HENRY FORD ON SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-DOUBT (TOP TEN ENTRY)
Use this to help you build self-confidence and destroy self-doubt.
In the following quotation, Henry Ford (1863–1947) provides the reason why some people succeed and so many fail and it has nothing to do with accidents of birth, intelligence or opportunities. It’s all down to confidence.
The man who thinks he can and the one who thinks he can’t are both right. Which one are you?
Henry Ford
Only psychopaths, politicians and other lunatics exhibit total self-confidence. The rest of us have self-doubts. It’s what makes us reasonable, cautious people. However, you should never allow your self-doubts to stop you from trying to do something that you desperately want to do. If you try something, you may fail because of circumstances beyond your control. That’s the chance you take. But if you don’t try, you are doomed to failure and regret.
WHAT TO DO
- As a philosophy to live by, and as a way of increasing your self-confidence in all walks of life, follow Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice and ‘Do one thing every day that scares you.’ It doesn’t have to be big, it may be asking a question in a public meeting or going up to the best-looking man or woman in the room and asking them to dance. Pushing the boundaries in little things will help you to face your fears when it comes to more significant events.
- Generally, we lack self-confidence when faced with a new task or situation. Once you’ve completed the task or been through the situation, the nerves disappear. So force yourself to accept the challenge of the new. Volunteer for what scares you. Do this consistently and pretty soon you’ll find that your confidence in tackling new tasks and situations will grow exponentially. You may still have the odd few butterflies in the stomach but they won’t stop you from doing what you want to do. Indeed, you’ll need them and the adrenalin they produce to do your best work.
- Remember, if you appear to lack faith in your own abilities or the recommendations you make, why should your boss, colleagues or staff trust your judgement?
- Exhibit self-confidence at all times – especially when you’re terrified. How you feel is immaterial. It’s how you are perceived by your bosses, staff, colleagues, competitors, business partners, bankers, etc. that is all-important. Confide your worries to friends and family but never to work colleagues. Act confidently until you become confident.
- Finally, use positive self-talk and visualisation to improve your own self-confidence/belief and celebrate your own success in whatever way you find most rewarding – because, after all, you’re worth it (I’ve been watching too much Living TV).
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is very confident, how confident am I generally at work, in social situations and in formal situations? If my score is less than 7 across the board, what am I going to do to improve it?
- Why do I lack self-confidence? Is it because of something said or done to me in childhood? If so, why do I allow such ancient events to affect me today?