Ron White, memory training expert, memory keynote, and two-time USA Memory Champion, would like to share with you lessons on confidence as taught through “Mind of a U.S. Navy SEAL†workshops.
My friend and mentor, former U.S. Navy SEAL T. C. Cummings has offered a very beneficial lesson on building self-confidence. He asked the question: ‘Do you know what YOUR track record is?’ A track record is your own personal inventory, of your accomplishments and missteps. In order to be successful you need to understand the importance of self-evaluation in building your self-confidence. 
When you try to evaluate your self-worth, are you looking at the world in a positive or negative light? Are you seeing the glass as half empty or half full? When we evaluate ourselves we often concentrate on what has happened to us on the negative side, and overlook the many accomplishments we have had along the way. How many commitments have you fulfilled, how many promises have you followed through on? Were you always on time for work? Did you work overtime to complete a job, even if you may not have gotten paid for it? Did you cooperate with your peers in order for a big job to get completed, and not expect anything from it? These are all things that should be entered into your track record journal.
Doing a self-evaluation may not be easy, but it is necessary. There are a few essential points you need to consider as you start the process:
- Be realistic
- Be honest
- Be clear
- Be specific
- Be constructive
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, and be honest. This is for your own benefit, so there’s no need to inflate, or diminish yourself. Are there areas you can improve on? What can you do better than most others? What have you done that you are the most proud of? Be clear in your goals, and how you went about reaching them. Don’t allow yourself to make excuses, and don’t blame others.
Do your best to be as objective as possible. Step outside yourself and look at it as if you were taking an evaluation of someone else. Give yourself credit where credit is due. For every accomplishment or strength, write down specific examples. For each time you fell short, list those examples as well.
Self-evaluation is one of the most important factors in achieving success, and those who are successful are continuously evaluating themselves – what are they doing right, what are they doing wrong, how can they improve? Once you get into a routine of asking yourself important questions you will be well on your way to improving your life and becoming a more confident person.
After you become comfortable evaluating yourself, ask others you trust to give you an honest assessment to help you improve. Two heads are always better than one, and sometimes we don’t see things in ourselves others see. You will be amazed at how much you find out about yourself, and you can be making improvements and corrections in order to build your confidence according to what they tell you as well.
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do – Benjamin Spock
You will find the lesson on self-confidence among many available on the training CDs “Mind of a Navy SEAL,†and in our training “Think Like A U.S. Navy SEAL†workshops.
Sources:
“Mind of a U.S. Navy SEAL†workshop
Wikipedia – Comfort Zone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_zone
Psychics 521 – http://www.edu.pe.ca/gray/class_pages/krcutcliffe/physics521/evaluating.htm
SavySugar – Tips for Writing a Self-Evaluation: http://www.savvysugar.com/Tips-Writing-Self-Evaluation-5772951
Coin Flip – Evaluating Yourself and Others: http://www.coinflip.com/blog/suneberghansen/evaluating-yourself-and-others.html
National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented – http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/reports/rbdm9304/rbdm9304.pdf
NDT Resource Center – Self-Evaluation: http://www.ndt-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Self-evaluation.htm