
If you think success, happiness and love are going to happen without learning through mistakes along the way you are mistaken.
Our brains are wired to learn from our own experiences as well as those of others. Without experience how are you going to learn anything?
Let me give you an example. At my local bank a number of weeks ago I attempted to make small talk with the cashier and she completely ignored me.
Last week I was in the bank and tried my small talk routine again, and again I failed. She ignored me again!
There are a number of ways to view this situation:
1 My communication strategy is not working
2 I need to change my approach
3 I will learn from this experience and become better
A number of years ago I would have given this situation a different analysis:
1 She is rude and ignorant. She thinks I am a moron
2 I feel crushed by this blatant rejection
3 My confidence depends on this person liking me
Notice the difference. My old outlook sets me up for pain and frustration and puts the ball in the court of the other person. My confidence depends on how the other person responds.
My new outlook puts me in control. I created the results I am getting, I can choose to change my approach and I can decide to learn and grow from every experience.
A second point worth mentioning is that of wanting something from someone versus giving.
When you approach dealing with other people as getting something from them you will always have confidence issues instead view conversations as giving and you are back in control.
With the bank cashier if I want to get something from her I focus on wanting her to accept me and this neediness will be picked up by her. She is unlikely to respond positively to this.
If instead I give what I want then I will decide to accept her. And she will receive my acceptance and likely reflect it back to me.
My confidence then is based on giving - something I am in charge of not someone else.
Now it is time for you to take this information and put it into action.
Think of a situation where you are typically not as confident as you would like to be.
If the reason is due to a lack of knowledge or ability then work on that first. If you do have the necessary skills then decide to take action and learn step by step from every experience.
Start with a small challenge and gradually step up to bigger ones.
Remember to use this outlook:
1 What is working and what is not working?
2 Change your approach until you get the results you want
3 Decide to learn from every experience
Your confidence is under your control and is not controlled by someone else!
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/repo rt.htm
AP - President-elect Barack Obama warned of dire and long-lasting consequences if Congress doesn't pump unprecedented dollars into the national economy, making an urgent pitch Thursday for his mammoth spending proposal in his first speech since the election.
AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts are running into opposition from senators in his own party who say they won't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs.
AP - The U.N. halted deliveries to the Gaza Strip on Thursday after gunfire from an Israeli tank killed an aid truck driver, and the threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired rockets into northern Israel.
AP - Retailers reported dismal sales figures for December on Thursday as even Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the bright spots in the industry, finally buckled under the pressures of the deteriorating economy.
AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month.
AP - The number of people continuing to seek unemployment benefits has risen sharply, according to government data released Thursday, indicating that laid-off workers are having a harder time finding new jobs as the recession enters its second year.
AP - Mayor Ron Dellums urged residents to remain calm after protests turned violent in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a transit police officer.
AP - Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready for prime time. That's one message Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered on the eve of the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show.
AP - John Travolta and family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their gated-community home in central Florida.
AP - John Smoltz has reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox, who also agreed Thursday to a one-year contract with outfielder Rocco Baldelli.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama sought to rally support on Thursday for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.
Reuters - Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed.
Reuters - Unemployment benefit rolls swelled to a 26-year high in the last week of December, data showed on Thursday, while retailers, including market leader Wal-Mart, reported poor sales as the year-long economic slump deepened.
Reuters - A search of accused swindler Bernard Madoff's office desk revealed he had signed checks totaling more than $173 million ready to be sent, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.
Reuters - North Korea may have begun developing nuclear arms after deciding the United States was unlikely to use nuclear weapons to eliminate its development program, a senior Pentagon adviser said on Thursday.
Reuters - Former Sen. Larry Craig has ended his effort to void the guilty plea he made following his 2007 arrest in a men's toilet sex-sting operation, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Reuters - Bleak economic data in Europe and disappointing December retail sales figures in the United States unsettled financial markets on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus and encouraging rate cuts.
AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said Moscow will resume gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine after it has struck an agreement with Ukraine on the transit, Russian news agencies reported.
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