This article is all about how to practice courage for confidence. (with journaling prompts)
Why courage makes it easier to be confident
On my self-improvement journey, I often knew what steps to take but felt paralyzed by fears like self-doubt, failure, and judgement. However, I realized that every time I decided to push through the fear and take action anyway, my confidence started growing faster. The key here is to start small and be consistent with it. Below are 3 actionable steps you can do to gradually build courage and move towards your best self over time.
1. Identify your Limiting Belief
Usually, our fear stems from limiting beliefs that are keeping us stuck in our comfort zone. However, these limiting beliefs are not there because of actual facts but because of other people’s reactions or opinions about us. This makes them invalid because nobody sees the world exactly as it is but through their own unique lenses. Therefore, the first step to practicing courage is to be aware of those limiting beliefs, knowing that none of them are true.
Journaling prompts (start with 1 limiting belief at a time)
- What is my limiting belief?
- What event does this limiting belief stem from?
- Why is this limiting belief untrue? (you can ask ChatGpt for this)
2. Do 1 simple practice that will challenge your Limiting Belief
The next step is the most important step for building courage, which is to identify and do one thing that will challenge our limiting belief. For example, as an introvert, I used to have this limiting belief that I was a awkward person and that nobody wants to be friends with me, which made me extremely terrified of speaking to new people. To challenge this limiting belief, I decided to smile whenever I made eye contact with other people during class and social events. By doing so, I was able to initiate conversations with new people. Over time, this limiting belief started fading away because I have proven it wrong multiple times. To reduce the friction of getting started, it is super important to start with something small and easy to do.
Journaling prompts
- What is 1 simple practice I can do this week that proves my limiting belief wrong?
- What would I feel about this limiting belief if I implemented this practice?
- What person will I become without this limited belief? What opportunities will I have?
3. Be kind to yourself
Since self-improvement is not a straight journey, it is important to be kind to ourselves even when we fail to implement the practice. But when we do succeed, we should celebrate and be our own cheerleader throughout the journey. We got this!
Things to say to yourself when you failed to implement the practice: Falling off track doesn’t mean failing for the rest of my life. It is completely okay not to be consistent all the time because I can always start again next time. What matters is that I am committed to getting better each day.
Journaling prompts
- How do I feel after pushing through my fear?
- How can I be more consistent in challenging myself outside my comfort zone?
- What will my confidence look like with my newfound courage by doing the hard things?
Hope this helps! Thank you so much for reading
