Are there times when you doubt yourself and your abilities? Have you missed out on opportunities because you felt you were not talented enough, lacked education or felt unattractive?

Time and time again, I coach people who have lots of talent and wonderful ability, yet for various reasons they are filled with self-doubt. They give up on their dreams, settle for less and become stuck in a rut due to lack of self-confidence. It is no wonder that those who lack self-confidence are less adventurous, get less out of life and always underachieve.

Having self-confidence is crucial to living a fulfilling life. It influences your success at work, your relationships with others and your performance in everything you do. Confident people have faith in themselves and their abilities and they believe that that they can have the best in life.

The good news is that confidence is a skill, it can be learned, and just like driving a car, it can become a habit. As you know, we don’t even have to think about our habits as they are part of us.

Apply the following 5 steps to greater self-confidence and you’ll soon notice positive changes:

Step 1 – Decide to Become Self-Confident
Write out the answer to the following two questions:

- What would your life be like if you were confident?
- What would self-confidence mean to you?

Based on your answer make a decision today to invest your time, effort and money in becoming self-confident. Read books about self-confidence, listen to confidence building audios, attend confidence building workshops and consult with a coach who specialises in confidence coaching.

Step 2 -Become More Self-Aware
Learn to develop an awareness of your unique individuality. When you know and understand yourself at a deeper level, you will have greater control over your thoughts, feelings and attitudes which in turn will help you build greater self-confidence.

Step 3 -Act with Confidence
If you want to feel confident; act with confidence. When you think confidently, walk confidently and talk confidently, it will easily and effortlessly become natural for you to be confident.

Step 4 -Use your Imagination
When you use your imagination to visualise yourself being confident, you are impressing very powerful images onto your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind stores images and the more you visualise yourself being confident the more it becomes part of our life. Whenever your subconscious mind accepts an idea, it immediately begins to execute it.

Step 5 – Belief in Yourself
It is not your actual abilities that determine what you can achieve but your belief in them. It is essential that you let go of limiting beliefs that hinder your progress and develop empowering ones that assist your development. Often we are like the fish that does not even realise it is in water. When you work with a coach you will identify and eliminate those limiting beliefs that hinder your progress.

In order to achieve what you want in life, you must develop your self-confidence. Begin today to create a new and confident you, that uses and values your talents and creates the life you want. Break free from self-doubt and learn to trust in yourself and your abilities. With greater self-confidence, you will feel inner strength, greater happiness and much more fulfilled. Begin today to sow the seeds of confidence and you will be amazed with the results and positive effects that ripple through all areas of your life.

When you get the quality sleep you need, your body is refreshed, your mind is clear, and you generally feel more optimistic about everything. When you are sleep-deprived, you become sluggish, less responsive and can even feel depressed. Lack of sleep is blamed for such ailments as depression, hypertension, irritability, slower reaction times, and tremors.

 REM (The Sleep Stage, Not the Band)

 REM stands for rapid eye movement and is a reference to the phase of deep sleep where the most restful zzz’s of the night occur. The brain and the body “refuel” during this crucial phase. You get to REM by cycling through four phases of sleep. Once in REM you generally spend an average of 15 minutes there. At the conclusion of this cycle, your brain is generally brought in reverse back to Phase 1, where you will once again slide back again towards another restful REM.

 Do Not Disturb

Sleep is most beneficial when undisturbed. If you’re startled and awoken from your sleep, you can’t pick up where you left off on the way to REM. You have to start all over again. That’s why it’s important to get as many full 90-minute cycles in as you can during the course of one night’s sleep. In fact, ironically, research has shown that if given the choice to either complete just two full cycles of deep sleep (three hours) or be woken up in the middle of your fourth cycle somewhere around five and a half hours of sleep…you would likely feel less groggy and more raring to go in the first scenario than the last.

 In the Cycle

Nine hours would represent six full sleep cycles and 90 minutes of REM. Cutting it shorter than that by even just an hour or staying in bed an extra hour would both lead to an interrupted cycle. Thinking of your sleeping pattern in terms of 90-minute cycles can simplify the formula. Need to sleep in on a rainy Sunday? Extend it to 7 full cycles, or 10 ½ hours. Got a night where you know you’re going to have to study

• Before exercise ? Hydration should begin at least two hours before exercise with 17 to 20 oz. of water or sports drink, followed by 7 to 10 oz. 10 to 20 minutes before exercise.
• During exercise ? Consume 7 to 10 oz. of water or sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes.
• After exercise ? Approximately 20 to 24 oz. of water or sports drink should be consumed per pound of body weight lost during the course, until two hours after exercise has finished.

– Bob Murray, Ph.D., FACSM, Director, Gatorade Sports Science Institute

Make your vitamin D supplement work even harder. Taking it with your biggest meal of the day boosts the vitamin’s absorption.

Not getting enough vitamin D? Instead of taking it on an empty stomach or with a light meal, down your vitamin D supplement with the biggest meal of the day. According to a recent study at the Cleveland Clinic, taking vitamin D with large meals can significantly boost its absorption. Researchers selected 17 men and women who had low levels of vitamin D, despite taking supplements, and instructed them to take their pill with their biggest meal. After two to three months, participants’ vitamin D levels had increased by 50%. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and some autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosis.

Clinical trials of vitamin D with calcium supplementation have demonstrated a benefit by reducing fractures related to osteoporosis. This is an evolving field of study with many more trials needed to show benefit or lack thereof as it relates to other conditions and diseases. Check with your doctor to find out if you should consider taking vitamin D supplements.

Congratulations to Mike Vorkapich, Tommy Hoke and Tim Wakeham on being names Master Strength and Conditioning Coaches by the CSCCa in early May. There are only 92 in the world. Michigan State now has four.

“I am extremely proud of Mike, Tim and Tommy for being honored with the Master Strength and Conditioning Coach designation,” Mannie said in an MSU release. “The MSCC is the highest recognition you can receive in our profession, and it serves as a testament to their experience, expertise, high standards and excellence at such early stages of their careers.”

Among the many benefits of USA Football Player Academies are the current and former NFL standouts who serve as keynote speakers. Eight-year NFL veteran Rocky Boiman is one of three who will be present in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Stay full for longer: Include protein and complex carbs in every meal and snack. Think peanut butter on toast or turkey-Swiss roll-ups.

When it comes to successful dieting, what you eat is just as important as how much you eat. That’s because the two often go hand in hand. Choosing foods with protein and fiber can help keep you fuller for longer, so you’ll be less likely to snack. Anything that takes a longer time to digest will move more slowly through your system, giving you sustained energy and satiety. As we all know, being overly hungry can make us grumpy, irritable, anxious — and prone to gargantuan snack attacks. Try to include some protein and complex carbohydrates in each meal and snack.