Editor’s Note: Cyn is offering a free Masterclass on Wed. June 12. See her offer at end of the article.

Maxwell Maltz said, “you can never outperform your self-image.”

Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon in the 1960’s and he noticed that some of his patients couldn’t see any improvement in their appearance after he corrected a scar or harelip. This group of patients would still see themselves as marred.

Maltz studied this phenomenon and discovered that self-image and self-esteem come from inside of us. Our self-image is akin to an internal thermostatic set point – it regulates how much good and success we let into our lives. Therefore, we can never be more successful than our current self-image.

The question then becomes, how can we raise our self-image to allow for more good or success in our lives?

 Today, I’d like to share three ways we can start to raise our self-image or our confidence.

The first thing we need to do is to stop negative self-talk. All of us have that inner self-critic to one degree or another. It’s not a kind voice. To stop this contractive voice, we must first be aware of it. We can do this by developing the skill of noticing what we’re noticing. Each of us have background messages, or what I call “wallpaper thoughts,” that are influencing us. Once we become aware that these are happening, we can change them. Our awareness can stop our inner critic.

Another way to increase our self-image is to use our mental faculty of imagination. If we were to imagine that we have already accomplished all that we truly desire: we have the level of success we want, we are in the best physical shape of our lives, or we have the love relationship that we dream of… how would we feel? Pretty good, right?




Right now, pick one goal you would like to accomplish before the end of this year. Do you have one in mind? Imagine it’s Dec 31, 2024. You are with your favorite people, toasting with your favorite beverage, and celebrating the fact that you accomplished this goal. Imagine you are holding up your glass saying, “I did it, I did it! I accomplished it!”

Now, how are you feeling? More confident? Secure? Happy? Memorize this feeling. Use this feeling to increase your self-image. Tell yourself, I am that person now.

A third way we can increase our self-image is to use what I call the “best friend practice.” When we feel that we made a mistake or could have done things better, we’re often hard on ourselves. Imagine your best friend shared that in a business meeting they forgot everything they were going to say. You wouldn’t say, “You idiot, you’re always screwing up!” You might say, “I’m sure everyone understood and has been there themselves at one time.” You would be kind and loving.

Talk to yourself as you would your best friend. When our best friends have a mishap, we would never beat them up emotionally or tell them that they made a big mistake. We would be caring and help them put it into perspective.

Just as we would take care of our friends, we also want to extend kindness to ourselves. One way to do this is to praise ourselves. When we praise something, we raise it up. Notice the word raise is in the word praise. Start to praise yourself often.

To increase our results, we can raise up our self-image and confidence by…

1. Stopping negative self-talk.
2. Using our imagination to feel like the person who has the success we want.
3. Remembering the best friend practice: treat ourselves as we would our best friend.

There is a great anonymous quote that says, “It’s not who you think you are that holds you back, but who you think you aren’t.”

 Let’s starting thinking and knowing who we really are.

Would you like to have more confidence in who you are and what you’re capable of, so you can increase your results?

If you ever feel like an imposter, have self-doubt, question yourself, or hold yourself back for fear of failure – and it’s affecting your job, business, health, or relationships; or holding you back from stepping into something new and exciting –
then please join me for a FREE Masterclass: Increase Your Confidence to Increase Your Results.

I’ll give you proven strategies for stopping your self-doubt and fear so you can have the confidence that will carry you toward your dream and bigger life.

Get the details here!  https://cynhannah.com/increase/