The best way to build confidence is by taking action. Taking the first step towards a big goal boosts self-esteem and gives us clarity on whether this is the right goal or not.

One of my favorite quotes is by Marie Forleo, founder of B-School and Marie TV, “Clarity comes from engagement not thought.”

This is true for building confidence and achieving goals as well. In order to increase confidence and achieve your goal, you have to take action, not just think about taking action.

So many of us get stuck in analysis paralysis. We research the heck out of something, make pros and cons lists, and go back and forth in our minds for days without ever getting one step closer to our goal. We keep looking for signs that now is the right time to start this new project or move to this new city.

 But those signs never come. We stay stuck exactly where we are. No closer to our dream and our confidence dwindles with each day.

I say this not to be harsh, but because I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to desperately want a dream but lacking the confidence to actually go for it. I spent hours researching how to start a blog, before I finally took the leap and made a big commitment to start Chasing Sunday Pancakes.

Taking action is the most important step in your confidence building journey. In my post on incorporating quick wins into your schedule to build confidence, I went over how important it is to gain momentum towards a goal.

Making an immediate big commitment is about taking action like quick wins, but it will require a lot more of your faith. Immediate big commitments aren’t for a quick boost of confidence to get through your day. This is for people who are serious about reaching their goal and are ready to take the first big step.

Are you ready?

Let’s dive in.

Read More: Build Confidence this Summer by Challenging Yourself to Set One Fun, New Goal

Making an immediate big commitment towards your goal gives you surge of momentum. When you make that commitment you conquer one of your biggest challenges to achieving your dream.

You’ve officially gotten out of analysis paralysis stage. Yay! That’s huge!

You’re no longer in the thinking stage. You’re now in the action stage and this is where the magic truly happens. This is where your momentum continues to grow, and your confidence starts to soar as you see you’re really getting closer to your goal.

Most people never get past the thinking stage, and they will think themselves to death without ever taking one step towards their dream. But not you!

Making an immediate big commitment is a big step towards increasing confidence. It takes a leap of faith and belief in yourself to take this step.

Already showing yourself that you believe in you will quickly build your confidence. You have someone in your corner who thinks you can really do this. And that person is you.

*If you want to gain more confidence in just one week, subscribe to my newsletter to receive your FREE copy of the 7-Day Confidence Building Workbook*

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Read More: 49 Quotes to Inspire and Motivate You to Build Confidence 

The first step in making an immediate big commitment is using Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule.

This is a fantastic way to stop your overthinking, scared brain from talking you out of something that you really want.

Our brains are wired to save us from potential danger including risks and anything that causes us fear. It’s not your brain’s fault it talks you out of going after your goal. It’s trying to protect you, but that’s not going to help you reach your dream and build confidence.

You have to beat your brain to the finish line on making a decision before it can even open its mouth.

You give yourself only 5 seconds to make a decision that you know will get you one step closer to your goal.

Count out 5 seconds right now. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That’s not much time to decide. Which is why it’s the best way to make a decision for all of us indecisive people.

It puts the pressure on us just enough to take action and decide what we’re going to do without giving ourselves time to overthink.

Read More: 11 Books That Build More Confidence and Keep You Motivated to Reach Your Goals

For example, say you see an ad for a Craftsy cookie baking class that you know would help you start your own at home bakery. Normally you would stare at that ad for several, long seconds while your brain comes up with every reason why you shouldn’t take the class. Maybe you add it to your save for later section. You scroll past the ad as your brain tells you maybe you can sign up for it later. Throughout the next few days, you look at the ad and go to Craftsy website, but you don’t make a decision telling yourself you’ll decide later. But you know you never will.

(Side note: If you want to try Craftsy especially for baking they have this free class on baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or you can also sign up for free 30 Day Trial)

Now give yourself only 5 seconds to decide to sign up for the class. 1, click on the ad to go the Craftsy website. 2, scroll through the website to where it says Sign Up Now. 3, enter in your information to register for a membership. 4, click the complete form button. 5, see the congratulations you’re in page as a rush of excitement floods you!

Doesn’t option 2 sound way better?

Instead of scrolling past while you contemplate signing up or not, you took the first step in getting closer to your home bakery business dream!

Get as far down the path of making an immediate big commitment as you can in that 5 seconds. Going further signals to your brain you’re really doing this, and it would be easier to continue forward than to turn back.

When I first wanted to start my blog, I kept going back and forth about it in my mind. I researched and studied for several weeks, but none of that got me closer to starting my blog.

I finally realized I needed to make a big commitment to this blog if it was ever going to work out. I had already signed up for a starting a blog class that was free. At first it was going over picking out names and branding, which was fun but didn’t make me feel committed to starting a blog.

Then it came to the part of the class that was about actually setting up the WordPress site. I went to Bluehost and saw how much it would cost to start a self-hosting blog. Before I could talk myself out of it, I used the 5 Second Rule and signed up for Bluehost and paid for a year long plan.

I sat back and looked at the confirmation page thinking, “Wow, that just happened! There’s no going back now. I have a blog!”

Making this immediate big commitment not only increased my belief in myself, but it also gave me clarity on my goal of starting a blog.

*If you want to gain more confidence in just one week, subscribe to my newsletter to receive your FREE copy of the 7-Day Confidence Building Workbook*

Seeing that confirmation page made me excited. I realized how badly I wanted my own blog and how hard I would work at getting it to be successful. Remember, clarity (and confidence) comes from engagement, not thought.

Also making this big commitment in signing up for Bluehost got my momentum rolling. It encouraged me to finish the class and set up my WordPress site. When I saw my site, I was excited to start writing posts for it. Reading my posts made me want to make pins for Pinterest for them. Seeing the slow growth of traffic to my blog made me want to keep making it better and gain even more traffic.

This all happened because of a 5 second decision. For me investing money into my blog and signing up for a year plan committed me to this dream of having my own blog.

Your immediate big commitment to your goal could be anything. Ask yourself “what will make me feel invested in and committed to this goal?”

It could be signing up for a membership to Craftsy to learn how to make chocolate or watercolor paint. It could be signing up for a class on Udemy on website design or photography or stock market investing. It could also be filling out a home loan prequalification form. Or sending out your resume and cover letter for your dream job.  Or it could be signing up for a club. It could be committing to building your confidence by downloading my 7 Day Confidence Building Workbook.

Your immediate big commitment could be anything as long as it does not put you in jeopardy. Don’t do anything to risk your health or get into a bad financial situation. There are countless opportunities out there for immediate big commitments that don’t involve money.

Right now, ask yourself “what will make me feel invested in and committed to this goal?”

When you have your answer, give yourself only 5 seconds to decide what you’re going to do. Never leave the decision making moment without making a concrete decision. Even if you decide not to do it, make it solid, not wishy washy like “maybe I’ll do it later.” Be honest and tell yourself “I’ve decided to not do this.”  

After making your immediate big commitment celebrate yourself! You just got yourself one step closer to being more confident and achieving your dream.

Confidence comes from the willingness to act or to try. And you just did that. You took action.

Let me know in the comments what immediate big commitment you made to get yourself one step closer to your dream and build your confidence.