Build up the Confidence to Study

Building up the courage to get further qualifications can be tough. However, when you make the effort to gain confidence, the rewards can be awesome!  

Most of us wish we had more confidence. Even people who look like they've got it all together sometimes have moments of self-doubt. It's difficult to stay on top of your game all day long, year round. It can be even more difficult when you're making major life-changing decisions, such as returning to study.  

It's important to remember that you've got one life, and it’s yours. Here are some tips to help you make the most of it.  

Have a Positive Approach 

Get the confidence to study by taking a positive approach to every single day. Take a look at your strengths and appreciate them. We've all got something about ourselves that we can be proud of. Sometimes we just need to be honest about it. Rather than being self-deprecating, it's ok to admit that you have some strong skills. Whether that can be good organisation, time management, something very job-specific or even personality-related, focus on your strengths and make sure you recognise them.  

Part of taking a positive approach to daily life is understanding where your weaknesses are. If you lack self-confidence, it's okay to admit that! Try and understand why. You don't have to change today – but understanding something is the first step to changing it. It's important to understand that no matter what your position is in life, you can improve it. With a little bit of hard work and honesty, we can all improve our station in life.  

Practice Preparation and Time Management 

With adequate preparation, you can achieve anything. When you begin study, you're going to discover that good preparation is an amazing boost to your knowledge retention abilities. If you've already read a text book or lecture slides before a lesson or tutorial, you'll be able to focus on slightly more advanced concepts because you won't be hearing all of the material for the first time.  

Even if you have no idea what you're reading or preparing for, just getting your eyes across something can have a huge impact on your understanding of the subject matter. Of course, adequate preparation is absolutely the key to successfully passing exams and getting high marks in assignments.  

Time management is another skill that is worth practising. Even if you ultimately make the decision not to pursue study, good time management skills can set you up for a very successful career. By staying ahead of the game and ensuring you've got all bases covered, you can avoid stress and excel in life.  

Time management and preparation are both major contributors to gaining the confidence to study. When you know what you need to do, and how to go about it, it can be far less stress-inducing than if you have no idea what to do.  

Have Clear Goals 

Goals are important for anything in life, but they are especially important for studying. If you're lacking the confidence to study, then sit down and write down exactly why you want to study. How do you think it will benefit you? Where do you want to be in five years and how does studying contribute to that plan?  

Once you've got clear goals, it's time to develop an action plan. If your goal is to gain the confidence to study, then you need to write down the steps that will get you there. These steps might be very basic, such as talking to one stranger per day. They might be more advanced, like taking a free online course in the field that you want to study. Whatever the steps are, it's important that you literally write them down on paper and physically tick them off when you achieve them. This provides the brain with a little boost of endorphins, which will help increase your confidence in the long term.  

One of the most simple and most effective tips towards gaining confidence is simply saying that you want to. Write down on a piece of paper that you want to be more confident. Once you've done that, follow through on your action plan, then write down "I am more confident". It might sound a little silly, but these are steps that genuinely work.  

Celebrate the Little Wins 

Acknowledge your victories. If you pulled off a project at work, or your manager said you did a good job, or you managed to organise a great night out with your friends – celebrate it. Give yourself a pat on the back, and say "good work".  

Celebrating small goals is a great way to get used to winning. Build up your confidence by telling yourself that you're a winner. It doesn't matter how small, as long as you've genuinely succeeded at something – celebrate it!  

Talk to People 

Talking to people, whether strangers, acquaintances or friends, is a great way to get yourself out there and become more confident in your own skin. Chat to different people every day and try to cover off a few different topics. Over time, you'll become far more confident in social situations and more able to approach new things with ease.  

There are a couple of other major benefits to talking to people – you can build up a support network for when the going gets tough, and you learn to handle rejection. Both of these will come in very handy during study or later in life when you’re advancing your career.

The key to gaining the confidence to study is having faith in yourself. You know you can do it, so just remove the things standing in your way. Take the time to appreciate yourself, and make sure that you never stop developing your skills and abilities.  

With time, you'll realise that you never had anything to worry about!  

Get in touch with us to have a chat about your options. We’ll help you plan out your career path and get where you want to be.