Coaching your confidence and courage to that you finish what you start and contribute to the world in a way that matters.
In this week’s episode we’re:
Just a quick hello to all of my Keep the Faith listeners out there – thanks for being part of the community of contagious encouragement.
I want to thank each and every one of you who allow me to be a part of your daily life and journey by allowing me to be a voice who delivers truth and confidence to your mind. You are each an integral component of the #BeMoreMovement, a movement – that is, our community – of people committed to being more of who we were created to be so that we can give to the world and be more to the world because of our love.
[Beautycounter] We are on a mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone. There has not been a law regulating the cosmetic industry since 1938 and, as a result, the ingredients in our cosmetic and personal care products is like the wild-wild-west – it’s chaos. Beautycounter prides ourselves on having the strictest standards for safety and performance, abiding by a Never-List of toxic ingredients we will never use in our products. I am a big believer that every positive, small thing we do in life matters, and with the same sentiment, every small act we take to limit our exposure to toxins, cancer-causing ingredients and endocrine disrupting chemicals makes a big difference. Join the movement of #betterbeauty and give your body the gift of safer products: buy some Beautycounter for yourself today. Shop at www.beautycounter.com/trishblackwell
www.trishblackwell.com/launchparty
My newest book, Insecurity Detox: A Breakout Plan to Rejuvenate Your Mind, Body and Spirit is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Go to www.insecuritydetox.com to order! Also, for anyone who pre-orders the book, (which you should do right now, today!), I’m giving away a $100-valued audio coaching session download, Confidence Power Hour, which is jam-packed with five stages of self-reflection questions and probing challenges to help you take your confidence to the next level! To receive the Confidence Power Hour, just email me your proof of pre-order purchase and I’ll send you your gift right away!
Also, to go with my book, I’ve created a FREE 5-Day Detox Devotional to prepare your heart and soul to get the most out of Insecurity Detox once it arrives. Over a period of five days, you will receive five-minute devotional and prayer-centered posts right to your inbox to inspire joy, infuse you with confidence and deepen your understanding of the truth of just how deeply God loves you. Get your free copy of the Detox Devotional by visiting www.trishblackwell.com/devotional
There are three simple insider tricks to a heightened level of natural self-confidence that you can do on a daily basis. Done everyday, you will give yourself a powerful edge on life, for, when equipped with confidence, you can conquer anything in your path!
Often overlooked due to a lack of time, stretching is perhaps one of the greatest investments we can make with our time, which is a truth that confident people know. If you make a habit of stretching first thing in the morning, when your feet hit the floor from your bed, you will set yourself up for both physical and mental success for the rest of the day. By taking a mere two minutes to honor your body with slow stretches and breathing, you are telling your body that it is valuable and you are telling your day that you have ownership of it – that you are not in a rush, nor are you behind. You are in control, of your time, of your body, of your breath, and of your thoughts, and combined, those elements give your confidence a natural high. Furthermore, when we slow down to honor our body first thing in the morning, we set ourselves up for good nutritional choices throughout the day; and, when we make good nutritional choices we naturally feel better – and more confident – in our skin.
Complimenting others is a sneaky way to actually boost your own self-confidence. What we put out into the world is what we will receive in turn, and so, when we compliment others – even before the boomerang effect takes place – we will begin to reap the reward of positive affirmation simply because we are saturating our mind with good things. When we think good things about other people, and voice them to them, we create an environment of good thinking for ourselves. The level of our self-confidence depends entirely on the atmosphere of our thought patterns, so compliment away and you will start to naturally compliment yourself too.
Writing in a gratitude journal everyday is likened to writing down everyday that you are choosing joy. It is a public proclamation to choose confidence. A simple, uncomplicated list of reasons why one is thankful, a gratitude journal’s sole purpose is to put the author’s mindset and heart in the right place to prepare for the day to come. By taking time to reflect upon and identify that for which you are grateful, you are laying the groundwork of a heart filled with appreciation and hope, or, in other words, the making of a confident spirit. Confidence happens when we choose joy and gratitude every day of our lives, no matter how that day went or what circumstances we might have faced. Confidence is a choice and a gratitude journal reminds us of just that.
The most difficult part about asking your boss for a raise is the decision to do so. Before you ask for a raise, you need to first have the confidence to know that you are indeed worth a raise. Boost your confidence about your value at work by making a list of everything you have successfully done or contributed to your professional environment in the last 90 days. Too often we forget just how much we have accomplished, so creating this list will trigger your memory to create a foundation of confidence about the value you bring to the table in your current employment position. Once you have a refreshed sense of your value, prepare for the “ask”. It’s imperative to go into the conversation with your boss with confidence, being unafraid of any outcome. The reality of asking for a raise is that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain (think of what you might be able to do with your extra income…shopping spree, paying down debt, that European vacation you’ve always dreamed of…); muster up the confidence to know that you are worth more than you are currently being paid, pick a date on the calendar to speak to your supervisor about your request, and then do it!
The secret to having confidence when putting on a bikini is to know that no one else is looking at your body the same way you are. Meaning, no one in the world is nearly as critical of you as you. So, if you are feeling awkward, nervous, bloated or insecure when thinking about the arrival of swimsuit season, keep in mind that you are way more beautiful than you think you are. To boost your confidence before you put on your bikini and prepare for a day of fun in the sun, take just two minutes to do this mind-body connection meditation. While in your birthday suit, stand with perfect posture – tall, with your spine fully extended, your shoulders back, your core tight and your chin slightly lifted. Inhale and exhale deeply for thirty seconds, repeating the mantra “I am beautiful and I am proud of every inch of my body” to yourself as you do so. After you repeat the mantra at least five times, proceed to putting on your bikini, then, pause for another moment, inhale and exhale deeply for thirty seconds, and repeat “I am beautiful and I am proud of every inch of my body” again five more times and you are ready to walk confidently in the skin, and bikini you are in!
The key to confidence when you are entering an uncertain environment or situation can be found in a smile. No, you aren’t smiling for other people; you are smiling for yourself because a smile communicates and internal message to yourself that you feel great. Coincidentally, a smile has been reported to convey confidence, and so, by smiling, you convey to others that you are confident. When others perceive us to be confident, we often end up feeling confident. In addition to your smile, make intentional eye contact with everyone you see, as eye contact is another marker of confidence. If you entering a restaurant for a blind date remind yourself that you are there to make a new friend, and smiling is a great way to start friendships. You can feel confident that your blind date will go well because, no matter what happens, you have the opportunity to practice making new friends and being a walking embodiment of confidence. There’s no reason to be nervous about a blind date – a blind date is like a movie. You might like it, but never want to see it again. You might hate it, and you can always walk out without finishing it. Or, you might love it, and you can see it again.
Public speaking tops the charts as one of the most commonly held phobias, with a great majority of adults fearing it more than they fear death. This is good news for you if you’re feeling nervous about giving a presentation – you can be confident because you know that you are supposed to feel nervous and scared. Additionally, since most people are afraid of speaking you more often than not are thereby granted a kind and supportive audience. Usually, when you are presenting, everyone else in the room is glad that it’s you up and there and not them. To boost your confidence for an extra edge of poise the next time you are giving a presentation, take five minutes to what Harvard Business School Professor Amy Cuddy calls the “power pose,” which is a simple, standing pose with your arms extended over your head in victory (think: an athlete crossing the finish line of a race) and a smile on your face. Her research has concluded that this powerful body language pose communicates a deep and internal sense of confidence to the poser. Do the power pose somewhere private – Cuddy recommends a bathroom stall – and use the time to concentrate on your main speaking points and on why the words you are about to share with others will make a difference in their lives.
There is a first time for everything, and everyone – no matter how easy they might make something look – had a first time. Rev up your confidence before launching into doing something for the first time by simply remembering that everyone starts somewhere. Furthermore, let your inexperience be reassurance to you that you don’t have to feel comfortable, or like a natural, when you try something for the first time. Sometimes, doing something new is hard, so it’s important not to let the difficulty of something reflect upon your capability and instead to remember that what starts off hard will, with time and confidence, eventually become easy. A quick-fix to boost your confidence for the next time you standing on the daunting brink of trying something new is to repeat the phrase “I am good at doing hard and new things” out loud, a minimum of five times.
It’s hard to have hard conversations, but in order to have great relationships – with people close to you and with acquaintances – you must be willing to speak the truth. When preparing yourself to have an awkward or uncomfortable conversation, remind yourself that one of the core values that makes you a confident person is that you are committed to being truthful with the people in your life. As long as you always communicate truth from a place of love you can rest assured that the conversations will ultimately be well received. It’s easy to put off these types of situations, but avoidance won’t do anything other than build fear and cause you to feel insecure about your relationship or interaction with that person. Confidence is dramatically increased in us when we decide to be unwilling to let fear or insecurity make decisions for us.
The secret about the gym that no one tells you is that no one cares about anyone else there except for themselves; meaning, there is no reason for you to feel intimidated. People are too engrossed in their own workouts and in their own self-consciousness about what you might think of them or of what they are wearing to have the spare capacity to think about whether or not you are performing an exercise incorrectly or how you look in your workout outfit. Though many people think the gym is a petri dish for judgment, it’s actually quite the opposite. Everyone is there to work on themselves and their primary focus is on just that: themselves, not you. So, let loose, and give yourself free reign to feel comfortable trying out new machines or new exercises at the gym. Be confident in yourself because you are doing something good for your health.
When it comes to your dream job or a dream opportunity, there is no reason to allow your nerves to get in the way of blocking your confidence. If you have been given a dream, or feel like you have a calling on your heart, then it is your destiny to fulfill it and live it out. In short, if it’s meant to be, it will be. So, take the pressure off yourself before that big interview by focusing instead on just presenting the best version of yourself possible, which is your true self. Boost your confidence naturally in preparation for that big interview or big opportunity by doing a mini practice interview with someone you trust and love. Make sure you have a confident grasp on the why behind why an opportunity might be your dream, and by doing so, you will then be able to confidently communicate that you really are the perfect person for the job.
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Hi Trish, I listen to your podcast every week and wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the words you share. When I’m running I can put into words the many ways you have helped me but when I get back to my laptop I’m never as articulate as I was 5 miles from home! I’d love to tell you how one particular episode has spoken to me, but to be honest, each one has an important message and I’m always learning something new. So I’m hoping a simple thank you will be at least a start in expressing my gratitude <3 – Shona
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