How to be more self-confident
Self-confidence is healthy, especially if it allows you to excel in your school or professional life. Students who express high levels of self-confidence achieve more. Your level of self-confidence even affects how you present yourself to others. Creating self confidence helps you in all walks of life so finding out more about how you can harness this ability will only add to everything you do.
The good news is, there are many ways to build your self-confidence. Whether you feel like you lack confidence in only one area of your life or you’re searching for new ways to be more self assured, use these tips below to become more confident.
Surround yourself with positive people
Without even realising it, the friends/people you hang out with can influence what you think and how you feel about life or even yourself Therefore, take notice of the people surrounding you in life. If you have someone in your life who leaves you feeling bad, it’s time to say goodbye. Toxic people can hold you back and its important for your own health to take a look at who your associates are from time to time. It is hard to make sure to remove all negativity in your life, however it can be managed and you can save your energy for the people you want. Quality over quantity is the saying.
Take care of your body
It is important to take care of yourself. Which is what this post on how to be more confident advises: your body is your instrument, and if you beat it up too much, it’s hard to keep feeling good about yourself. That’s one of the ways in which, when you care for yourself, you know you’re doing something good for your mind, body and spirit – so that naturally you will feel good, too. Diet is important also. If you feel the body with good food and remove processed foods, your body will thank you for it and show it with a focused mind and spirit.
Be good to yourself
If you care about bouncing back from mistakes and setbacks, if you are interested in trials of compassion and ways to become less rigid and more flexible during times of personal, romantic or professional conflict, you must learn more about self-compassion. Self-compassion encompasses being kind towards yourself, especially during times of failure, mistakes or when something goes awry. Self-compassion is about increasing your capacity to manage difficult emotions and connect with yourself and others. It is important to be aware of your emotional responses and see if the reaction is adequate for the situation. Learn how to be more patient and kind to both yourself and others. People see confident people who not only can share their opinion but also who can help others through their own trials or issues.
Practice positive self-talk
Negative self-talk can narrow your choices and cause you to become less daring by telling your unconscious that you ‘can’t do something’, or that ‘it’s too hard’ and ‘you shouldn’t even try’. Instead, optimistic self-talk helps you develop compassion for yourself, puts away the feelings of doubt and allows you to embrace new challenges. I often say that positive thinking will get you half the way. Without it you are going up against everything.
Face your fears
Stop putting things off until you ‘feel’ more confident. For instance, ask that person out on a date, or apply for that promotion. Facing your fears is one of the best ways to build confidence in dealing with them. You can be surprised just how many relationships, events and surprises happen when you face your fears. Choose a few of your confidence-related fears and practise facing them. If you’re afraid that you’ll look foolish or screw up, screw up on purpose. A bit of doubt can actually improve your performance. Learn more about yourself when you push your boundaries and reach new heights. Will Smith the actor stated that “excitement is on the other side of fear” Also when you are awkward or fear something it means you are learning. The more you put yourself in this position, the more it becomes comfortable and normal. This allows you to learn to do new things.
Confidence is something many people are born with, however with training and practice you can growth this attribute to the level you need to be more successful and effective in everything you do. In a nutshell, confidence is a magnifier.
Francis has a background in Computing, Mathematics and Business Strategy. He contributes to articles and posts in relation to workplace processes, policies and management of teams.