Building Self-Confidence: 8 Things to Consider
Self-confidence is a state of mind and it’s not something that you can learn overnight like memorizing a set of rules. Confidence is more about developing your mental condition about how you view your surroundings and yourself in the middle of it. That’s why building self-confidence is a daily habit and not just a one-time thing.
I was 12 years old when I learned the importance of having self-confidence, and it took me years to build up the self-esteem that I have today. Having self-confidence helps a person grow and perform better. Developing your self-confidence will help you attract success.
From what I learned, here are some of the things you can do to start or continue building self-confidence.
Surround yourself with positive people
One thing that will greatly affect how you think and how you see life is by having the right people beside you. Notice how much your friends influence your choice of words, clothing, habits, and opinions. Being surrounded by positive people will, likewise, make you see your life more on the positive light. Being around the right people will make you see your strengths and weaknesses and develop your sense of courage to improve your own personal growth.
When I was 12, I met someone who I admired because of her self-confidence. She became my best friend and I learned how to appreciate my strengths and build my self-esteem through doing more on what I was best at.
Surrounding yourself with positive people will be good for your mental and emotional health.
Accept your mistakes and learn from them
We all make mistakes, and this is how we learn how to live through life. Mistakes are what make us better, so don’t let them discourage you from wanting to do better. The building block behind every self-confident person is the mistakes they’ve made throughout their journey to become what they are today.
They learned how not to repeat those mistakes again and in doing so, they progress through their lives and thereby building their self-esteem as they now know better than before.
Don’t take your mistakes as negatives, but rather as learning opportunities, as chances to improve yourself more.
Take care of your physical and mental health
Taking care of yourself is a huge part of building self-confidence. Having a sound body and mind helps you think more positively of yourself, hence the better you develop your self-esteem. Pay attention to your personal hygiene and eat healthily.
Wear clothes that make you feel great and exercise daily. Take the time to also look at your mental health. Avoid stress by doing the things you love. Don’t overwork and don’t push your body to its limit. Get enough sleep at night and develop a great morning routine when you wake up.
Define the things that truly matter to you
What are your priorities? What are the goals that you want to achieve in your life? Which things matter the most to you? When you have a fully-defined set of priorities, it will make you focus on achieving those things. Did you know those achievements give you a sense of accomplishment? This will help you build up your confidence and make you feel good and proud of yourself.
Celebrate your big and small wins
Allow yourself to relish in the good deeds you’ve done and the achievements you’ve made. Celebrate yourself for being able to hurdle a problem, for solving a crisis, for helping out a friend, or for even just waking up in the morning after having a good night’s rest. Once in a while, you are allowed to indulge yourself with something that you enjoy. Perhaps a good cup of coffee from that overpriced cafe? Or a relaxing spa day at your favorite salon? Treat yourself, you deserve it.
Practice Personal Affirmations
Personal affirmations are statements that you create that affirms your worth. Practice telling these affirmations to yourself repeatedly. Your body will eventually catch up with your brain, and the positive affirmations you tell to yourself will come naturally. For starters, say “I am” instead of “I will be”, and use positive language like “I am smart”, rather than “I am not dumb”.
Listen to your doubts but don’t let them define you
We all have doubts and that is normal, but it’s important not to let these cloud our vision and devour us. Building self-confidence is getting over self-doubts. Know your strengths and weaknesses, work on what you are good at, and celebrate your individuality.
The doubts we feel are there to keep us grounded, but it doesn’t mean that they can tie us down. Take the time to understand what you are doubtful about yourself and work your way up from there. You know you can overcome them when you just put your mind into it.
Be yourself
This last item may be overused, but it’s still the best advice I got that’s why I am including it here.
Be your natural, awesome self. Don’t hide your personality and pretend to be someone else. You will just have a hard time if you do this. Be yourself, no matter how weird you can be, or how awkward you may think you can be.
Being yourself will attract people who are similar to you, who have the same values as you, and by having these people who have the same wavelength as you will help you determine who you truly are. This will help you strengthen the new confidence you’ve found within yourself and it will help you continue building it up.
Confidence is the outcome of the thoughts that we think and the actions that we take. Having confidence is being able to get through difficult times. Remember, building self-confidence is not achieved overnight, it’s a state of mind. Manage your habits and practice doing things that will help you boost your confidence. Hopefully, the things laid above will help you through it.
