disappointment and embarrassment come rushing in.

At work, our fear of making mistakes impact our confidence and lead to affecting our productivity.

If you want to become confident in work, no problem. Here are our top 10 tips below:

#1 Stop thinking negatively

You won’t be good at something if you keep telling yourself you can’t do it. Cut back those negative thinking and give yourself a pep talk at the beginning of each morning. This will help your mindset stay positive and boost your confidence before you go to work.

#2 Practice

As the famous saying goes, practice makes perfect. When you do every activity, ask yourself if you can improve your habits. See where you can change your technique and improve on it. Once you do the task again, you can do it better and faster.

#3 Lean on Your Strengths

Everyone has their own speciality that others do not have. In this case, know your strengths and lean on them. Accept tasks you know well and do your best to show your strengths. It will definitely help your confidence grow because you will be able to do the work confidently.

#4 Open Your Mouth to Ask

If you do not know something, don’t be afraid to ask. Whether it is ego or fear that stops you from asking for help, you are heading towards self-destruction.

Reach out to your colleagues or ask your team leader for help. If there is a new assignment, know more about it before you agree to take it on. You may end up messing it more if you went in without knowing all the facts.

#5 Don’t let Criticism drag you down

There will be times that people will try their best to make you lose your confidence in work. They may be jealous of your skills or they just want to make you quit. Don’t let them hurt you and focus on yourself.

Decide if their feedback is positive or purely mean spirit. If you think there are some truth in their criticism, move towards in closing the gap.

#6 Speak your mind

When you think that something is missing in a project or wrong in it, do not stop yourself from speaking out. Sharing of ideas is what makes a meeting productive. If your idea get acknowledged, it is a big confidence booster for you too.

#7 Learn new skills

You can also improve your confidence levels by learning new skills. Listen or join podcasts, TED talks and other educational programs to pick up new skills. If you are familiar with complex topics and know what to do when faced with difficult issues, you can get a confidence boost.

#8 Don’t forget to smile

Smiling can be a confidence booster on its own. It will help you think positively and change everyone’s attitude for the day. It is quite contagious and knowing that you helped make someone else’s day bright, it’s a big plus for your confidence.

#9 Make friends

Sometimes, all you need is a friend in your workplace to find ways to boost your confidence. Your friends can encourage you when you feel down and help you find ways to improve your mindset. Stay with friends who will support you all the way because if you stayed with those who criticize you all the time, your confidence will be at risk.

#10 Have fun

Finally, don’t take things too seriously. There are times in work that you can unwind and chat with your colleagues. There are times that you can be serious. When you have a task to do, have fun doing it.

It is not easy to change your work-life habits. Being confidence at a workplace can improve a lot of work-related problems. A positive and confident person will attract opportunities that will improve your work-life immensely. Do remember change doesn’t happen overnight but bit by bit, you can do it, driven by a commitment to change for the better.

To improve your productivity at work so that you never have to do overtime again, here are some tips:
6 Apps that increase Your Productivity
8 Steps to Digital Productivity 
Guest Post: How Sleep Affects Productivity at Work

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