How To Build Confidence With Meditation?

How to build confidence with meditation? 

Nida Zakaria                                                                                         

In today’s world which has people running and gunning against each other, often we find ourselves questioning our sense of self-worth. The question becomes even more profound in the face to tough times such as the ongoing pandemic that has forced everyone to work and live out of silos. The situation demands us to persist and believe in ourselves every day. This is where we need engaging activities which help us build self-confidence. It is somewhat an easier said than attained feat and remains elusive in people. In such a situation, lack of self-confidence often leads to complex conditions like mental breakdowns and depression, pushing people to often take extreme steps. Meditation and mindfulness are proving to be tried and tested methods by which individuals can master their lost confidence. 

Meditation is one of the most powerful ways in which one can their sense of our real and innate worth.  Our inner genuine confidence comes from our innate sense of self-worth, which can be awakened using meditation. The tools and technique are our ticket to break cycles of negativity and co-dependency and look deeper into our own wellbeing. 

But how does meditation really help you? To start with, it is not just sitting with your thoughts, but observing them, noticing every moment that you are thinking and then finally you come back to the breath. Each time, while meditating, you eventually revert to the basic sense of being in the moment, where you can introspect, cut down the noise from the outer world, and find some ‘Me Time’ for the soul. A regular practice helps you finally overcome your own thought patterns and you begin to distance yourself from those. This is so because in meditation you can let go, and lead to a profound sense of wellbeing. The technique helps you return your calm, where you can take better decisions, and see the larger picture. This sense of being, helps build that lost confidence, which emerges out of your inner self. In one’s natural state of mind, you can relax, in the absence of the external confidence-eroding triggers, you can start finding yourself back, and build your confidence. 

Meditation and mindfulness are becoming increasingly important in today’s times, to help individuals boost their confidence levels. It helps you be in the moment, with no references and you end up feeling fulfilled and happy. One can easily check out various online meditation courses and guides for success, happiness, and self-esteem. When one feels happy from within, this confidence will be translated into your life, your relationships, personal and professional growth etc. In the long run, a regular practice helps us distinguish from between healthy and toxic patterns and relationships, which ultimately leads to a higher sense of self belief. 

Techniques like grounding oneself and vipassana meditation amongst others are some ways to make the most of meditation. It is also important that the right posture is maintained when one is practicing. In a nutshell, Meditation can offer plenty of ways to improve and boost one’s confidence levels, it is up to you as to how and what techniques we adapt to suit the needs and situations. For a healthy and balanced life, a healthy mind is a critical ingredient. Meditation for the mind is what food is for us. It is indeed imperative, that every individual takes to meditation, for higher thoughts, higher vibrations, and a successful life. 

Advantages of Meditation (for confidence) 

Meditation has numerous health benefits (all of which have been established in scientific studies):

·         Boost immune system 

·         Lowers blood pressure.

·         Improves digestion

Other studies have used MRI scans to discover that meditating can actually increase grey matter concentration in areas of the brain linked to emotion regulation, introspection, and empathy... while decreasing grey matter in areas linked to anxiety, fear, and stress. Simply said, meditating can change your brain to make you feel less worried and more confident!

Let’s get you started 

STEP 1: Find a pleasant, quiet spot.

STEP 2: Sit comfortably in a straight-backed chair or cross-legged on the floor. Sit with your back against a wall if you slump. The trick is to maintain a straight spine. 

STEP 3: Use a chant to divert your attention away from your racing thoughts. It's best to go with something simple like "Peace. Space. Calm." Now visualise (think) your ideal atmosphere for “Peace, Space, and Calm.”

STEP 4: Place both hands on your stomach. Count to three and take three slow, deep breaths. Take a deep breath into your belly button and feel your stomach push your hands up. As you breathe, try to maintain your shoulders relaxed and loose.

STEP 5: As you breathe in, say the mantra "Peace. Space. Calm," hold the breath for two seconds, and then exhale with the mantra "Peace. Space. Calm." It's as easy as that. Repeat this practise twice a day for 5 to 10 minutes each time.

(Pic Credits:mindworks.org)

Positive Talk

Spend a few minutes before or after your meditation sessions speaking pleasantly and compassionately to and about yourself. For this activity, I generally read some positive quotes and repeat it aloud.

It's usually important to keep your statements short and simple. Say words that you can easily agree with so that your subconscious mind agrees with you.

For example :

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” – Winston Churchill

“Believe you can and you're halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt

So my friends, 

·         Try and keep your feet on the ground. A lack of confidence is frequently caused by a whirlpool of thoughts in our brains that cause us to doubt our skills or ourselves.

·         Become aware of unpleasant feelings and thoughts.

·         Raise your spirits.

·         Visualize yourself achieving your goals.

·         Face your fears head on.

You grow more and more immersed in that moment of well-being as your meditation becomes more solid. You're just there in that blissful moment. There isn't anything to compare it to. It isn't good, bad, or indifferent in any way. It's just being, and it's quite relaxing. And it's from that sense of self that genuine confidence emerges. It arises from the ability to relax in a natural state of minimal activity. Genuine confidence, to be clear, has nothing to do with being better or worse than others. We don't build our own true confidence by sabotaging others'. That isn't how it works. Everyone possesses this fundamental goodness, and everyone has the power to connect with it. We may genuinely radiate our own goodness and confidence when we connect with our own goodness and confidence. As a result, rather than burdening people with negativity, jealously, and competitiveness, we might radiate openness, acceptance, honesty, joy, and kindness, among other positive traits. Don't you believe it's a much better way to behave in the world? And it all happens as a result of meditation practise: the discovery of a basic sense of well-being and genuine confidence.

When it comes to boosting confidence, meditation has a lot of alternatives. Choose the option that best meets your requirements and circumstances. Above all, employ meditation to enhance your efforts to boost your self-esteem. Outside of meditation, there are other strategies to increase confidence