Could You Use A Little More Confidence And Self-Esteem?
We all go through it from time to time; moments of complete insecurity and lack of confidence.
Maybe we are not good enough; maybe we are not as smart as we think we are or maybe, no body respects us.
These are all doubts that pop into the mind of any living human being.
But as much as almost everyone experiences a ‘confidence crisis’ some time, there are those who simply seem invincible.
People who are highly self-confident and seem able to do anything and face anyone.
The truth is, we can all build up our confidence levels.
There are little tricks that the most confident people use to ensure that they can hold their heads up high every single day.
Here are 7 Ways to Build Your Confidence and Self-Esteem.
1.Practice Being Confident:
Yes, like almost everything else in life, confidence is something that you can practice. And the more you practice it, the better you become. Meaning you will get more confident with practice. There is a lot of material on this subject matter.
Read up on as many as you can get your hands. Study confident people and make your job to mimic them. See how they stand tall and speak deliberately. See how they do not shy away from anything and how they believe they can conquer the world. Practice doing all this with every situation in your life and soon enough it will become a habit.
2.Smile More:
This is the simplest and one of the most basic ways through which you can give yourself a confidence boost every day. Have you ever heard the common mantra that goes ‘when you look good, you feel good’? As it turns out, the reverse is also true, ‘when you feel good, you look good’.
This is what smiling does to people. It fools your brain into thinking that you are feeling good. Which in turn induces more smiles; genuine smiles and you actually begin to feel good. It is a known fact that we are more welcoming; more sociable when we are happy. This elevation in mood translates into an elevation in confidence.
3.Always Look Good:
There is something to be said about dressing up. The way you look has a direct effect on how you feel and that has a direct effect on your confidence level. When you look your best, you feel really good. You can stand tall and let people take notice. You can walk around with your head held high because you know that everyone around you is appreciating how good you look.
Additionally, looking good makes people treat you differently. And the better people around you treat you, the more self-confident you become. So do not be afraid to dress up.
4.Expect to Succeed:
Out of all the 7 Ways to Build Your Confidence and Self-Esteem, this might the most effective. This is something winners do all the time. They know that they may fail, but they do not expect it to happen. They expect to succeed. This is mostly because they are not afraid to put in the work that will improve their chances of succeeding.
It is a known fact that a majority of human beings are pessimistic. Most people go into many situations expecting the worst. This is their way of shielding themselves from the damning disappointment when they do fail. What many do not realize is that this kind of mentality actually affects your performance negatively and often creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
When you expect to succeed, you will do everything, consciously and subconsciously to ensure that it happens. And you will find that more often than not, you do succeed. Success is the one sure fire way of building self-confidence.
5.Watch Your Inner Critic:
It is true that self-criticism is a great way to grow. But it can also be a quick way to fall into self-doubt. Your inner voice is one of the most powerful forces within you. If it says you cannot do it, then sure enough you will find that you are unable to do it. Watch that voice.
When you find that you are beginning to doubt yourself, think of all the things you have achieved, no matter how small. Tell yourself that if you could achieve those things, then you can achieve this. That is how you silence your inner doubting-Thomas.
6.Be Realistic about Your Goals:
It is natural for everyone to think that they are more capable than they realistically are. The sad fact is that we can actually do whatever we set our minds to. Given enough time, enough motivation and enough resources, anybody can do anything they set out to do. But unfortunately, we hardly ever have enough time, motivation and resources.
We must work with what we do have. That is why we must set realistic goals. By achieving the smallest of things regularly, you will develop a snow-ball’ effect of sorts. This will get you going and having you set your eyes on to bigger things. And along the way, you will develop better confidence because you started off by setting realistic goals.
7.Develop a Reliable Support System:
We cannot do it alone. Being social creatures, we all need approval and acceptance from our fellow man. If you develop a sturdy support system around you, then you can be sure you will always have people to fall back on when your confidence wanes. Maybe a friend, a mentor or even your therapist; it has to be someone/people who have your best interest at heart.
These are the people who will regularly remind you that you are not worthless. They will remind you of your past successes and they will inspire you to do more. Knowing that someone believes in you is a great motivational tool that will help you get out there and get on with it.
In conclusion, practicing any of these 7 Ways mentioned above will help you build your confidence and self-esteem, but you need to remember that you are HUMAN!
We all make mistakes.
So, don’t let the fear of failure and the need for ‘perfectionism’ eats away at your confidence.
Dedicated to your success!
Cheers,
Zane
PS. let me know if you use different ways to cultivate more confidence and self-esteem – please see the comment section below.
