Test: What will help your confidence shine through?

The key to helping your quiet confidence flourish lies in your relationship with yourself. You may be well aware that self-criticism undermines self-confidence, yet still default to showing compassion to everyone but yourself. Sometimes, self-criticism isn’t overt but lurks in habits like making yourself the butt of your jokes.

Done well, lighthearted self-deprecation can communicate quiet confidence by showing self-awareness. But it’s a tricky balance to get right, and you risk sending mixed signals about your self-belief, undermining your personal presence. At the heart of this approach can be a critical inner voice that continually chips away at your foundation.

Constantly highlighting your failings can also be a form of reassurance seeking, and people may get tired of being your cheerleader. Plus, it drip-feeds you the message that you’re not good enough. You may have got used to a critical inner narrative running away in the background, but until you turn the volume down on it, you won’t communicate an inner glow.

There is nothing wrong with embracing your faults and failings so you can grow and learn, but true personal development always starts with self-acceptance. When you commit to treating yourself with love and compassion, your quiet confidence will thrive and shine through.