Why you shouldn't worry about what people think of you

There are many young people out there who are sure to benefit from reading this first-person piece:

"So much of life is dictated by what others will think of us. In fact, we spend more time wondering what people will think rather than trying to accomplish things that will get them thinking about us in the first place."

Click here.

How to boost your self-confidence

When you are about to embark on a new enterprise — for instance, if you have enrolled at Commits for the two-year full-time M.A. degree course in Mass Communications — you may feel anxious, nervous, antsy during the first few weeks.

Of course, this jitteriness is temporary. But, perhaps, that is no consolation in those overwrought early days. So is there something you can do to calm those nerves and restore your self-confidence? Yes, says Mary Mitchell, the founder of a U.S.-based executive training consultancy. Mitchell, who is the author of the "Modern Etiquette" column for Reuters, offers a list of five simple steps that you can take to up your confidence quotient:

1. Move.
2. Take a look at what you are wearing.
3. Breathe.
4. Be disciplined.
5. Give and receive.

Mitchell elaborates on each of these steps here: "Five suggestions for greater self-confidence".

Yesterday I sent out the link to Mitchell's column to our new students, whose Commits journey began just four days ago. Here are two responses I received soon after:

• These suggestions are indeed extremely useful and I will use all of them to increase my efficiency. I just loved the quotation with which the piece ended and I will definitely apply in my work what I have learnt from it. — DIYOTIMA ROY SINHA

• This article was really very helpful and motivating... and it is sure to help us in the long run. — NINNITA SAHA