Do you struggle with self confidence? Many people do, and many people spend years wishing they could overcome this struggle. You don’t need more confidence to build confidence: you need strategies!
Here are eight quick and simple tips for helping you build self confidence. No matter what is holding you back, there are ways to rise above and move beyond them.
Personalize your style
Career experts tell us, as we prepare for job interview after job interview or step into the office for the first time, to ‘dress for the job we want.’ You can apply this general principle to other areas of your life as well to build more self confidence.
Dress the way you want, and take pride in that. Don’t worry about what’s on trend. Don’t worry about what other people are wearing. If it makes you feel good, and wearing it brings you joy, flaunt your own style and don’t let anybody bring you down.
Create a list of your best qualities
Sometimes it helps to, at least for a short period of time, focus only on the qualities about ourselves we favor the most. Try taking some time to create a list of the things about yourself you are proud of or that make you really happy.
Even when there are things about ourselves we don’t really like, even paying the smallest bit of attention to the things we do like can make a huge difference. It can be your smile, your laugh or even the way you really care about other people’s well being. When you are feeling less confident, bring that list out and look over it.
Then make a list of qualities you want to improve on
There are always going to be things about ourselves we do not like. Maybe we laugh too loud, or aren’t good at introducing ourselves to other people. The same way you listed out the things about yourself that you love, also make note of the things you don’t. Except with this list, it is okay to decide you want some of these things to change.
From that list of qualities you might not like quite so much, pick one thing about yourself you want to work on improving. With this kind of goal, it is helpful to work on one thing at a time, in small steps. If there is a habit you want to form or one you want to break, focus on that, and how changing yourself for the better makes you feel.
Know your values, and practice what you preach
Even if you are having a hard time being confident in who you are as a person, you can still build your confidence off of the things you care about. Is there a cause you would willingly charge out of your comfort zone to support? Use that as your shield.
Know what you stand for, and live that to the fullest. Let that thing carry you even when you are feeling unsure or vulnerable. Think of it as your training wheels: for now, you might need it to help you build confidence. Someday, though, you might become as confident in yourself as you will ever be without it, and that is okay.
Fix your posture
Do you slouch when you are sitting at your desk, or stare at your feet while you walk from place to place? You might not realize how much that behavior is hindering your confidence. To build more confidence, you should work on your posture.
Science tells us that good posture helps us relieve stress and feel more confident. So work on sitting up straighter and walking taller. Keep that head held high. It makes you appear more approachable, even if you are still feeling shy on the inside.
Do that thing you’ve been avoiding
If there is something you have always wanted to do – go skydiving, return to school, start your own business – but haven’t been able to convince yourself to do it yet, this might make you feel guilty or insecure. The best antidote for these feelings, to help you regain the confidence you don’t even realize you have lost, is to take a leap of faith (literally or figuratively, depending).
Just do it. There is something about finally finding the courage within ourselves to suddenly do what we weren’t able to convince ourselves to do before. You might be hesitant now, but you will be glad you went and did it anyway. The satisfaction of overcoming obstacles will always cancel out your negative emotions.
Simplify your life
If you get stressed out easily because of all the clutter in your life, it is much worse news for your health than you think. The more stressed you are, the less you are likely able to make confident decisions and be proud of the things you have accomplished.
Decluttering your life can help you build more self confidence. Keep things simple. Get rid of things in your house or apartment that you don’t need to keep around. Cut back on commitments you don’t really have time for. Say goodbye to apps that waste too much of your free time.
Surround yourself with people who build you up
Even our relationships can affect our self confidence. If you want to be more confident, you might have to change the landscape of your social environment. People that drag you down and constantly operate in the negative perspective need to be transitioned out of your life, if possible.
True friends make us feel better about ourselves. They support our goals, congratulate us when we succeed, set examples for us to follow and remind us that we are not alone. They bring out the best in us, and allow us to comfortably express who we are.
Now that you have your own personal collection of strategies to help you build self confidence, get out there and start applying them to your daily life. You can’t just say you want to be more confident: you have to play the part. Do this enough, and you won’t be acting like a person who is self confident anymore: you will be that person.
