Self-belief – Having faith in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals will help you stop giving your power away through self-doubt.
Courage – A belief in your ability to navigate challenges, and trust in your capacity to overcome adversity, will increase your motivation to take action.
Optimism – When you believe in your ability to achieve your desired outcomes, your confidence grows.
Integrity – A sense of wholeness comes from overcoming internal contradictions. When you experience internal integration, no parts of you will sabotage your success.
Determination – You can develop the willpower and the internal resolve you need to work toward your goals.

For most people, negative conditioning that occurred in their formative childhood years has caused their self-confidence to plummet. For example, if your parents didn’t support your goals, or if you faced bullying or discrimination when you were growing up, these influences might have prompted you to internalize a poor self-image

Take ownership of your strengths and weaknesses from a place of self-love.
Self-confidence has three pillars: aspiration, awareness and action. Start building all three. To develop aspiration, begin by identifying and taking ownership of your strengths.

Reflect on the things you seem to be able to do more easily than other people. Consider which activities help you enter a state of flow most naturally, and what strengths you draw on when you navigate adversity. Ask your friends what they think your strongest qualities are.

Next, confront your weaknesses – the areas in life where you struggle most. Accept your limitations, and work on strengthening your skills from a place of confidence and self-love. As you get to know yourself better and discover what you desire most, your life will begin to transform.

To write a powerful new life narrative, move from self-discovery to self-design.

To create a new identity, you’ll need to tell yourself a new story so many times that you build a confirmation bias affirming this new story. As you accept the new story, your everyday actions will begin to align with the new narrative. Start telling yourself a new, more desirable story about yourself, and placing your belief in this new narrative.

To design your new self, you’ll need a clear vision of the person you want to become. Pay attention to any characters in film and culture that inspire you, and reflect on the archetypes they embody. For example, if you enjoy watching Rocky Balboa movies, ask yourself what qualities Rocky displays that you’d like to have yourself – for example, his self-belief and mental toughness.

Consider choosing a powerful symbol or archetype to represent your desired character. For example, if you aspire to be a leader, you might choose to identify with the universal archetype of the queen or king. This archetype will remind you to display values of wisdom, leadership and decisiveness.

Choose power words that express your own character and aspirations, and then commit to practicing each one.

Also, choose words that reflect your desired way of life, such as “lifelong learner,” “storyteller” or “bon vivant.” Write these words down and treat them as a blueprint for your new self. By consistently taking action that aligns with your blueprint, you’ll transform your life from the inside out.

If your current life is full of unbearable suffering, you may find you have no choice but to release the past and move forward.

Stop blaming others for your life’s challenges and, instead, focus on taking ownership of the life you’re designing.