Module 4: Building Self-Confidence
New Beginnings: A Discussion Guide for Living Well With Diabetes
For the complete discussion guide, download this page as a [PDF – 667 KB]
To be successful in managing their diabetes, people need to be able to set goals, make plans, monitor progress, and deal with setbacks. Self-confidence in one’s own strengths and abilities helps promote resiliency. Self-doubt is normal. Many people doubt themselves, especially when faced with a new challenge. Positive encouragement can help people overcome self-doubt and more successfully take on the challenges of managing diabetes.
Outline:
- Being your own best friend
- Setting yourself up for success
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify at least three thoughts or actions that can lead to self-doubt.
- Name at least three positive thoughts or actions for building self-confidence.
- Describe at least three thoughts or behaviors that people with diabetes can use to become more resilient and set themselves up for success in reaching their goals.
Suggested stories for this module:
- Yvonne’s Story A: Yvonne talks about how she learned she had type 2 diabetes and overcame denial to make the lifestyle choices to manage her diabetes (audio: about 4 minutes)
- Setting Goals to Improve Your Health – Experts share tips for setting achievable goals to manage diabetes (video: about 3 minutes)
Handouts
Key Messages
- Being resilient means being able to recover from challenges and obstacles more quickly.
- Self-confidence in one’s skills and abilities, as well as awareness of available support systems, can help promote resiliency.
- Self-doubt can hold people back from making and sustaining healthy changes.
- People can learn to overcome self-doubt by setting goals and planning for how to handle potential challenges.
Connecting Threads
Connecting Threads are topics that can be incorporated into New Beginnings sessions depending on the goals and needs of your participants.
Recommended Connecting Threads:
- Facilitating New Beginnings Online [PDF – 221 KB]
- Commit to Quit: Stopping Smoking [PDF – 222 KB]
- Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support Services [PDF – 178 KB]
- Building Social Connections in Family and Community Circles [PDF – 237 KB]
- Spirituality as a Guide and Support [PDF – 182 KB]
Going Virtual Tips
- Adapt the Be Your Own Best Friend Worksheet [DOC – 43 KB] into a group activity where participants share how they’ve experienced being their own best friend or brainstorm as a group using the virtual whiteboard how to be a better best friend to yourself.
- The content on the Making a Plan Worksheet [DOC – 43 KB] can be shared as a Microsoft Word document or Google Doc before the session or as an at-home activity. Group members can then fill it in online without having to print it.
- The video stories for this module can be played by sharing your screen (and computer audio) through your video teleconferencing platform. Another option is to share the links to the videos with your group members by email before the session starts.
- The audio stories can be inserted into the New Beginnings PowerPoint template [PPT – 599 KB] along with images that reflect the story.