Confidence and health are joined at the hip. High levels of confidence lead to better health and low levels of confidence impair your health.
Low confidence leads to negative thinking: worry, fear, doubt and pessimism. Sustained negative thinking ultimately gives rise to chronic stress.
When you suffer from chronic stress, there is a domino effect of physiology that takes place inside your body.
With normal, short-term stress, the hypothalamus increases the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones make the heart beat faster and prepare the body for fight or flight.
If the stress lingers, however, a gene on chromosome 10, called CYP17, is activated. This gene goes to work to convert cholesterol to cortisol. One of cortisol’s side effects is that it depresses the immune system by reducing the production of lymphocytes – white blood cells. The gene CYP17 also turns on another gene called TCF, which suppresses the production of a protein called interleukin 2. Interleukin 2’s purpose is to put white blood cells on high alert. White blood cells are your body’s main defense against viruses, diseases, germs and any parasites that infect the body.
Lack confidence leads to negative thinking, which leads to chronic stress and this makes you more susceptible to disease, viruses and infections.
Strategies To Boost Your Confidence
I studied 233 millionaires and 128 people struggling with poverty. I uncovered over 300 daily habits that can help you live a happy, healthy, successful life. Here are a few of the confidence-boosting Rich Habits I discovered in my five-year study:
- Daily Learning – Read to learn every day. This reading should be directly related to your chosen field. The more knowledge you acquire, the more confidence you will become on the job.
- Deliberate Practice – Some professions require daily deliberate practice. Deliberate practice may be both physical – swinging a golf club a certain way, and thinking – reviewing facts and information related to your profession. Deliberate practice boosts your confidence.
- Daily Exercise – Exercising every day will help you lose weight, look trim and health and this helps to boost your confidence.
- Overcome Adversity/Obstacles/Mistakes – Confronting adversity and overcoming obstacles and mistakes are critical for success. If you make a habit of surrendering to adversity/obstacles/mistakes, this will decrease self-confidence. If you make a habit of overcoming adversity/obstacles/mistakes, this will boost your self-confidence.
- Attack Fear – Fear holds most back from taking action. If, however, you take on an activity that has you riddled with fear, you will find that your fear was exaggerated. When you engage in activities that frighten you, this will boost your confidence.
- Do Good – When you help improve the lives of those around you, this makes you feel like you are adding value to the lives of others and will boost your confidence. Volunteer at community non-profit groups.
- Find Apostles – Surround yourself with upbeat, success-minded people. When you surround yourself with the right people, they will encourage and support you. Their positive influence on you will help boost your confidence.
- Be Responsive – Return phone calls, emails, text messages. Not doing so will cause you to subconsciously worry that you are impairing your relationships. Remove that worry and you will boost your confidence.
As your confidence increases, your overall physical and mental health will improve.
Read the full article here
