Self-confidence is so important for an individual. How we see ourselves colors everything we do. With increased self-confidence, we will have the confidence to try new things and to expand our horizons generally. Self-confidence helps us to attain our goals because we have more confidence to go after them and are less dejected if we encounter failure along the way. With self-confidence, we still believe we can do it.
Self-confidence is not something that we all have an abundance of naturally. Some of us are more confident than others. Self-confidence is also something that is not static. One’s level of self-confidence changes with time and varying circumstances. Self-confidence levels can dip at times, leaving one feeling unsure about themselves or even bad about themselves.
It is at these times of lowered self-confidence that it is especially important to practice techniques that lead to increased self-confidence. And practicing these techniques even when one is feeling an abundance of self-confidence will help to prevent self-confidence from dipping.
So what can we do to feel more self-confident? The following is a list of techniques to practice in your daily life to help combat low self-esteem and to instead bolster your sense of self-confidence.
1. Practice Daily Affirmations
Practicing daily affirmations is one way to bolster self-confidence. An affirmation is a positive statement, usually brief. It is a grouping of powerful words put together. It can tap into both our conscious and subconscious minds to help us attain positivity. We can either speak the affirmation out loud, or say it in our own minds. The affirmation to boost self-confidence should be affirming in our best qualities and attributes. For example, saying to oneself, “I am beautiful,” or “I am a unique individual with special qualities all my own,” reinforces self-confidence and a positive outlook toward oneself.
2. Drop the Perfectionism
Perfectionism is not a good thing. It causes one to feel less than and bad about oneself and one’s accomplishments. If your goal is perfection, then you have set yourself up for failure. Perfection is truly rare in the real world. People and things are imperfectly wonderful. Perfection is largely a myth. It is an unattainable goal. It is also a goal that depletes your sense of accomplishment and competency. Trying to do something that cannot be done lowers your feelings of self-confidence. So drop the perfectionism. That will go a long way toward increasing your self-confidence.
3. Set Attainable Goals
Setting goals for yourself is an important means to boost your self-confidence. But be mindful that you are setting attainable goals, and not lofty, impossible goals. Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. As you accomplish your goals, you will feel your self-confidence building. Like building a credit history by successfully engaging in credit transactions, you will be building an accomplishment history that shows proof of your abilities and competence. This acts as a positive history that boosts your self-confidence as you go along.
4. Surround Yourself With Supportive People
Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people is important. The attitudes of those around you affect how you feel and affect your level of self-confidence. If you spend your time with negative people, it will be difficult not to start to become more negative yourself. Those around us create an atmosphere, and like osmosis, we take the vibes up into our own beings. If we are around people who criticize us, it is hard to simply brush off those criticisms. They end up playing back again in one’s mind, and sometimes at the worst time possible, like when we are feeling down on ourselves. Criticism by others, especially those close to you, gradually chips away at your self-confidence. Listening to criticism erodes your feeling of self-worth. If you cannot get the person who is criticizing you to stop, by talking it over with them and telling them how their criticism makes you feel bad, then it may be best to cut off contact with that person or, if that is not possible, minimize your contact with them.
On the opposite side of the coin, being around people who say positive things about you is uplifting and boosts your sense of self-confidence. These are the people you should make an effort to surround yourself with: positive people who can be a positive force in your life and increase your feelings of self-confidence.
5. Engage in Positive Self-Talk
What we say to ourselves in our own minds greatly affects our sense of self-confidence. Negative self-talk makes one feel bad about oneself and decreases one’s feelings of self-worth. After all, this is criticism from you yourself, someone who should instead be acting as your own best friend. Negative self-talk can become a bad habit. It takes effort to rid your mind of negative self-talk, but it can be done. First, catch yourself when you are making negative statements about yourself. It can be helpful once you have caught yourself engaging in negative self-talk to take an action, such as clapping or pinching yourself. This can help to reinforce the fact that what you are doing is wrong and should be stopped. Once you have caught yourself in negative self-talk, replace the negative statement with a positive one. This habit may take some time to master, but with time and practice, it can be done. It is well worth the effort and will do wonders for your sense of self-confidence.
6. Focus On Self-Care
Self-care is an important component to creating our feelings of self-confidence. Taking care of ourselves, both physically and mentally, signals to ourselves that we are important. It is difficult to feel our most self-confident if we are tired or just not feeling at our best. Physical self-care, like getting enough sleep and eating nutritionally sound meals, will go a long way to ensuring we feel good physically. Mental self-care, like using positive affirmations and practicing relaxation activities such as listening to relaxing music and meditation, will go a long way to ensuring we feel good mentally. Looking our best is another aspect of self-care that boosts self-confidence. Taking the extra time and effort to make sure we look nice—our hair, our clothes—is well worth it. It is a simple way to have a positive effect on one’s sense of self-esteem. So take the time and make the effort to focus on self-care, and feel your self-confidence grow.
7. Trust the Universe
Worrying and feeling self-confident are diametrically opposed. The more one worries, the less they feel able to handle what may come their way. Worrying can become a bad habit, a habit that can be hard to break. But there are things you can do to decrease your worrying. One technique that is helpful is repeating a positive mantra to yourself when you begin to worry. A mantra is just a word or phrase that has a positive meaning for you. Breathing deeply and counting slowly to ten when you begin worrying are other helpful techniques to decrease worry. Telling yourself that you are going to try your best to trust the universe can go a long way to easing your sense of worry. Trusting the universe, that inner feeling that we can handle what comes our way, is a psychological choice we can practice that will start to become a habit in time. It is a choice that will over time build your sense of self-confidence.
Self-confidence is a crucial factor in our ability to succeed in the world around us. Without self-confidence, we are less likely to forge a path to follow our dreams. We instead lag behind in our action plan, feeling self-defeated. Low self-esteem is disempowering. Happily, self-confidence is something that can be increased. With time and practice, using these tips, you will be on your way to boosted self-esteem and a wonderful and empowering feeling of inner self-confidence!
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