Build self-confidence for a better life -- a workbook full of tools. Self-confidence begins with knowing yourself. From facing fears to practicing acceptance and self-compassion, The Self Confidence Workbook offers practical, accessible strategies to get to know your best self and see real-world results
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: SETTING THE STAGE
Chapter 1: Understanding Self-Confidence
Chapter 2: Setting Goals and Getting Started
PART 2: THE STRATEGIES
Chapter 3:Practice Acceptance
Chapter 4:Calm Your Body
Chapter 5:Work with Your Thoughts
Chapter 6: Work with Your Beliefs
Chapter 7: Face Your Fears
Chapter 8: Moving Forward
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN that self-confidence is linked to almost everything we want in life: success at work, secure relationships, a positive sense of self, and happiness. But what is self-confidence? Why does it appear to be so mysterious? Why does it seem like other people have it and we don’t?
In my work as a psychologist, I often find low self-confidence is a common denominator regardless of the problem people come in for. For example, I worked with a young man who suffered from loneliness but was afraid to ask anyone out on a date. He didn’t believe he was attractive enough, or interesting enough, or fun enough. Another client I worked with was a successful businesswoman who was experiencing severe burnout. She took on too many projects, didn’t delegate well, and was prone to perfectionism. Underneath it all, she felt like an impostor, and she overworked herself to compensate. Both, at their core, lacked self- confidence.
My clients typically say, “I don’t feel confident, so I couldn’t possibly . . . [insert desired goal here].” Can you relate? Not many of us are taught how confidence truly works. We get it backward: We believe we have to wait until we feel confident before we can act confidently. That is why I am so excited you have this book in your hands. You are finally going to learn the truth about confidence: what it is, where it comes from, and how to master the rules of the confidence game. No matter your personality or circumstances, this workbook will show you how to move from passivity to actively pursue your goals.
As a therapist, I’m also excited to have this book as a resource. I frequently assign reading and outside activities to my clients, and The Self-Confidence Workbook fills a much-needed gap. It’s grounded in the latest advances in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), yet it’s reader-friendly, presenting the skills you need in easy-to-digest nuggets. Each chapter contains valuable exercises and includes highly practical action items. Although the book is
grounded in science, you won’t get bogged down in technical jargon or long explanations of theory.
I first met Dr. Barbara Markway when we both worked at the Anxiety Disorders Center at the St. Louis University School of Medicine over twenty years ago. I was a psychologist and she was a postdoctoral fellow completing advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. A skilled and caring therapist, she was also passionate about writing. She was adept at taking scientific information and putting it in everyday language in order to help people beyond her own office.
During her time at the Center for OCD and Anxiety-Related Disorders, we co-authored, along with Dr. Alec Pollard and Dr. Cheryl Carmin, Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety and Phobia. Dr. Markway went on to write two other books for those suffering from shyness and social anxiety, Painfully Shy and Nurturing the Shy Child. In addition to her writing, she maintained a clinical practice in a number of settings, from outpatient mental health clinics to private practice.
Dr. Markway has helped thousands of people build confidence and accomplish things they never dreamed possible, and I can’t think of a better guide for you in your own journey to self-confidence.
I wish you well on this journey.
Teresa Flynn, PhD
Psychologist and Author
Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri