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Heuristics

Having Confidence in Your Abilities

A resilient person believes in their ability to cope with life's challenges. Self-esteem helps them recover from tough events and deal with stress.

THE IDEA

Having Confidence in Your Abilities

A resilient person believes in his ability to cope with life’s challenges. According to research, self-esteem plays a crucial role in recovering from tough events and dealing with stress. You should remind yourself of your achievements and strengths. When negative thoughts pop up in your mind, replace them immediately with positive ones like you’re good at your job and you can do what you want to do. Be more confident in your ability to cope with a crisis because this is a good way to build resilience and mental toughness.

When to use it

  • When preparing for a difficult presentation, boost your confidence by listing your relevant skills and past successes.

  • During a period of personal loss, use positive self-talk to remind yourself of your ability to cope.

  • In a tough project at work, draw on memories of previous accomplishments to maintain motivation.

  • After a setback in learning a new skill, reaffirm your capacity to learn and improve.

FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE

In practice

01

Overcoming Job Rejection

After being turned down for a job, instead of dwelling on perceived failures, you actively remind yourself of your past accomplishments, skills, and the challenges you've overcome to maintain confidence and motivation.

02

Navigating a Personal Crisis

When facing a difficult personal event, such as a breakup or loss, you recall previous instances where you successfully coped with hardships, reinforcing your belief in your ability to handle the situation.

✳

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Put it to work.

  1. What are your key achievements and strengths that you can recall in times of stress?

  2. How can you replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations about your abilities?

  3. Describe a past crisis you overcame. What does that tell you about your resilience?

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION

Source texts

  • Thinking in Systems and Mental Models Think Like a Super Thinker (Dawson, Marcus P)
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