Build your confidence - What are you going to change in yourself this year?

We hear all sorts of advice as to whether we should (or shouldn't) make New Year Resolutions. Apparently, it takes only three weeks before we all give up on them.  Is that true for you?

Could you do with some more confidence?

But, what if you really want to change? What if you could really do with some confidence?

We all know that deep down inside we're just as good as the next person but when the time comes to step outside the comfort of your own front door and face all those others who seem to brim over with the darned stuff, you feel small and inadequate and go right back to being someone who doesn't quite get you want.

It doesn't have to be that way at all. In fact, as Louise L. Hay says at the end of the first chapter of her most excellent book 'You can heal your life', (and I'm paraphrasing wildly here) you've tried un-confident and it didn't work, did it? So, why don't you try confident?

You will be judged by the way you look

Looking fabulous all the time will certainly go some way to increase your confidence about yourself. People judge you by how you look whether you like it or not so my advice is to make the very best impression that you possibly can. You will receive more courteous treatment the better that you are dressed. Just think of the way Julia Roberts' character was treated in the film 'Pretty Woman' when she tried to shop on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood while dressed like a lady of the night!

Job interviews

And if your plans for next year include improving your job prospects, then think on this for a moment - a prospective employer will want to hire you because you are well-dressed, which indicates to them that you are efficient, healthy and capable and, therefore, just what they are looking for!

Do you realize that by the time you have opened the door at an interview, walked in and held out your hand to shake theirs, the interviewer has already made his / her mind up about you? And that is all usually BEFORE you've said a word!

Now, don't get upset about this - because YOU do exactly the same to other people! It all happens at a subconscious level so you're probably not even aware that you're doing it.

First impressions

Studies have shown, 93% of a first impression is non-verbal. And people make their mind up about you within 30 seconds of meeting you.  Actually I believe they decide in 3 seconds and use the next 27 seconds to confirm their decision. They look at the overall impression that you create. They scan you up and down, trying to work out whether you look capable of doing the job.

They have already decided whether to offer you the job BEFORE you open your mouth.

If you were interviewing someone who looked pale and wan, or badly put together, would YOU want to employ them? No, of course not. You'd want the best person you could find for the job, someone who looks as though they will be in the office every single day, not off sick.

I have learned my lesson well. I understand all about the importance of first impressions and use it all the time to get what I want. And you can do exactly the same.

What do YOU want from life in 2014?

So, take a moment to consider. What exactly do YOU want from life in 2014?

• Promotion at work?

Traci McBride, Chief Stylist of TeeMcBee Image Consulting www.TeeMcBee.com is dedicated to men and women ready to harness the power of their personal image using the most common tool, clothing.

Traci offers support to companies that want to ensure staff at every level communicate the best of themselves and the company brand by elevating and not diminishing the investment of branding.