Rabia, a diligent employee, was once given feedback about a mistake by her manager. While she was able to deliver that task; the feedback and the mistake made her doubt her skills. She began to fear deadlines and the fear got her delayed in delivering the tasks which affected her overall performance. She sought counselling sessions as she thought that she was not a good fit for her job. 

Krushan’s friends are quite keen to help him whenever he needs them. After all, he has been there for them as a support system during their crises. But then, every time he needs their help, he tends to overthink and suffer rather than seek their help. He fears annoying and disturbing them unnecessarily. 

What is self-confidence? 

Self-confidence as a part of the broader concept of self is defined by Psychology Dictionary Online as an “individual’s trust in his or her own abilities, capacities, and judgements, or belief that he or she can successfully face the day-to-day challenges and demands”. It is the ability to believe in one’s own abilities (Bénabou & Tirole, 2002) to affect future outcomes based on past events or experiences (Lenney, 1977). 

Research has suggested that low self-confidence can negatively impact one’s professional, personal and individual life. On the other hand, a stronger self-confidence helps one set higher goals for self which one stays firmly committed to. (Locke et al., 1984) 

How to recognise low self-confidence? 

Lower levels of confidence are manifested in the forms of self-pity, seeing only the negative, self-loathing and lack of initiative to venture out of the comfort zone. 

Rabia’s ignorance of all the good work she had done, or Krushnan’s hesitation to seek help could be examples of low levels of self-confidence. 

How does self-confidence emerge over age? 

Self-confidence levels differ with one’s age, experience and life stages. 

Early childhood (age 2-6 years) exposure to negative outcomes like being ridiculed, beaten up or bullied can contribute highly to a lack of trust in oneself later. 

Middle childhood (age 6-12 years) is crucial as it contributes to one’s beliefs about whether they are capable of handling relationships. 

Adolescents (age 13- 18 years) develop self-confidence more by exploring themselves and their peer relationships. In this stage of transition, confident children might still tend to develop low confidence due to a lack of appreciation or acceptance by others. 

Adulthood (age-18-60 years) consisting of the three phases of young, middle and old adulthood does see an increase in one’s self-confidence. (Orth, Trzesniewski,& Robins RW, 2010). Despite the socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity and nationality, adults have shown stabler, though a relatively lesser increase in their confidence (Robins et al., 2002). 

Old age (above 60 years) sees a declining trend in one’s self-confidence due to the changes in socio-economic status and physical health (Orth, Trzesniewski,& Robins RW, 2010). 

Thus, self-confidence follows a particular trajectory throughout our lifespan. Despite this, a lot can be done to enhance self-confidence 

• Create a positive narrative surrounding one’s capabilities: Instead of looking at the events of not being able to achieve the targets, one can develop the habit of counting the times one has achieved them. 

• Keep self-motivating phrases handy: One can use sticky notes or the dashboard of their workplace to keep oneself motivated and optimistic. The positive affirmation of “I believe I can accomplish a task” can take one a long way. 

• Establish a good support system: People who encourage others and are constructive in discussing faults can add to one’s self-confidence. 

• Practice gratitude: Being grateful for what one has can keep one’s relationships strong that can contribute to their overall sense of self-confidence. 

• Appreciate self: Appreciation is not always an outsider’s job. Taking pride in doing simple tasks and identifying those strengths can help one enhance one’s own belief in oneself. 

• Develop self-compassion: This can help one in developing that understanding that it is okay to fail at times. 

• Self-care: Lastly, it is important to have a balanced diet, good sleep and take out time for oneself to work on enhancing one’s self-confidence. 

While age has a role to play in one’s self-confidence levels, there is a lot that one can do to enhance one’s self-confidence despite the age one is in. Proper planning and preparedness to help one to lift oneself through low times could be a good tool that one would like to keep in their everyday toolkit. 

References             

Lenney, E. (1977). Women's self-confidence in achievement settings. Psychological Bulletin, 84(1), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.84.1.1 

Locke,E.A., Frederick,E., Lee,C., & Bobko,P. (1984). Effect of self-efficacy, goals, and task strategies on task performance.Journal of Applied Psychology,69(2), 241-251. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.69.2.241 

Orth, U., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Robins, R. W. (2010). Self-esteem development from young adulthood to old age: A cohort-sequential longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(4), 645-658. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018769 

Robins,R.W., Trzesniewski,K.H., Tracy,J.L., Gosling,S.D., & Potter,J. (2002). Global self-esteem across the lifespan.Psychology and Aging,17(3), 423-434. doi:10.1037//0882-7974.17.3.423 

Roland Bénabou, Jean Tirole; Self-Confidence and Personal Motivation, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 117, Issue 3, 1 August 2002, Pages 871–915, https://doi.org/10.1162/003355302760193913 

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