Confidence. That indefinable thing that makes our lives better.Or worse. Too much of it and you can come off as arrogant, but having too little can prevent you from moving forward, taking risks and will eventually affect parts of your life. The key to the perfect combination is a bit of both sides. Here are some pointers for the desirable perfect combo. Mix lightly and handle with extreme care.

1. Always be yourself

The first step to increase your confidence is to always be your true self. I bet this is the most cliche quote you’ve ever heard of, but let me tell you a secret. The most genuine of all also. You are one of a kind. You are unique. You are amazing. Our differences are what determine us.

There is only one of you in this world, so if that isn’t something worth nurturing and taking care of, I can’t think of anything else. Remember, you can’t control what others think of you. If you ask 10 different people their opinions of you, you are likely to find you have 10 different reputations. Stick to your guns, never ever compromise yourself because YOU are all you have.

2. No bad vibes
Let go of the negativity in your life and allow the sunrays of positivism shine upon yourself. Philosophy and spirituality teach us about the consequences of our thoughts. So, why positive thoughts and not negative ones? Fear and negativity are like a black hole for our consciousness. Once you get in that dark element, the brain filters out everything else and you only think of failure. And thought power holds the key to our reality. Seek out your happy place and surround your mind with positivity. Create your own mantra and in times of need talk to your inner self “You Can Do It!”

3. Get out of your comfort zone or (Comfort zone ✖)
We’ve all been down that road. It’s that whimsical, magical place not far away from Never-Neverland, where milk and honey flow instead of rivers and there’s not a single worry on your mind. That imaginary place that shelters us and provides us an unlimited amount of familiarity, security, and certainty. But.. “a ship in harbor is safe, except that’s not what ships are made for”.

Break out of there and let the world see you. Rise up, embrace the opportunities and give yourself the chance to learn a new thing each and every day. Even doing something seemingly small every day will eventually lead you to something bigger. Comfort kills your productivity and therefore affects your self-esteem. Make the step!

4. Don’t forget, you are AWESOME!
Life is hard and there are times when it’s difficult to maintain your confidence high up. Stop for a second and think about all of the things you are proud of. Your accomplishments, your victories.

No matter how big or small they are, they are results of your hard work. Make a list of all your qualities and acknowledge your own achievements. So, whenever you feel blue or you need your daily dose of self-esteem reread what you have written.

3. Body Talk is relevant

Let’s be honest. 20% of our daily life communication is verbal, the other 80% stand for non-verbal communication or widely known as Body Language. Your attitude towards every situation says a lot more about you than your own words. So if you are saying something, but your body language hesitates and says the opposite, you are not getting your desired message across.

Research conducted at Harvard and Columbia Business Schools shows that simply holding your body in high-power poses stimulates higher levels of testosterone- the hormone responsible for dominance and lower levels of cortisol- the stress hormone. Therefore, find your suitable power posture and Carpe Diem!
Take your time to implement these rules and work on yourself. Feeling more confident is one part of living a happier, more fulfilling life.

Source: Success

Interpersonal communication skills are the most important skills that you need to focus on as a large segment of your life involves interacting with people whether they are colleagues, friends,  family relations or your boss. It may seem like a simple and natural thing to do, but gaining confidence in public speaking can actually be quite challenging.

It becomes even more difficult when you don’t know how the other person will react.  No matter who you are talking to, you want them to listen to you carefully, understand clearly what you are saying and remember the most important ideas throughout the discussion.

I’m sure we’ll all agree on this. Your voice plays a big role. So whether the tone of your voice is quiet with hesitancy or strong with integrity it can reveal a lot about your personal history. Speaking strong is sounding powerful, commanding respect and getting the desired attention.

If you like to be one of those individuals from whom people instantly fall quiet and really listen, follow these 7 rules below.

1. Just BREATHE

Remember that unpleasant feeling you get when you’re feeling blue, but you can’t cry it out? That “lump” in the throat. Our voice is responsive to emotions and when that “lump” occurs you get nervous. As a result, your voice gets squeaky and high. Learn to cope with tense situations by just… Breathing. Breathing deeply and rhythmically has a therapeutic effect, releases tension and promotes relaxation. Also using full lung capacity while breathing will support your voice and make it sound fuller and stronger.

2. MOTIVATION  is your support

When in self doubt, always find a way to cheer and motivate yourself. Listen to some of your favourite great speakers that inspire you. Observe their ways of movement,  their speaking style, the way they reach out to people. But never imitate. Just enjoy their speech. The influence will come subconsciously.

3. PRACTICE makes perfect

No matter how many presentations and speeches you’ve given as a part of your job or your daily life occasions, nothing is more stressful than the moment when you are required to make the speech. However, with great organization and preparation, everything is possible. Concentrate on the main structure of your presentation. Put the accent on the important headings and let them lead the way. Trying to memorize every word will get you lost and will also make you sound unnatural.

4. Don’t hide your EMOTIONS

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The same goes out for every little segment of your life. Pick a topic that you are passionate about. Not only you’ll enjoy the process of creating something that is important to you, but the final result of sharing your work with somebody else will give you the biggest satisfaction. Express your feelings. Speak outside of the draft speech.  Most importantly, speak honestly.

5. Maintain EYE CONTACT

This is my life motto and I’m sticking to it. Always look people in the eyes while you are speaking. It gives a hint of sincerity and integrity to the person on the other side. Sustained, focused eye contact makes you feel more confident and act more assertively.  If there is one thing that will enhance your impact on your audience and make you a powerful speaker, it is a purposeful eye contact with one person at a time.

6. BODY LANGUAGE is essential

80% of our everyday communication consists of non-verbal action, body talk. Good performance is based on combining all of the crucial elements in a perfect synchronicity. True powerful speaking comes from balancing (harmonizing) your movement, gesture, and words as you deliver the message.

7. It all depends on the TONE of your voice

Want to be able to control your audience? To prevent the crowd from falling asleep, remember the “four P’s” of vocal variety. Maintain the perfect pace. Not too slow, not too fast. Control the pitch of your voice. Speak too high and you’ll sound nervous and irritating. Carefully pick your pauses. Well-timed pause creates a sense of intrigue and curiosity. Last but not least, be passionate about your topic.

Following these 7 tips will help you master the art of powerful public speaking.

Source: Success

When people were first introduced to the term emotional intelligence, some found this term to be the missing part of the puzzle of one peculiar situation. Namely, people with average IQs often seem to outperform people with the highest IQs, and this happens almost 70% of the time.

This fact dismisses the strongly-believed assumption that IQ is the crucial factor when it comes to success. In fact, studies have proved times and times again that emotional intelligence is the essence that sets apart the master performers from the ordinary people.   

Emotional intelligence is that intangible “something” inside all of us that is responsible for our behavior. It also navigates our conduct in different social situations and makes our personal decisions that often have positive outcomes.  

Emotional intelligence is composed of 4 core skills that are divided into 2 primary competencies – personal and social.

PERSONAL COMPETENCE

Personal competence puts the focus on the individual. It is comprised of the individual’s self-awareness and self-management skills. It is an individual’s ability to be always aware of their emotions. It is also their ability to manage their tendencies and behavior.  

Self – awareness is one’s ability to perceive emotions accurately and be aware of them when they happen.

Self – management is one’s ability to be aware of their emotions while staying flexible and positively directing their behavior.

SOCIAL COMPETENCE

Social competence is composed of a person’s social awareness and their relationship management skills. Social competence is one’s ability to understand the behavior, moods, and motives that other people have, to respond efficiently and better the quality of their personal relationships.  

Social – awareness is one’s ability to tell someone’s emotions accurately and understand what’s going on in their mind.

Relationship – management is someone’s ability to use their awareness of their emotions and the emotions of others to manage successfully their interactions.

IQ, Personality, And Emotional Intelligence Are Different

There is no connection between emotional intelligence and IQ because we can’t predict the emotional intelligence of someone measuring how smart one is. These 2 terms are different.

Intelligence is one’s ability to learn and it is not changed with age. Someone can be extremely intellectually intelligent but lack emotional awareness.

On the other hand, emotional intelligence is something that can develop over time. It is a set of flexible skills that can be improved or acquired with practice even if you were not born with them in the first place.

Finally, personality is the last puzzle piece. It is the thing that defines every one of us. It is a person’s inclination towards extroversion or introversion. But it also can’t predict someone’s emotional intelligence. And, like IQ, it stays the same during the person’s lifetime.

The mixture of these 3 elements together is the essence of a person. The emotional intelligence, however, plays the main part of whether someone would be successful or not because it is the only thing that we can work on to improve.

Source: Forbes

Modern society has a secret recipe for destroying human lives: stress – and lots of it. But stress is mostly the result of us not paying too much attention to ourselves and always striving to achieve everything without taking a break.

Stress has become the chronic condition of so many people that we have started failing to notice its presence. This, however, doesn’t prevent it from destroying our bodies and our minds.

Stress leads to adrenal fatigue, a range of physical and psychological problems, and a debilitating state which eventually makes us unable to cope with what are supposed to be normal situations in our lives.

Here are 11 signs that you are under a constant stress:

1. Frequent headaches

Stress is the number one factor behind tension headaches. These headaches are characterized by mild, moderate, or intense pain in your neck, behind your eyes, and in your head.

2. Fatigue

The increase in cortisol (the stress hormone) leads to fatigue. Which is more, mental and physical stress interrupts our body’s normal functioning and the tension levels in it make us more prone to mental and physical exhaustion.

3. Digestive problems

The digestive system suffers greatly under stress. In a state of stress, our digestion and metabolism are downregulated, leading to bloating, constipation or diarrhea.

4. Stomach issues

Because of the way stress affects our digestive system, the most common stomach issues that arise are nausea, cramps, indigestion, and aches.

5. Weight gain

Aside from the disrupted metabolism, stress is commonly associated with an increased craving for food, especially junk food. This makes the accumulation of belly fat easier.

6. Frequent colds and infections

 The effect of stress on our metabolism means that we start lacking the necessary nutrients we are supposed to absorb from the food we eat. Which is more, our immune system is under attack from the stress levels, all making us more susceptible to colds and infections.

7. Chest pain or palpitations

Stress creates a harmful cycle in our body because it triggers anxiety – and anxiety further triggers stress. This combination can cause chest tightness and/or pain, as well as an increased risk of heart diseases and even heart attacks.

8. Loss of sex drive

Chronic stress has the function of hijacking the chemicals which are responsible for stimulating the sex drive, owing to the fact that the necessary materials for hormonal creation are redirected to the creation of cortisol and other stress-related hormones.

9. Memory problems

Stress is often associated with problems with memory. This is because it causes chronic changes in some brain areas and it can have a long-term negative effect on memory by impairing the ability of the hippocampus to both encode and recall memories.

10. Depression or general unhappiness

Chronic stress is often the cause of depression or general unhappiness, affecting the hormones that are responsible for a general mental well-being.

11. Loneliness and isolation

Stress is among the leading factors for social isolation and a general feeling of loneliness. People under constant stress find it harder to communicate with people and isolate themselves from the world.

How many of these symptoms are you currently struggling with? Coping stress is very important, especially in our modern age. Doing yoga, meditation, taking walks in nature, and just giving yourself a well-deserved relaxation time are very important.

Sources:
Power of Positivity
Help Guide

Being emotionally intelligent means that you recognize, and you are aware of your emotions as well as the emotions of other people around you.  

Moreover, you use your intelligence for good deeds. For instance, when you notice that someone is upset you can be comforting, or when someone is irritated and angry you can immediately calm them using your exceptional people skills.

But, here are 7 things that only people with high emotional intelligence do that may not be true for those with an average EQ.

1. STEPPING BACK

Sometimes, being overly emotionally intelligent means that you have to take a step back. When you are unsure about something it is best to maintain your quiet and just observe, watch, and listen to what others have to say.

2. A SENSE OF HUMOR

People who are serious and never laugh as well as people who laugh about everything have poor EQ levels. Contrary to them, people with high EQ have a controlled and balanced sense of humor.

3. LISTENING AND SPEAKING

People who are slow to speak but quick to listen are people that possess incredible emotional intelligence. During the conversation, they are aware of other people and consider their thoughts.

4. MANAGING EMOTIONS

Self-control is a tell-tale sign that someone has high EQ levels. People who can keep calm when their emotions are running wild inside of them are strong and possess high emotional intelligence. They understand the strength of their emotions and they don’t dismiss them – but they choose not to act on them.

5. BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND FUN

Maintaining a balance between professional and personal life is a thing at which highly emotionally intelligent people are masters. They finish their work and meet their deadlines and have time for hanging out and having fun with friends.  

6. FEEDBACK

The ability to accept feedback signalizes a person’s emotional capacity. People with exceptional EQ levels listen with attention, and they are always open to feedback – especially if the feedback is constructive.  

7. AWARENESS OF THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Emotionally intelligent people are aware of their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Plus, they always look for ways to improve themselves because they know that there is always room for improvement.