I once went for a training program on personal motivation spanning a 5 day period. It was quite an extensive session. Seeing as the subject is a difficult one, requiring people to reflect and notice factors surrounding theirs lives, it required that many days to allow people to 'see' it which would not be possible if the course was any shorter.
What I noticed was in a training room with around 150 participants of varying background and age, most had a problem with self confidence.
I also noticed that almost everyone who wanted to be more confident thought that it was like a special 'pill' they could consume and Voila! they suddenly become that irresistible confident person.
Of course there were other issues too, but at the end of the day, too many people had too many issues which clouded their own self preventing them from making any progress in life, or at least prevented them from seeing their own progression in life. In most cases, it would be as a result of them comparing themselves with others.
Lucky for myself, I never had deep issues like some of the participants as I realized from my own experiences that you make your own in life. But many asked me how I was confident with myself?
The answer is simple (in essence) but the action requires us to be brave. Meaning, we have to be prepared to accept the consequences of our actions. The simple illustration would be that many had things to say but failed to put up their hand to contribute by sharing their experiences with other participants. Why? Because they were afraid to say something stupid or that they will stammer and freeze when the microphone is placed in their hands…
Now, confidence (for the purpose of this explanation) is not something anyone can give anyone else. It is something everyone has to work on individually to build up. They have to first be brave enough to raise their hand. Secondly, to train themselves to remain calm to 'share'…. it may not work out the first time and definitely should not stop from doing it again. I must also say that when I put my hand up, my heart races and I can hear it beating in my own ears and when picked to share, I almost get dizzy and all thoughts come out at once… all the rehearsed speech disappears and I am faced with the participants stares at me… my voice appears to come out of somewhere else and it is almost horrible.
Next, some may like what I have to say, some may question what I have to say, some may not understand what I was trying to say.. so, I have to reason with myself that I am sharing my experience. Hence, it is not about what other have experienced and the benchmark is me, not others. Nothing there to say who is right or who is wrong. Only, experience of others may give you a different outlook and perhaps give you an idea of a different way to approach a similar issue in the future.
Building up confidence and self worth is a slow process. But you have to be firm with your beliefs and not to be swayed by what you think others might think.
Hope it helps...

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