What knocks your confidence?
Thank you to everyone who took part in our survey on self worth! Here's what you had to say...
What knocks your confidence?
As you can see from our pretty pie chart, we all suffer confidence knocks from similar experiences. The biggest confidence basher by far was criticism, followed by failure, poor body image, and rejection.
It stands to reason that if we already feel insecure about the way we look, a piece of work we've done, or an aspect of our personality, then we don't want anyone else to pick up on it. When someone criticises us on a raw subject, it's easy to take it as a confirmation of our worst fears. 'I'm thinking it, and somebody else picked up on it, so it's unquestionable evidence that I'm rubbish, and everyone knows it.'
From another perspective, if we feel particularly proud about something, it's going to shake us if we get pulled down on it. We start thinking - if even my good parts aren't good enough, there's no hope for me!
Handling Criticism
We can't avoid criticism, it's simply a part of life. But we can help the way we respond to it, and learn how to give criticism and be kind at the same time!
Read our new article 'The Art of Criticism' for some useful advice on this subject.
Here's a quick summary of the rest of the responses.
Hey good looking…
When asked ‘Do you consider yourself to be good looking?’ the vast majority of you said ‘average’. No one answered ‘very’, you modest bunch!
Self esteem
91.2% of you believe that your friends genuinely like you. Phew, that’s reassuring!
Confidence at work
55.1% of you consider yourself to be good at what you do for a living.
39.4% were not sure, and 5.5% said no.
What helps you to feel better about yourself?
The top answers were words of affirmation, good friends, and personal achievement. Here's the breakdown:
Encouraging words – 26%
Friends and Family - 21%
Achievement – 11%
Being accepted and appreciated – 8%
Faith – 6%
Positive body image – 6%
Other answers included: your partner, exercise, music, talking, physical touch, and special treats.
127 of you responded to this survey. Thanks for your participation!
Want to read more? The Art of Criticism.
