In today’s competitive world, where several things are equal, it is the smaller, softer attributes that give an individual a slight edge over the others, whether it is for a career, for recruitment, for admissions into a reputed institute or mere social acceptance.

Presenting a series of byte sized articles that discuss how we can be that individual that has a ‘certain something’.

Are you your most favourite person? The most essential beginning to having that ‘certain something’ is to be able to answer ‘yes’ to that question. You have to be your own favourite – be sold on yourself.

Being sold on yourself comes down to this: you must be aware of your own self-worth. This means you believe in yourself, have faith in yourself, have confidence in yourself, and like yourself.

Here are a couple of tips that may help you be sold on yourself:

Ask yourself - What is it about you that would make you want to be friends with yourself? We have several strengths and attributes that we often take for granted, or just don’t attach enough importance to or – even worse – don’t even realize we possess. If you have even some of what’s in the list below, you have a right to feel good about yourself! Go on, get that pen out, and check, after careful thought, which of these apply to you…

• I have an internal locus of control; getting "okayness" from within.
• I take care of myself — physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
• I maintain a balance between extremes of thought, feeling and behaviour; when out-of-balance, take action to correct.
• I learn from mistakes and am able to say, "I made a mistake, I’m sorry."
• I manage my life responsibly.
• I honour individual differences among people.
• I listen to other points of view.
• I take responsibility for my own perceptions, actions and reactions; don’t project onto others.
• I listen to my intuition or my conscience, and to act on this guidance.
• I know my strengths and weaknesses.

Come up with a list of five good things your friends would say to describe you.

See, that was easy, wasn’t it?

Bask in being sold on yourself, and watch this space for Part Two – Self Confidence, please, NOT Arrogance.