3 Tips to Develop Unshakable Self-Confidence

As a coach, I noticed that many of my clients come to me to improve their confidence levels. I decided to undertake a survey to understand what could be getting in the way of increasing confidence levels and what could help boost confidence amongst my clients. The findings were interesting:

Whilst there is still a gender confidence gap, it’s not as big as we think. 56% of women said they were often or always bothered by their level of confidence, compared to 44% of men. There could be a number of reasons for this, women could be more confident than they have been in the past and perhaps men are now being more open about their insecurities too. Both are heartening. There has been a real movement to empower women over the last decade through personal and professional development and it seems to be making some inroads. Men opening up about how they feel can only be a good thing, considering the mental health challenges facing men - just over three out of every four suicides are committed by men and suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35. (Reference: ONS)

Age was shown to be an important factor in confidence levels. Not only does it increase with age and experience, it also decreases in later life according to the findings. People often think that young people are uber confident, but the research showed that those under 24 were not as confident as we think, they shared that their lack of experience as a big factor. In later life confidence reduces again due to ill health, loss of loved ones and loss of the identity that comes with a job title. As a population that is living longer, this is an area that needs to be considered. How can we empower those over 55, some of whom may also be experiencing loneliness? Hobbies, entrepreneurial pursuits and support groups could be solutions? ‘Imposter Syndrome’ or the sense that as a visible minority you doubt your accomplishments and have a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud, plays a significant role in confidence levels. 52% of those surveyed said they felt their level of confidence often or always held them back.