“With confidence you have won before you have started” – Marcus Garvey

Confidence; the feeling that makes us stand tall and straight, the feeling that makes us believe in ourselves, and most importantly the feeling that helps us accomplish anything the heart desires.

We are all born with confidence. When we were smiling at strangers carelessly as a little kid or when we were quickly standing up before falling again while learning how to walk, we were demonstrating the purest forms of human confidence.

In time, with the feedback of parents, social environments, expectations, and friends, we lose touch with that natural confidence and we find ourselves struggling with finding inner confidence even during simple daily activities.

Nowadays, almost everyone feels unconfident in at least one area of life.

Sometimes the qualities that we look for are not really far, they are right within. You just need to find and bring them out. And that’s exactly what self-hypnosis helps with!

What is self-hypnosis good for? 

Although self-hypnosis sounds like a metaphysical state, it’s actually very similar to meditation. Imagine the feeling when you are deeply relaxed and focused on something, similar to watching a movie. That’s what self-hypnosis feels like.

When we are deeply relaxed, we can tune into our emotions, repressed memories, or beliefs. In a nutshell, self-hypnosis can be helpful with almost anything, from changing habits to improving lifestyle, as long as you can keep an objective perspective towards yourself.

For example, I practiced self-hypnosis to stop biting my nails and the results were astonishing. I still practice self-hypnosis every day to better manage emotions and increase confidence in specific situations.

How can self-hypnosis help with confidence? 

Confidence consists of self-image, beliefs about self, and trust in one’s abilities. All of these are hidden at the subconscious level and collaboratively, they determine the level of confidence. During self-hypnosis, we can work with these beliefs and ultimately, change them with persistence.  

During self-hypnosis, our hidden beliefs and the way we talk to ourselves become more apparent. We can become aware of how we perceive our abilities and capabilities of handling situations effectively. After creating awareness, then, we can work on changing the toxic subconscious beliefs or reinforcing positive ones instead. There are various hypnotic methods to enhance subconscious self-image and confidence.

What are some self-hypnosis techniques that can help with confidence?

When imagination is involved, we can have lots of fun and we can get as creative as we desire, right? That’s how self-hypnosis works! As long as emotions are stimulated and imagination is activated, you would be receiving significant benefits from self-hypnosis.

After you lead yourself to the hypnotic state following self-hypnosis steps, there are different hypnotic techniques that can help you stimulate emotions of success and confidence.

One very famous technique is “Imagining as-if”. The name says it all! How would your life be if you were as confident as you wish? Use your imagination and view all the details of your life when you are confident and have high self-esteem. These details should consist of definite specifications such as how you look, what you wear, the things you do, and should also include your feelings such as how you feel about yourself, how you feel about your life or others around you.

Another successful technique is “remembering a time”. We now know that everyone has a memory of a time when they felt confident and self-assured. Maybe this was a memory from your childhood or a memory of a recent accomplishment. Go as back as you need and find that memory! What were you doing at the time of the memory that made you feel so proud? What were the reactions of others? How did you feel? Again, get in touch with feelings and details!

One simple, yet very effective technique is “affirmations”. After you lead yourself to the state, give yourself positive affirmations. These could be positive sentences or how you want to feel. Again, make sure to stimulate emotions! So, your sentences should be encouraging, in the present tense, and positive. Feel free to repeat the same sentence or different ones in your mind. Our mind learns the best with repetition!

If you are nervous about a specific event that is coming up, use the “rehearsal” technique. Mind rehearsals that are done under hypnotic states are so much more powerful than conscious mental rehearsals because our mind cannot really differentiate the imagination and reality. Eventually, your mind will be convinced that the event already happened in a successful manner. So, when the time comes, you will be calm, comfortable, and programmed to be successful! Simply, rehearse the event in your mind in the most successful way. How do you feel throughout the event? How do you feel after? Maybe there is a smile on your face at the end!

When to ask for help? 

Self-hypnosis is a great tool to improve your confidence over time. Especially if you are getting ready for performances, speeches, or presentations, you will realize that your mind is working for you when you practice self-hypnosis. However, sometimes the problem is deeper and lack of confidence becomes an obstacle in almost every event in life. In those debilitating cases, it’s necessary to ask for outside help. This can be help from a licensed therapist or a hypnotherapist who will be able to assist you to rediscover your unique self and confidence!