The 4-Step One-Minute Habit for Increased Confidence

Picture this: I’m the global service business manager for our company’s consumer products. The company had released a software update for one of our consumer products just before the peak holiday sales season… that totally bombed.

We had about four weeks’ warning before the post-Christmas support calls were going to hit us. The training program to bring on new tech support agents… six weeks.

We put in a phone tree to divert as many non-software related calls as we could to other teams.

We recruited literally everyone we could think of. Every technical person in the company. Every technical person our outsourced vendors could free up for us. We fast-tracked the bare minimum training we could get away with. And we put them all on the phones. My husband, a computer engineer, was even drafted.

And still, hold times for our customers hit well over two hours for several weeks in a row.

Nothing we did was enough, and it was a disaster of epic proportions.

And the CEO of our Fortune 500 company wanted answers.

Talk about a crisis of confidence… I knew I’d done the best I could to provide as much support as we were able to muster… but I also knew our customers had suffered.

And now I was heading into a conference room with roughly 10 company VPs and C-suite people… to provide the post-mortem and share my recommendations for how we avoid such things in future (like… uh… NOT doing a software update right before our peak selling season).

Oof!

It’s easy to allow fear or worry to impact your ability to function in high-pressure situations. To allow your brain to check out and be overcome with emotion.

But there is an easy, relatively quick technique you can use to get your brain back online and get a rope around your emotions. And if you make a habit of practicing it, you’ll actually change the way you respond to these kinds of situations right from the start.

The Science Behind Confidence and Habit Formation

Confidence isn’t just a personality trait — it’s a mindset that can be trained like a muscle.

Tiny, consistent habits create long-lasting changes in brain patterns.

Research shows that body language, self-talk, visualization, and celebration all play a role in confidence.

The One-Minute Habit to Boost Confidence Instantly

Step 1: Power Posture (15 seconds)

You may have heard of or seen Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on improving your confidence with a power pose. The physical shift in your body causes your brain to believe you’re feeling more confident… even if you’re not.

What does a Power Pose look like? Stand with your arms wide, hands on hips. Or sit with a strong, open posture: shoulders back, chin up, feet firmly planted.

Strike this post for 15 seconds or so.

Step 2: The ‘Confidence Anchor’ (20 seconds)

Before you get into the situation where you NEED the confidence, create a confidence anchor.

Close your eyes and recall a moment when you felt powerful, successful, or in control.

Re-live the experience – the sights, smells, sounds… as much about it as you can remember. And then allow the feeling it’s created to roll through every cell in your body. Really FEEL.

Then anchor that feeling by pushing your thumb and index finger together. Or pinching the skin on the back of your hand… something easy to do.

The concept is that you’ll be able to re-feel that moment when you use your anchor. You should be able to actually feel the power, success, and control roll through your body again.

You do need to practice this a few times when you first create the anchor. I’ll talk more about how and why that works in a moment.

I have an anchor I created at least five years ago that I’ve used so many times, I literally can push my thumb and middle finger together and feel the wave of self-confidence roll through my body.

So then, as step 2 when you’re heading into a situation where you need a confidence boost, strike your pose, then use your anchor to flood your body with confidence.

Step 3: The Power Phrase (20 seconds)

Choose a power phrase that resonates with you:

• “I am capable and strong.”
• “I’ve got this.”
• “I lead with confidence and clarity.”

Say it out loud (or in your mind) with conviction.

Step 4: Celebrate (5 seconds)

Every time you remember to practice this habit and every time you use this process, take a few seconds to celebrate that you did it. Give yourself a hug. Smile at yourself in the mirror. Do a little jig.

Per BJ Fogg, in Tiny Habits, celebrating doing your habits floods your body with endorphins… and encourages you to keep doing that because it feels good.

How to Make This a Daily Habit

• Stack it onto an existing habit – do this before an important meeting, in the car before work, or as part of your morning routine.
• Use a reminder – a sticky note, phone alarm, or trigger (like adjusting your watch) can cue the habit.
• Repeat daily – the more often you practice, the faster your brain will associate the habit with instant confidence.

Confidence is Built One Moment at a Time

Even if you’re generally a pretty confident person, you’re likely to need a little boost once in a while.

This one-minute habit, done consistently, can rewire your brain for confidence over time.

Challenge: Try it every day for the next week and notice how your confidence changes!

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