Confidence and self confidence meditation

This meditation voiced by Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe will help you to let go of the inner chatter, focus and find your place of quiet confidence.

Headspace’s 30-day meditation course on self-esteem (available only to subscribers) aims to move us toward a less judgmental inner life by creating space in our minds to observe our own negative and self-critical thinking. Broken out into three sets of 10 sessions, this confidence meditation course focuses on helping us to build three skills — noting, visualization, and awareness — in an effort to shift our perspective toward a place of "calm confidence." And it works! Scientific studies have shown 10 days of Headspace resulted in a 28% reduction in negative emotions and a 7.5% increase in satisfaction with life!

Everyone is different; preparing for a presentation for some people can be really stressful and for others very exciting. That said, as much as possible we need to find a place where we have a sense of balance. If we're too caught up in our mind, it doesn't really matter whether we're caught up in the excitement of it all or whether we’re caught up in a sense of anxiety or doubt or lack of confidence — whatever it might be — we're not really going to be able to focus one hundred percent on delivering the message as we'd like to. And it's really important. Being present allows us to connect with the people who we're delivering the message to. So, as much as possible finding a place where you can anchor the mind in the body both before and during the presentation is a really important skill. And that's what we focus on in the Headspace meditation on “Preparing for a Presentation” (below). Fear is probably the biggest barrier for most people when speaking in public or presenting. So in this sense, it is not the situation that is causing tension and anxiety, but rather our own mind and our perspective of the situation. Whether it is through expectations, fear of a particular outcome, or worrying what others will think; all of these aspects originate in the mind and not in the room. Ultimately, it can be our own thinking that gets in the way. When we get in our own way we complicate the otherwise simple task of speaking aloud and sharing a message. There also may be a tendency to “try to be like” someone else, perhaps mimicking accomplished speakers. However, every time we do this, it is a move away from our authentic self and who we really are.

“I would personally much rather sit and listen to someone share their message as themselves, vulnerable, open and honest, than watch someone try to perfect the perfect delivery and be focused more on that than the message itself,” said Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe. “Some of the best presentations and talks I’ve listened to, the ones that have really moved me, have not been by brilliant public speakers; in fact some of the people had never spoken in public before. But that’s what made them believable, it’s what conveyed the message they wanted to share so effectively and effortlessly, and it’s what touched the hearts and minds of the people in the audience.”

Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe voices this short meditation that can help you calm your nerves and truly connect with your audience. Find a place of quiet confidence with an exercise that anchors you to the moment and frees you to be 100% focused on holding the audience in the palm of your hand.

Headspace offers a 30-day self-esteem meditation course (available only to subscribers), focused on developing a new perspective on negative mental chatter and a less-judgmental inner life, by creating some space in your mind to observe negative and self-critical thinking. The idea is not to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Rather, it’s about seeing through the nature of thought altogether. It doesn’t matter what thoughts arise in the mind, we know that within ourselves is a place of clarity and quiet confidence that’s not affected by the internal or external world. These meditations train us to find that place, not only during practice, but also in everyday life. And if you’re looking for other types of meditation, explore all that Headspace has to offer, including meditations and courses covering everything from sleep, compassion, and sports to anger, stress, and more. Get started now!