Naturally, I blog about building self-esteem – the clue is in the name of my website (wink wink). The reason for that is because I see it as the foundation for living a happy life. That said, confidence has its place for all of us too and the best ways of building self-confidence are numerous.
I have some ideas on how to build self-confidence to share with you now.
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Self-Confidence Is Not Self-Esteem
High self-esteem is an internal knowing and when you have that you have a solid foundation. Life happens sometimes in ways that are unexpected and when it does you are not completely knocked off your feet, that is, if you have high self-worth and esteem. Of course, it doesn’t mean you are not affected, it just means you can get back on track more easily rather than sinking into a hole of depression and despair for long periods of time.
I rarely blog about confidence and I know that self-esteem and confidence are used interchangeably. But, they are not the same. Confidence is external. For example, you can be very good at your job but still have low self-esteem. People see you in the office as confident but as soon as you are home you don’t feel great about yourself at all. If that sounds like then read some of my self-esteem blogs, start with these:
What Is Low Self-Esteem About?
What Is Building Self-Esteem About?
Today though is about self-confidence and ways to build it because believing in your skills and abilities does have an effect on your overall feeling about yourself. This can have a positive knock-on effect on your self-esteem too. Things are never black and white when it comes to people and how they feel about themselves and the world. Confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-care, and self-awareness all interweave and intertwine to make us who we are.
Let’s face it, sometimes we just need a little confidence boost anyway.
7 Best Ways Of Building Self-Confidence
I’ve put together a list of 7 things to boost self-confidence. Some are obvious but I think well worth pointing out all the same. Following that there are 20 small ways to feel confident.
(1) Body Care
Your body effects your mind and vice versa so looking after your body is important to feeling confident. Make sure to:
- Stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
- Create a healthy sleep routine and get the sleep you need.
- Eat nutritiously by eating fruit and vegetables every day.
- Become aware of your body every now and then. Put your attention on your breath and breathe deeply, relax your muscles.
Find practical tips and a useful read to Body Care: Why Am I So Tired All The Time?
(2) Spruce Up
Shower, shave, put make-up on, do your hair, and put on clothes that look and feel good so that when you look in the mirror you smile.
It’s amazing how sprucing up our appearance can make us feel super happy and confident and ready to face the world.
(3) Be Kind
Be kind to yourself (and others) and:
- Practice self-compassion – reduce or better, eliminate negative inner talk.
- Stop comparing – we all do it but the secret is to catch yourself doing it and STOP. You are a unique individual so be authentic and stay true to yourself.
- Stop caring what other people think and start caring about what you think of you.
- Keep your ego in check – better to be kind than right, right?
(4) Slow Down
Slow your breathing, walking and talking. Why? Because:
- Breathing slowly and steadily will allow you to stay present and calm, which will assist you in feeling confident and fend off any anxiety or nervousness.
- There may be times that you need to walk fast but in general, start to walk slow and take time to be aware of what is happening now. This is calming and allows you to slow down your thoughts too and think clearly.
- Speaking slowly will make you feel more confident and others will perceive you differently. People who speak slowly come across as confident. Speaking fast reflects someone who thinks their words aren’t worth listening to and people won’t listen. Try this yourself. I noticed a big difference, especially when dealing with people at work on the phone.
(5) New Skills
Learning how to do something new gives loads of confidence. This can be as big or as small as you like. It doesn’t matter. In fact, if you are feeling really low on confidence then choose something small to get the ball rolling. There are lots of benefits to learning new skills and trying out new things including building self-confidence.
If you are a bit stuck for ideas then check out this article I wrote recently where I list 100 New Things To Try.
(6) Get Active
Go for a stroll, stretch, or just get up and about and do something. Get moving and DO ANYTHING. Not sure how to get active? Here are over 30 different ways.
Get moving especially if you are procrastinating. Clean out the messy drawer or wash up your coffee cup. Do one of the things that you have been putting off and you will feel a surge of confidence.
(7) Inner Talk
I mentioned inner talk when practicing self-compassion but it’s worth a whole part to itself because of its importance.
Your inner talk or the internal chatter in your mind needs to be kept in check as it can affect your confidence. Remember to be aware of your thoughts and pay attention to the ones that judge or criticize you. Or, the ones that tell you that you are not good enough, smart enough, or successful enough. Listen to them and challenge them and stop functioning on autopilot.
Boost Your Confidence - 20 Small Ways
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- GET Outside – gardening, walking, sitting in the fresh air
- GET Doing – do 1 thing from your daily to-do list
- GET Sweaty – dance around for 10 minutes
- GET Pumped – stretch, exercise for 10 minutes
- GET Smiling – force a smile (fake it till you make it)
- GET Straight – sit-up straight and stop slumping. Shift your posture and shift your mindset. Which you can also do with the next GET.
- GET Posing – stand like Wonder Woman or Superman, hands on your hips. OR pretend as if you’ve just won something and shoot your arms up in the air like a champion
- GET Smelly – smell something you enjoy smelling, a candle, perfume
- GET Pampering – take a long bath or shower, get your hair done, get a massage
- GET Feeling Good – listen to your favorite music
- GET Writing – your achievements and remind yourself that you are amazing
- GET Organised – write a to-do list
- GET Journalling – brain dump everything you are thinking about onto paper, how you feel and what you need to get done
- GET Relaxed – lay down, stretch, squeeze and relax body parts starting with your toes and working up until you reach your face. Take 3 big deep breaths, hold as long as comfortable and release slowly. Lay thereafter basking in your relaxed state.
- GET Chatting – speak to a friend
- GET Talking – have a word with yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you can are awesome, and pep yourself up
- GET Random – with kindness, do something kind for a stranger
- GET Assisting – assist someone to do something
- GET Rid – of the attitude, stop dwelling on the negative and on past things you cannot change
- GET Watching – your favorite feel-good movie.
What Do You Want?
Some people don’t even know what they want, do you? Knowing what you want in life and then making it happen by taking small steps towards your dream will boost your confidence a little bit more every day.
Begin daydreaming like you did when you were a kid and see where that takes you. You might uncover some things that you want in life. Spend some time to investigate what you really want and start writing it all down. And don’t stop there, start visualizing doing or being what you want right now. Visualizing that thing will assist in bringing it into your life more swiftly.
Start living on purpose and get excited about life because as far as we all know for sure this life is the only life we will have. That said then, isn’t it important to live it well? Why not engage in life and do the things we enjoy? Let go of anything holding you back and make mistakes – be fearless and be confident.
Be the director, be the writer, and be the producer of your life. But most of all be confident and be the STAR!
The name of The Game is Experience so let us experience Connecting and Sharing.
Share how you boost your confidence in the comments below.
Save THIS PIN below to your Self-Confidence or Self-Esteem Board to check later and use some of the tips in your day.
