How To Improve Self Confidence: 12 Things You Can Do

If you want to know how to improve self confidence, you’ll love this article.

Self-confidence is the ability to believe in yourself, to accomplish a task, no matter how great the odds, or how difficult the task may appear. When you are faced with a certain activity to complete, there is usually an inner dialogue playing where you picture yourself and the outcome…this can be positive or negative, but this internal picture of yourself is displayed externally also in the way you act and carry yourself.

A plain and simple fact in life is that your perception of yourself can have an enormous impact on the way others perceive you. And in this case, perception is the reality, as the more self-confidence you have, the more likely it is that you will succeed at what you want in life.

Confidence in yourself can show in many different ways and is projected to those around you through traits such as your behaviour, body language, how you speak and what you say.

Self-confident people tend to see their lives in a positive light, even when things aren’t going so well. They are often admired by and inspire confidence in others as a result of their outlook. Through their positivity, they believe in themselves and their abilities and are therefore typically satisfied with and respect themselves.

Whether it’s the nurse in the hospital who calmly but confidently delivers the correct medical advice, or the vocal confidence of a charismatic and inspiring speaker, self confident people have abilities which are widely admired.

People who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful, which can become a vicious self-destructive cycle of negativity. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Self-confidence is not just something people are born with; it’s a skill, and a mindset – which means that it can be trained, and you can teach yourself to develop confidence in yourself and your abilities.

Self-confidence must be learned, practised, and mastered, just like any other skill, and your life will be changed for the better.

How To Improve Self Confidence

It’s not just about motivation and getting pumped up for something…we may want to be confident, but that only comes from having been in a similar situation before, and being successful.

This way we become confident through repetition – like when you’re faced with something that you’ve done a lot before and you tell yourself “I’ve done this a thousand times”. If we haven’t done it before, we draw confidence on success from the closest similar experience that we have had.

Although many factors affecting self-confidence are beyond our control, there are a number of things we can consciously do to build self-confidence. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix or overnight solution to developing self-confidence, but it is really achievable.

You will require focus and determination to follow through, and the things that you’ll do to build self-confidence will also build success, and result in a positive cycle. So here’s a few suggested methods which you can use to start developing that confidence!

1. Self-appreciation

A good starting point is to be able to appreciate yourself and what you’ve achieved so far in life. This can be referred to as a gratitude list…think about your life, and make a list of the best and most important things that you’ve achieved.

You need to give yourself some slack here if you maybe haven’t met your own expectations, but really look at what you have done and make this list so that you are able to reflect on the positive things which you have overcome so far.

As a part of this exercise, you can take stock of where you currently are in life, and where you want to be, which can help you set goals for the future and get in the right mindset for success. Think about the things that are important to you, and what you want to achieve with your life.

2. Setting goals

Setting goals is a key part of the process in building self-confidence, and real solid confidence comes from this planning. What would your friends consider your strengths and weaknesses?

You want to aim to set goals that exploit your strengths while minimising your weaknesses. After setting the major goals in your life, you want to break down these mammoth accomplishments into small achievable steps that do not seem so overwhelming. Particularly, identify the first small step to getting underway, which can give you some
starting momentum.

3. Manage your mind

Another important aspect of building self-confidence, is that you need to start managing your own mind and thoughts. We all have this inner dialogue playing, where we talk ourselves into or out of what lies in front of us. We need to learn to identify when this self-talk is negative, and try to defeat it by separating your thoughts from that inner tape and realising how detrimental it is.

Overriding this with strong mental imagery, can be effective. Using mental images of what you’ll feel and experience as you achieve your goals makes them seem far more manageable and achievable.

Every time you doubt yourself, counter these thoughts with positive affirmations and remember that MOST of the problems are in your head. Stand up to, and for yourself. Make a promise to yourself, commit to it, and do all in your power to achieve.

SEE ALSO: How To Turn a Bad Day Around In 30 Minutes Or Less: 8 Best Strategies

4. Increase your goals / challenges

Gradually increase your goals and challenges, increasing the size of your commitment. As long as you keep on stretching yourself enough, but not too much, you’ll find your self-confidence building.

You’ll have earned your confidence because you will have put in the hard yards necessary to be successful. Goal setting is arguably the most important skill you can learn to improve your self-confidence. Take small steps, focus on your path, and you’ll understand that it’ll take baby steps to get where you want. You’ll soon be taking baby steps from small confidence building to full blown successes.

5. Face your fears

You need to face your fears head on as well. Face at least one of your fears; when you survive, you’ll be that much more confident. Learn to handle and accept mistakes or failure. Accept that mistakes happen when you’re trying something new.

If you embrace and own your mistakes, it shows confidence in your future ability – as you’ve just learned what not to do. It shows integrity and self-awareness, as well as humility.

No one likes those people who always have someone else to blame and will never admit to any wrong doing, or that they don’t know the answer. These people, despite the hardened exterior they portray, are actually quite insecure. Be the better person in these situations, it will pay off in the long run.

6. Develop daily habits

On top of these solid foundations of building self-confidence, there are many smaller habits that we can adopt on a daily basis to get on the road to success. Living in the present and showing gratitude for the little things.

Learn to appreciate everything around you, and you’ll change your perspective. Instead of being upset over losing a client or your boss talking down to you, you’ll be grateful for the finer things like the air you breathe, the food you eat, and your friends and family around you.

Socialising is also important. Talk things out with your friends and family. They will be your biggest supporters, and can help you to regain confidence. If they are the reason you lack confidence, try and expand your social circle.

7. Dress sharp and don’t slouch.

Your posture and the way you carry yourself goes a long way to your appearance and perceived confidence (1). If you’re slouched over, people assume you’re weaker. This is how the rest of nature works – every plant and animal works on survival of the fittest, and you need to look like you’re fit.

Make an effort to sit up and stand up straight and tall. Dressing sharp can help you feel a million bucks, which will also help you keep your head up high. And clean yourself up. It’s hard to feel good about yourself when you’re stained, sweaty, and smelly. Do your best to stay clean, as it’s a key to your confidence.

8. Smile more

To add to the appearance, learning to display a big smile when interacting with people will allow you to exude a sureness that encourages people to perceive you as confident in yourself as well.

SEE ALSO: How To Stop Being Self-Conscious: Here Are 5 Tips To Win Your Life Back

9. Declutter environment

Your environment also directly impacts your self-perception. So if you’re surrounded by clutter, paperwork, and rubbish, put a morning aside to clean up your stuff and get your environment organised (2). This will allow for a clear clutter-free mind, to focus on your commitment to confidence building.

10. Be engaging

Being an actively engaging person also assures people that you like who you are and they should to. Compliment other people on anything you notice about them or what they’ve been doing, sit in the front row and be seen and heard, and speak up when you have an idea that you think could improve things.

Don’t banish yourself to hide in the shadows in the corner. If you don’t love yourself and sell yourself strong, how can you expect anybody else to?

11. Be your own brand

You need to become your own personal commercial when the situation calls for it. Not in an annoying ‘in people’s face’ kind of way, but in the way where you present yourself as someone who SHOULD be seen and heard. As part of your personal brand, you need to define yourself.

Define your morals and ethics, they give the foundation of who you are. Never forget that! You’ve got a whole bunch of rules that determine what you do, don’t do, should do and shouldn’t do. These rules limit your thinking and limit your behaviour. Tear up your rule book and notice how free you are to make great decisions.

12. Embrace being scared

Remember that it’s okay to be scared. If you’d already done everything in life, you’d have no reason to be scared. Don’t ever think that being scared means that you’re not confident.

It simply means you’re going somewhere new. Embrace that path, face your fears head-on, and take those baby steps towards your goals and building your self-confidence. Take control and be the version of yourself that you want to be, you have the power to change how the story ends.

Thank you for reading this article about how to improve self confidence and I really hope that you take action my advice. I wish you good luck and I hope its contents have been a good help to you.