Easy Ways to Boost Self Confidence

Self-confidence- the feeling that your judgment, capabilities, and better qualities shine the right way- is one of the most important things you’ll ever build in yourself. However, with more and more people struggling with imposter syndrome in work and daily life, it can also be hard to come by. How can you build yourself up to feel, work, and play better than ever? Here’s some tips to help

The Idea of Confidence

Confidence is a sense of trust in yourself and your own abilities, leaving you confident when navigating both life in general and specific situations, like your work. Even very confident people can feel badly about their abilities in certain areas, so don’t think you have to be shy or introverted to have self-confidence issues.

Confident people tend to achieve their goals, and have stronger motivation to work towards them. Confidence also affects how you portray yourself to other people.

Tips to Boost Your Confidence

Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to increase your self-confidence, whether it’s in one specific arena or overall. Let these confidence-boosters help you out!

Avoid the Comparison Trap

Sadly, one of the downsides of the social media era is the urge to compare ourselves to everyone else. However, it’s important to keep your eye on the bigger picture. As they say, comparison is the thief of joy! Did you know that envy actually works against your own self confidence? So always remember that life isn’t a competition. Also keep your own successes and strengths in mind. Tools like a gratitude journal can help you keep your focus where it counts- on your own progress.

Embrace Positivity

The people we surround ourselves with also impact our own confidence levels. If you’re always being put-down or judged by the people around you, it’s hard to feel good. Likewise, negative nellies drag the mood of the whole room down. If you notice you feel bad after hanging around someone, it might be time to move on.

The same goes for yourself. If you’re constantly thinking negative thoughts, try checking out of the news cycle for a while- it’s primed to deepen negativity and drag you down. You may also benefit from practices like cognitive behavioral therapy, which teaches you to change and reframe negative thoughts to something more positive

Take Care of You

Many of us are guilty of abusing our bodies in pursuit of outside goals. Self-care is a critical part of feeling more confident in body, mind, and spirit. Make sure you’re choosing the best for yourself in all these areas:

When you’re not running on empty, not only do you have more capability to work towards your goals, but you feel better doing it.

Fake it ‘til You Make It!

No, we don’t mean lying! That’s just a negativity trap waiting to pull you in. But all of us have little luxuries and loves that make us feel better, even if they’re objectively ‘silly’. It could be wearing a sexy, stunning matched lingerie set from a top-end lingerie brand. Or it could be wearing your favorite shade of lipstick. Life’s too short not to do the things you enjoy, so don’t be guilty of ‘saving the champagne for a special occasion’. Instead, leverage the powerful feelings that looking and feeling great can bring to help you project confidence- and you’ll find your own confidence grows in return.

Be Kind- to You

Self-compassion isn’t quite the same as self-care, but it aligns with it. Many of us tear shreds off of ourselves when we stumble or fail. It’s always worth asking yourself if you’d speak to a friend the way you’re speaking to yourself. We all fall short at times. Instead, focus on reframing those negative thoughts to boost your confidence that you can try again- and win, this time.

Face your Fears

Yes, sayings about stepping outside your comfort zone can be trite, but they’re also rooted in truth. You can never progress if you keep doing only the same things because you’re scared to embrace change. Often, we build our fears up into monsters, when they’re actually quite achievable. Tell yourself it’s not life-and-death (unless it is), and instead see it as a challenge and another step towards your goals. Simply feeling anxious isn’t enough reason not to do something.

Everyone suffers from self-confidence issues throughout their life, so you’re not alone in this fight. Knowing that you have a toolkit to help you feel more self-confident, however, will allow you to work towards those goals and achieve what you want in life.