
Yesterday we talked about tough times and how when you have a bad day it can damage your self-confidence if you let it. And I gave you several baby steps you can use to build your confidence back up when it’s taking a beating.
Today’s Confidence Action Tip is to do something about that even when your motivation’s on vacation. You know what I mean… those days where your life feels like everything's going wrong, you’d rather just stay under the blankets with a good book, and you’re feeling less than confident it all. It could be work, health issues, relationships… it doesn’t really matter what issue is sapping your self-confidence… the only way to get it back is to move forward and get something done.
But wait a minute, I hear you thinking… what kind of action tip is this?
It’s a good one… if you’re willing to do a little work on yourself and for yourself. And it falls squarely under the C in our ABCs … Caring for yourself.
Creating motivation and momentum for yourself
It’s all about taking action and creating momentum for yourself. You and I both know that the first step is the hardest one. It’s like exercising or going to the gym… you don’t want to go but you force yourself to do it and once you’re there and working out, you feel great and you’re proud of yourself for making the effort.
This is what I mean about doing it anyway. This concept of getting started and creating momentum works in all areas of your life. It works just as well for exercising as it does for taking are of a big pile of laundry or a dreaded task at work. It also works when you’re lacking confidence and need to start building it back up. The key is to get started by doing it anyway.

When you have one of those days where you don’t want to do anything but sleep in or lay on the couch binge watching Netflix, think about what you should be doing today and pick the easiest item on the list. Do that to create some momentum. If you’re procrastinating tackling a big project, break it down into baby steps, or pick one small part of it that’s quick and easy to do.
Barb Ling calls this “PlusOneing” – on the days where you’re not feeling like you can do anything, do one small thing just so you can feel good about doing something. (Click here to grab Barb’s Self-Care Cheat Sheet)
Hopefully this is enough to get you over that initial hump and and start moving things forward for you again. If you need more, you can always use the tips in this article to jumpstart your motivation and momentum.
If nothing else works, try bribing yourself. You can spend the rest of the afternoon reading a novel, if you get the yard cleaned up first. Come up with something fun and meaningful as a treat or bribe for yourself and start getting things done. You’ll get a boost in confidence not only for getting things done, but for taking care of yourself along the way too.
Hi Ruth
Love this post and you are so right that the way to get back to gaining our confidence is to take baby steps and do tasks that are easy.
Thanks for sharing. Take Care