Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have HER Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. HER Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, handling hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career and life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside HER Collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. I believe that confidence is the one key ingredient that you need to have in order to smash glass ceilings. If you've ever felt held back by self doubt, if you feel like an imposter, or you feel like you're always striving for perfection, this episode is for you. And I don't know about you, but I have most definitely had my own experiences with low levels of confidence, and it's definitely held me back. So today, I'm gonna explore the top three scientifically backed ways to boost your confidence and unleash your true potential.

Erica: So let's dive in. You are listening to the podcast, a podcast that empowers women to get seen, get heard, and get promoted. I'm your host, Erica Rooney, and I've made it my mission to help you break free from the sticky floors, those limiting beliefs, and toxic behaviors, to bust through the glass ceiling. I'm obsessed with all things growth and abundance, and I'm here to talk you through the tried and true secrets to get you to level up your career and your life. We talk about the hard stuff here.

Erica: Imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, and burnout. So pull up a seat and pop in an earbud, and let's talk about confidence. So confidence as we know it is the key that unlocks our capabilities and has the ability to drive us towards success. Now the question has been asked for decades, is confidence hardwired into our DNA? Is it genetic?

Erica: Can you learn it? Now the good news is psychologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists all agree. It is something that you can build. It is not a fixed psychological state, but I wanna be clear. I am all about some affirmations, but you are not going to build confidence by reciting different affirmations.

Erica: Like I am amazing or I'm so beautiful. You're just not going to, you're not going to cultivate it by telling yourself positive thoughts. Like you're a perfect human just as you are, if you don't believe it. You're also not gonna find it by faking it, which totally debunks the whole fake it till you make it saying, which I honestly can't stand anyways.

Erica: So, how do you build confidence? And the answer lies in the remarkable field of neuroscience, which has shed a light on the brain's plasticity, the ability to change itself and literally rewire itself, and how we can harness this power to build unshakable confidence. Now I want to kick it off by starting with a confidence building technique that is about embracing a growth mindset. Research by psychologist Carol Dweck has shown that when you adopt a growth mindset, which is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed, that leads to increased confidence and resilience.

Erica: So, how do you go about embracing a growth mindset? Now, if you're struggling with believing that you can keep learning and growing, I want you to pick a skill, any skill. This can be learning a new language, skateboarding, or watercolor painting, whatever you want. And I want you to get started in whatever way makes sense. If it's learning a new language, download one of those language apps like Babbel and start learning one new word a day.

Erica: If it's skateboarding, watch a YouTube video on skateboarding for beginners. If it's watercolor painting, sign up for a class. Just do something. The point is if you do something small and you get started, you can build upon that. What keeps us from believing we can develop these skills is we look at these people who are fluent in another language, and we think, God, I'm never gonna be fluent. Or we look at a skateboarder who can do some crazy trick where they're pulling their legs up on the side of their body and grabbing the skateboard without even falling when they land, and we say to ourselves, there's no way in hell I'll ever be able to do that.

Erica: But here's the real deal. If you start learning a new language today, just one word, you will have learned 365 new words this time next year. And I know that's basic math y'all, but 365 words in a foreign language is a lot. You have to stop comparing yourself to others who are so far ahead of you in their journey because everybody had to start somewhere. And today, this is your starting point.

Erica: The second way you can boost your confidence, that is again backed by science, because y'all know a girl loves science, is visualizing success. When you visualize success, you are tapping into the brain's powerful ability to simulate experiences. Neuroscientific studies have shown that mental imagery activates a similar neural pathway as the physical experience. So by vividly visualizing a successful outcome, we are priming our brain for future success, and we are boosting our confidence. So how can you apply this technique?

Erica: All you have to do is take a few minutes every single day to visualize yourself confidently tackling a challenge. And when you do all of this, I want you to engage your senses. Every single one of them, sight, sound. How does it make you feel? All of it.

Erica: Let your brain wire itself for confidence. Now I actually do this technique every single night. Once I put my book down, I close my eyes. And during those moments, right before I fall asleep, I imagine whatever it is that I have upcoming that is challenging, or even a goal that I haven't started acting on yet. Now I've done this for a few keynotes where I felt a little bit nervous about them.

Erica: And I just imagine, what is that gonna feel like when I walk up on the stage after my introduction? I think about what I'm gonna be wearing. I think about the bright lights in my face and how it will feel to deliver that keynote. I imagine the applause from the audience and I replay this and I get as detailed as possible every single night, so that when that real moment comes up, I'm ready to walk up on that stage with confidence. And then the final technique is to just take action.

Erica: Confidence is built, and it is built with each small risk that you take when you put yourself out there. Doctor Wendy Wood's work has shown that consistent action builds new neural pathways, which makes our behavior automatic over time. So if we take it back to the skill of learning a new language, if you set up a routine surrounding that, like practicing in the same place every time, at the same time of day with your favorite cup of tea, that's gonna reinforce the behavior, which then becomes a habit.

Erica: Now here's the thing when it comes to building confidence, taking small steps is crucial. Each time that we take action, we reinforce the belief that we are capable and that we are competent. And you know what? I'm gonna throw a fourth one in here for you that I think is so important. It's so special.

Erica: And it's just to celebrate every damn step that you take. Yes. Celebrate, because you got out of your comfort zone and you did the dang thing. And that is huge. And y'all know we do not celebrate our successes enough.

Erica: So that's a wrap, friends. Remember, building confidence is a journey and it requires consistent effort and practice. When you incorporate these techniques that we chatted about today into your daily life, you'll start to see those powerful shifts in your mindset and you will have this new sound belief in yourself. You have the power to rewire your brain. Never forget that you can create unshakable confidence and build new thresholds of success.

Erica: If you stop putting a ceiling on what is possible and start breaking through it. Thanks again for tuning in. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and all of the socials for more content and more tips on how to boost your confidence.