Practice in Self-Confidence

Something that is not instantly apparent about me is my lack of self-confidence.  Or, rather, my aspirations to a higher level of that quality than I currently possess.  I used to have low self-esteem; I'm now in next step of recuperation, intentionally giving myself opportunities to test my self-confidence when it is not intuitive for me to do so.

I've found that to have self-confidence, on an everyday scale, involves the following:

1. Making a rational evaluation of the circumstances
2. Making a reasonable decision(s) based on your evaluation
3. Trusting yourself

 The adjectives here are important.  A rational evaluation leaves little buffer room (if any) for fear.  It prevents you from fooling yourself into thinking you have entire control over the circumstances.  It neither falsely bloats nor minimizes the consequences of your next actions.

In the same way, a reasonable decision is limited to your actual abilities to take action; it is not impacted by your imagined abilities or disabilities.  The margin of error it allows is not exaggerated, but appropriate and proportionate (tending to be more exact as you gain experience).  The reasonable decision addresses the problem(s) with focused energy and perspective.

In theory, if the first two points are met, the third will fall into place organically.