Build Your Brilliance

Move from ordinary to extraordinary.

One of my favorite Broadway songs is, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend which was introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

Like each of you, no two diamonds are alike. Every diamond is a miracle of time. The formation of a natural diamond under the Earth's crust can be anywhere from under 1 billion years to more than 3.3 billion years. Building your personal brilliance is similar to the formation of a natural diamond; it takes time and is a life-long process.

The word diamond comes from the Greek word "adamas", meaning indestructible. Building confidence helps you to become strong and indestructible when faced with challenges, daily hassles and life altering events. It helps you to be resilient and capable of accessing your strengths and assets when managing stress.

Brilliance is defined as great brightness; radiance, excellence; or exceptional talent. Like the definition, you can discover your brightness. The first step to building personal brilliance and increasing confidence is to accept change as a constant in life. 

Altering negative behaviors creates the opportunity for excellence and personal growth. Most of life’s significant lessons are learned through change. Allow change to empower you by viewing it as freedom not fear. Change forces you out of your ‘comfort zone’ and provides you the opportunity to stretch yourself. When you make positive lifestyle change you become stronger and more brilliant.  

The development of self-efficacy is the next step to building brilliance. Self-efficacy is to have confidence in your ability to perform and carry out change effectively. It is a predictor of success.  

Accountability for your actions is the third step. With every thought and action there are consequences. Learning to accept the consequences of your behavior builds confidence, brightness and increases personal self-esteem.  

The fourth step is to live well and be healthy. Manage stress, eat healthy foods, exercise and get enough sleep top the list of living well. You perform better at daily tasks if you are healthy. Put minor stressors into perspective, focus on the positive aspects of your life, self-monitor your behavior in regards to exercise, healthy eating habits and if necessary improve your sleep routine.

The fifth step to building your brilliance is to appraise your perceptions daily. Perceptions are the cognitive interpretations of people, things and events in your world.  Choose to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Be your own best friend. Recognize that you control more than you may think. Do not spend your time controlling others; it is a waste of time and energy. Strike a balance; you are neither in complete control of everything, nor are you without any control. 

Finally, you are what you think. See yourself as brilliant and confident!

 

The Empowerment Project    www.vikkicarrel.com