On the journey to kickass personal transformation, every positive action develops confidence. Visualizing, planning, and discussing goals and dreams are part of your process — but action builds confidence in yourself and your ultimate goal. So allow yourself to realize that each small step is significant if it is followed by another small step. Often, the big leaps don’t present themselves until you’ve done ten thousand small steps. That’s okay! The key is to allow yourself to recognize each small accomplishment and celebrate it as you follow the path to success.
Anybody who works a successful program of recovery from addiction knows the importance of working a self-help program one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time. As the brain continues to heal, baby steps grow into strides, and strides into leaps and bounds.
Anyone who’s ever successfully worked a weight loss and fitness program knows that the goal is reached by turning down chips and junk food and opting for carrot sticks and apple wedges, then suiting up and working out instead of sitting on the couch. The truly fierce, kickass, badass lasting transformation takes time and patience.
A few years ago, a friend confided in me that he suffered from social anxiety. My friend regarded this as an obstacle to his enjoyment of life. He’s a Marine combat veteran who has lived through extreme hardship and danger. He made up his mind to overcome this particular fear — no matter what. He decided to apply the baby steps concept, with celebration, to help him create change. We sat down and discussed a plan of action which included him attending a small gathering, a reading group of a dozen people at a library. Although it proved difficult, he stayed for the whole event, and reported feeling a little bit more confident afterward. He used written and spoken affirmations to amp up his feelings of well-being and keep himself in a positve state of mind. My friend continued to schedule inceasingly more challenging events to attend and his confidence continued to build and he experienced kickass transformation.
As a veteran, he was invited to participate in a public ceremony with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. This involved mounting a huge platform, standing onstage during the ceremony and reading the names of fallen Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans to the enormous crowd over a microphone. He accomplished this and afterward told me he felt terrific before and after the challenge. Every once in a while, I get a call from my friend, telling me he’s sitting in the stands at the World Series, watching the game along with a multitude of other fans. He’s arrived at his goal after taking, and celebrating, thousands of baby steps.
You don’t have to be a Marine to muster the courage to develop confidence through continued action. You can practice this process and reap rewards. Amp up your enthusiasm by creating an inner cheerblock — celebrate each small step. Try documenting each tiny accomplishment in a journal, then take it out and read it when you’re feeling weak and wimpy. This can build your confidence surprisingly well. Train yourself to appreciate your personal kickassitude! Get your transformative badassity going and who knows what heights you can reach?