We were lucky enough to get Dani (author of www.PositivelyPresent.com) to answer a series of questions related to confidence and self-esteem. Be sure to check out her site and we hope you enjoy this interview.
Positively Confident – Why You Need Confidence For A Happy Life
1- I personally believe that confidence and high self-esteem are very important qualities
to have if you want to be successful, happy, have good relationships and be able to
achieve any goals you set for yourself. What is your view on confidence and self-
esteem?
I completely agree. Confidence and self-esteem are essential for success, happiness, and good
relationships. On Positively Present, I always stress the importance of self-love. Once you love
yourself, you’re able to have confidence and high self-esteem. Once you have those things,
you can begin creating a positive and present life. Without confidence, it’s very difficult to be
positive.
2- Do you think that lack of confidence or low self-esteem is something generic,
something that people are born with or rather something they acquire during their
lifetime?
I believe confidence (or lack there of) can be influenced by a variety of factors, including some
inherent qualities (such as physical appearance, a shy disposition, etc.) and some external
qualities (parental encouragement, friendships, major life events). It seems like some people are
born with more confidence than others, but I think it’s something can be cultivated or squashed.
Confident people can be made unconfident and vice versa. Confidence requires work and, even
if someone is naturally confident, he or she needs to work on the upkeep of self-esteem.
3- What do you think is the main reason that causes low confidence or low self-esteem?
The main reason for low self-esteem is not having enough love for oneself. Self-love is a must
for confidence and, without it, a person’s self-esteem can be greatly impacted by outside
sources (such as others’ opinions, expectations set forth by the media, etc.). Loving oneself is
the foundation for having confidence.
4- In your experience, is it common or rare that people who lack confidence or who have
low self-esteem try to increase their confidence. And then, is it common or rare that they
succeed and transform?
From what I’ve seen, people who have low confidence tend to believe they aren’t worthy of
increasing their confidence—or don’t know where to begin when it comes to cultivating a more
confident disposition. However, I do believe that if someone were to really make an effort
to be more confident—and had the right resources to do so, such as Flawless Confidence,
a supportive group of friends, and confidence-building activities—he or she could be very
successful in increasing his or her confidence level.
5- Why do you think this is?
Most people who lack confidence have a hard time believing they have a reason to be
confident; they lack love for themselves. Without that love of self, confidence is hard to come
by—and it’s also hard to start working on becoming more confident.
6- What do you think are key steps in building confidence that lasts (not just a temporary
boost in confidence)?
Loving oneself is the first step for building confidence. To do that, one must have people
who support him or her. In addition, confidence-building activities can really help create more
confidence. Spending time doing something that one loves can increase confidence. In addition,
getting rid of negativity is important to being a more confident person.
7- I think that many people have the belief that building confidence or increasing
self-esteem requires having to spend a lot of money on products, courses, mentors
or seminars. Do you feel that one needs to spend a lot of money to become more
confident?
Absolutely not. Spending—or having—money doesn’t mean more confidence. Confidence
comes from within.
8- Could you share with us a personal story of how you became more confident or how
more confidence has helped you in your life?
Confidence has impacted almost every aspect of my life. From meeting new people to nailing a
job interview, confidence has lead me to many new and exciting experiences and relationships.
Believing in myself and my abilities has led me to create a business based on what I love to
do—writing. Without confidence, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
9- So right now if I had to ask you your best advice how to start building confidence that
will last, and how to increase my self-esteem, what would you tell me?
Learn to love yourself. Accepting who you are—and everything about you—is the first step to
building confidence.
10- What do you know and think about methods like self-hypnosis, NLP, meditation and
EFT as ways to build and increase confidence?
Those methods sound interesting, but I don’t know much about them, which means I can’t really
comment on how well they’d work on increasing confidence.
11- Anything else you would like to share?
Nope! I think you covered it all. Great questions!
If you enjoyed this interview be sure to head over to Dani’s site – www.PositivelyPresent.com – for more of her wisdom.
