Building Self-Confidence

Develop the self-confidence you deserve!

From the quietly confident doctor whose advice we rely on, to the star-quality confidence of an inspiring speaker, self-confident people have qualities that everyone admires. Jack Welch once said: “Confidence gives you courage and extends your reach. It lets you take greater risks and achieve far more than you ever thought possible” (Capitalism Magazine, 2002). This powerfully conveys the enormous role self-confidence plays in achieving greater success in whatever you do.

Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so many people struggle to find it. Sadly, this can be a vicious circle: People who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful. After all, would you instinctively want to back a project that was being pitched by someone who was nervous, fumbling and overly apologetic? On the other hand, you might be persuaded by someone who spoke clearly, who held their head high, who answered questions assuredly, and who readily admitted when he/she did not know something.

Self-confident people inspire confidence in others: Their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. Gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success.

The good news is that self-confidence really can be learned and built on. And, whether you’re working on your own self-confidence or building the confidence of people around you, it’s worth the effort! All other things being equal, self-confidence is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful.

What’s Up with Sugar?

Aside from our preference for sweetened foods, why has sugar dominated the food market to such an extent? It is conveniently cheap and effective. There are three important aspects of the convenience of sugar usage, whether it is as sucrose, corn syrup, or dextrose (obtained from corn), which have helped to establish its inexorable presence in today’s food supply.

1. Refined syrups and sugars can be stored for long periods and they are not subject to spoilage. In fact, they can help to retard growth of some microorganisms. A can of soda can stay on a shelf for months without the loss of taste. A sweetened fruit beverage can be kept in a refrigerator for weeks without a change in quality. Can you say the same thing about milk? How about fresh orange juice? Refined sugars and syrups can be frozen, heated, and mixed at room temperatures without a change of properties. Therefore, sugar can be added to any processed food, even from a sugar bowl, without harming the taste of any food. A frozen dinner when cooked will not lose its content of sugar. A bottled sauce poured over a baking roast will not lose its flavor. A packet of sugar added to iced tea or hot coffee would still be sweet. Catsup, mayonnaise, salad dressing, peanut butter, pickles, ice cream and bread will still hold their sweetness. Long-term storage is not a deterrent to sugar consumption.

2. Sugar is cheap. Any food product containing lots of sugar or corn syrup is of relatively low cost by weight and by calories compared to other flavoring products. Everyone wants to eat well, but most times food selections are based on price or taste. Usually the lower the price, the higher the sugar content. Unfortunately, this leads to improper food purchases that are not based on nutrient or caloric value. It also has led to purchase choices of sweetened food products over natural foods.

3. Sugar gives foods texture. It helps to impart bulk to baking products. It creates a smoothness to foods and beverages without any negative aftertaste. Sugar helps to brown microwaveable foods and make them more colorful. Sugar can also disguise the presence of fats in food. Ever try eating a really plain donut without any sugar glaze? Which feels smoother? Ever eat a plain bagel? It’s smoother than a very plain donut, right? Well, a bagel has lots more sugar in it. A lot of tomatoes go into a jar of tomato sauce. What keeps the sauce from tasting too acidic after long storage? Yes, it’s sugar to the rescue. What keeps canned foods so palatable? That’s right. It’s added sugar.

These three reasons have given the boost to an industry-wide acceptance of sugar. This is why it can be found in practically every processed food.

What Are Some Bad Things For My New Tattoo?

SAUNA OR STEAMROOM

Once it is healed, there is very little that will screw up a tattoo. The one exception is prolonged exposure to sunlight. (the other is scarring, but that is patently obvious).

SUNLIGHT

Well, unfortunately it is. The newer inks are better at resisting fading but whatever you do, if you spend lots of time in bright sunlight your tats will fade (over a lifetime, not over a week). Best to try and keep them out of bright sunlight. No one wants to become a cave dweller just to keep their tats looking good, so just use some common sense. Think of your tat as an investment--slather on that sunblock so it doesn’t turn into a dark blob.

Our culture has erroneously labeled the tan as healthy. Did you know that your tan is your skin’s way of dealing with the damage caused by the sun? It’s like the formation of a scab when you have a cut. You will pay for your years of sun exposure when you are in your 40s and 50s.

Leathery, wrinkled, dry skin with freckles and liver spots. Melanoma. Skin cancer. Regular visits to the dermatologist. Like I say, “There’s no such thing as a healthy tan!” Take it from a Hawaii local! I’ve seen my share of melanoma here, and they’re not even from surfers or beach bunnies!

Some people have gotten angry at me about this, telling me that they have a seasonal disorder that requires them to get some sun. A little bit of sun is okay (and it gives you a dose of Vitamin D). But all you need is a few minutes’ worth. Tanning booths are not good for you! They are not regulated by the FDA, and the staff that work at these salons have been known to give out patently false information.

Many salon operators will suggest dosages far exceeding industry recommendations, and the FDA would actually prefer that these booths be banned altogether. Do not believe the salon operators who tell you there is NO damage caused by their UV rays. There are indications that tanning booths emit rays that cause the type of damage that only shows up years later, when it is difficult to fault any one operator. Their industry motto is “tan safe.” There is no such thing as a SAFE tan, folks. Sorry.

Getting ''INKED'- Medical conditions that preclude from getting a tattoo

Are there any medical conditions that will preclude me from getting a tattoo?

If you have hemophilia. There is even a case of a man who was HIV positive who got a tattoo--if you are HIV+ however, you will want to inform the artist, since it’s the artist that is at more risk than you. [In the case of the HIV+ man, he was John Baldetta, a former nursing assistant at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, who got a tat on his forearm that said “HIV Positive.” He was suspended for three days without pay and told he could return if he covered up the tat. He refused and was subsequently fired, although he was not an RN and was not doing anything that would put patients at risk.]

However, it is best to let the artist know if you have ANY medical condition, such as diabetes or epilepsy, in case of an emergency. If you have multiple allergies, you can always have the artist do a “patch test” on you with the colors you want prior to returning for a regular tattoo. This is similar to patch tests done for perms and hair coloring, and will help you determine if your body will react to some of the pigments. Also, it is generally not considered a good idea to tattoo pregnant women.