Self confidence is a derivative of one's perception and self-belief. I choose to define it as a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities and judgement. When we believe in ourselves and what we are capable of doing, we unlock door to our life dreams. This write-up seeks to explain the 8 steps on how you can build your self confidence and achieve greater levels of success in your life.

Step 1: Know Your Weaknesses

It takes confidence to acknowledge your weaknesses. All of us have weaknesses and it only becomes catastrophic if we do not know our weaknesses. Make an appointment with yourself today and list down all the weaknesses that you have. Be very sincere to yourself.

For every identified weakness suggest what you will do to either completely eliminate the weakness in your life or indeed how the weaknesses would be addressed so that some day they should no longer prevail in your life.

Step 2: Know Your Strengths

It is always pleasing to be complimented on areas of our strengths than to be criticized on areas of our weaknesses. Every person has strengths. The strengths define the strong qualities, abilities and areas of expertise for every person.

List down all the strengths that you have. You need to be very sincere as well not to list down areas on which you need improvements as strengths. The worst thing that would ever happen to oneself is to cheat yourself. After generating the list of your strengths, suggest plausible ways how you would sustain your strengths.

Step 3: Learn More-Study More-Be More Exposed

We live in a very dynamic environment punctuated by constant change. In order to build self confidence you need to be very exposed and very learned. When you know more then you have confidence to freely speak and freely express oneself thus being more assertive.

I will give you my personal target in a year is to study a minimum of 12 books which translates to 1 book every month. This makes me very confident and learned year-in-year-out. Choose to be challenges, study more on your professional materials and get to know what you do better than anyone else that will make you confident and thus ultimately make you a great performer.

Step 4: Follow Current Affairs

We live in a very dynamic environment, you cannot afford to always be ignorant to the current affairs. Be it via the daily news papers, online news, TV,Whatsapp, Facebook and any other medium, choose to follow current affairs.

When you know what is happening in your environment it makes you very relevant and you feel equally important when in the company of fellow professionals.

Step 5: Live a Healthy Life-Exercise and Maintain a Good Diet

Our bodies are subject to more ailments now than ever before. We eat more hybrid food, stressed at work every day and we hardly exercise to keep our bodies fit. Our lives are always subjected to the risk of Cardiovascular Diseases like Heart Attach and BP, Cancer, Arthritis just to mention a few.

Choose to build your self confidence by having your body in the right shape by working out and exercising more. Choose to build your self confidence by maintaining a good diet. Take more water and eat more fruits everyday.

Step 6: Change your Wardrobe Regularly-Dressing and Grooming

Remember when you were young and your parents just got you some new cloths or shoes, your confidence just got elevated to show the new outfit to your friends at school. When you maintain good cloths and shoes you build self confidence spontaneously. You maintain good body posture because of good cloths and outfit.

Proper grooming makes your further build your self confidence. Love yourself and take good care of your body at all times.

Step 7: Stay Away from Negative Thinking

The kind of friends you keep will either make you have confidence in yourself and pursue the achievement of your life dreams or not. I know so many people whose self confidence got shuttered because of the negativity of the people around them.

Choose to be surrounded by people that believe that anything is possible if we work hard and remain focused.

Step 8: Work Hard-Work Hard-Work Hard and Remain Focused

Choose to to be a hard worker and not someone that always complains. Choose to believe that you are 100% responsible to your life success and infinitive happiness. If it means cutting down on the TV or movie watching time, please do that and spend most of your time on productive things. Work hard, work hard, work hard and always remain focused in pursuit to your life dreams.

In conclusion, take a step to build your self confidence by putting the 8 steps explained above into practice from today. True success awaits those that are confident and remain focused to the same. It is possible, it begins with you today.