Self confidence is a psychological and emotional state of mind that responds to somebody's need for self-acceptance and recognition. It is one among the oldest and most discussed concepts in psychology. It describes a positive albeit realistic perception of oneself and one's abilities. Hence, individuals with self confidence generally have a better knowledge of the things they are able to achieve and will be more apt to be successful in their projects. They are able to more readily accept and learn from their errors.

Contrarily, a lack of confidence can deter you from trusting that what you do and decide will in the end work out the way you would have liked to. It can thus prevent the improvement of decision-making skills, strategic and management strength all of which are fundamental and indispensable aptitudes in the business world of today. The pre-occupation with how others will judge your work can also cause you to become excessively self-critical, which is something that can distract you from assignments you would have otherwise been totally able to do.

Low self confidence will also have an impact your social life, as individuals with low self confidence tend to stay in their "comfort zone" and are scared of rejection. This is called social phobia and has a high degree of co-morbidity with low self confidence, as well as other psychological diseases like depression. People with low self confidence are afraid of being judged by others and will avoid meeting new people, which can consequently lead to isolation and even lower self confidence. Low self confidence is a vicious circle that is difficult to break. 

On the other hand, because they have faith in their aptitudes, individuals with self confidence are able to do what they feel is appropriate and do not expect the approval of others. They also trigger confidence: your customers, employees, boss, relatives or friends are more likely to trust you or the things you are saying when you appear self-confident. 

Many experiences can cause low self confidence. New research shows that education has a major impact on the development of a child's self confidence. Corporal and mental abuses in childhood are for example the most damaging to a person's self confidence, as well as divorce and family conflicts. Overprotective parents can also be a reason for a child's social phobia and deter the independence that is necessary to develop self confidence. Successes and failures, for example at school or in one's professional life, also play an important role: losing a job or failing a class are among the numerous experiences that will have a negative impact your self confidence.

It is however possible to overcome those bad experiences and increase confidence. The first thing to do in order to develop self confidence would be to learn to know who you are and your strengths. Admitting the fact that you are allowed not to be perfect and cannot be good in everything you do will help you build self confidence. Accepting yourself as you are is the key to gaining self confidence. But in order to improve your self confidence you also have to start taking risks and giving yourself credit for your accomplishments. This is very basic advice which will help you gain self confidence. You may also find several books which will tell you how to gain self confidence, however not all of them are reliable. 

A lot people suffer from low self confidence or are only capable of gaining self confidence in one or a few areas of their lives because they always seek other people's approval and are scared of failing. Many factors, like childhood traumas, can explain why some people are not able to have the wholesome life of a self confident individual. Those persons also do not always know how to gain self confidence. However gaining self confidence can now readily and effectively be achieved through NLP and hypnosis.

As we have seen social phobia and low self confidence can stem from bad experiences or unconscious fears that may be difficult to overcome through sheer self persuasion. Confidence hypnosis and NLP by contrast are able to get to the unconscious part of our brain and change belief systems to boost self confidence. They are effective tools that will help you address your fears and believe in yourself to develop self confidence.

Self-Hypnosis for building self confidence has been used for numerous years and has shown significant results in building self confidence. In a hypnotic state, accessing unconscious thoughts is a lot easier and, through hypnotic suggestion, you will be able to replace your negative thought patterns with positive ones to boost your confidence.

Alan B. Densky, CH is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers self hypnosis for self confidence and social phobias. Visit his Best Self Hypnosis Downloads site to enjoy free hypnosis videos.

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