Say, if you have this vivid memory of having been able to achieve something or you once had "cheerleaders" who pushed you to achieving greater things, you can surely use them to manipulate your emotions. If not, then remember the moments when you really felt happy about yourself. Controlling the reins of your moods and emotions can contribute to your over all confidence. We are the products of the people, events and circumstances that were fated to fall as the exact pieces at the exact moment, at the exact place. The environment from which we have grown is sure to be the most perfect environment fit for our personal growth. Our reactions then to these events will determine how well we have understood and coped up with things. From your inner self comes the voice that would tell you what to do and how to do them. It would help you see the stock that you have- your talents, your skills, the crafts that you can do, the stuffs that you are really good at and all attributes that it can use to positively reinforce you. This inner voice, in a sense, will lay everything in your front. This inner critic is the nagging voice that tells you how deficient you are, how ugly you are, how weak and useless you are and how people dislike you for who and what you are. It will convince you to believe in all these lies until your self confidence is sapped and your sense of self becomes devoid. At a very early stage, parents should be able to build self confidence in their children. Negative inputs must be avoided except of course those that would be beneficial to his development. Every negative comment must be minimized before children, with their minds as blank as a white paper would take every foul remarks, every pessimistic word and every discouragement as facts that he would learn to believe into. We have to realize that they look upon us as models. They have no concepts other than those that we imparted to them. Thus, if we make them believe that they are not good and they cant do anything well then expect a pessimistic child. However, if at a very early stage we have made that child believe on his attributes and on what he is capable of doing, then the child we are looking at is someone who is ready to achieve, to sail on and to take life in its smooth handle.