Self-confidence can open doors to endless opportunities. Whether it’s at a personal level with something like dating or a professional level, having confidence in yourself allows the people you interact with to experience the best version of you.
Scientists also explain that self-confidence can improve your psychological well-being. Individuals with high self-assurance generally have a healthier outlook on life. They also enjoy an increased sense of self-worth. This improves their mental and emotional health.
So, how can you boost your self-confidence?
Take Care Of Yourself
Self-care is essential for your confidence. It increases your sense of wellbeing and helps to fix issues that could be giving you insecurities.
For instance, working out is believed to increase self-confidence since it gives one a positive feeling about their body and abilities. Plus, you don’t have to work out every day. A few physical activities several days a week are enough to improve your body image. Not only is this good for your emotional and mental wellbeing, but it will also boost your overall health.
Dieting improves your self-esteem and confidence. It gives you a positive image of your body and makes you feel healthier.
Meditation and sleep are confidence boosters too. Meditation allows you to reflect on your actions and flaws. It helps you accept the things you cannot change and get over negative thoughts. Meanwhile, scientists have reported that sleep improves self-esteem and optimism.
Affirm Yourself
One of the biggest challenges that all human beings go through is overcoming self-doubt. There will always be moments in your life where you will question your ability to do something. Depending on how you respond, these moments of self-doubt can determine how your life goes.
Affirmations and positive self-talk are some of the best ways of overcoming self-doubt. You need to talk and reassure yourself. Don’t rebuke yourself when you are having a hard time doing a seemingly easy task like public speaking. Tell your subconscious all you need to do is try it out.
When you take on a project and it doesn’t work out, don’t be too harsh on yourself. Acknowledge the mistakes, pick a lesson from them, and prepare yourself for the next try.
Besides self-talk, you can also learn to overcome negativity through the assistance of a coach. A confidence coach will help you overcome self-doubt. Hearing the words of affirmation come from someone else will have a tremendous impact on your confidence.
Be Kind To Yourself
Being mean to yourself is one of the biggest mistakes you could make. Beating yourself up crashes your confidence and reduces your ability to take up any new opportunities you may come across in the future.
Therefore, you must practice self-compassion even when you know you could have done better in certain situations. It’s okay to feel bad about it but don’t soak yourself in misery. Pick yourself up with affirmations and start looking forward to the next big thing.
Surround Yourself With Optimists
The people around you can affect how you see and feel about yourself. Mean partners and friends can reinforce negative thoughts in your head. On the other hand, optimists will light up your mood and attitude filling you with self-love. They’ll help you approach life with a positive mindset and give you a jolt of confidence where it really matters.
Be very observant of the energy you feel when hanging out with someone. If it feels too negative, don’t be afraid to make the difficult choice of finding friendships elsewhere.
Look At Your Accomplishments
Sometimes all you need to gain some confidence is to look back at how far you’ve come and the much you’ve accomplished.
Maintain a journal of all your accomplishments including the minor achievements. Go through the journal whenever you are feeling down or out of confidence.
Don’t Compare Yourself With Anyone Else
Comparison is the thief of joy. This century-old saying holds water to date. In fact, it’s worse in the current generation of social media platforms like Instagram.
Comparing yourself with other people will make you feel inadequate. Don’t scroll through your Instagram feed wishing your jawline, face, or lips looked like someone else’s. Don’t look at the lifestyle a former classmate is parading on social media and start beating yourself up. This is not helpful for your confidence and mental health. Focus your energy on what you are good at and remind yourself that life is not a competition.
Building your self-confidence is a continuous task. You have to keep pushing yourself to get better. This means confronting your fears and using them to better yourself.