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Renowned Forbes magazine publisher, Malcolm S. Forbes, astutely noted that, "Too many people undervalue what they are, and overvalue what they are not."

They constantly look outside of themselves to some external benchmark, and feel they just don't measure up; that in some way they are inadequate, a failure, and less worthy compared to other people.

However, self-confidence is not about superiority. It's more about a sense of independence, a knowing that we have the capacity to act effectively on our world and trusting ourselves to take on new experiences.

In short, self-confidence enables us to put faith in ourselves. Self-trust leads to self-reliance which is the very foundation of self-confidence.

Lack of self-confidence can manifest in surprising ways and is not always immediately obvious.

While some individuals may appear to have low self-esteem, and be shy and unassertive, others may hide their lack of confidence behind arrogance, bullying, perfectionism and overestimation of their abilities.

Lack of self-confidence can profoundly affect personal happiness and fulfilment. It can hold us back from fully experiencing what life has to offer, negatively impact upon our relationships and stop us from exploring our potential.

The following steps can help to develop self-confidence but it is important to focus on one at a time and not expect to achieve all of them at once. Remember, self-confidence is built up one step at a time, one small success on another:

• learn to trust your intuition

• try something new

• be your own best friend

• embrace change positively

• maintain your motivation

• identify your own boundaries

• don't procrastinate

• accept your mistakes and learn from them

• be willing to accept personal responsibility