Think back to some of the happiest times in your life. Chances are that these are also days when you felt most confident. Maybe you were good at sports during that time, or you aced a project at work. Confidence can be a huge happiness booster. But why wait for something good to happen in your life? Why not work on boosting your self-confidence?
Boosting your confidence can happen lots of ways. I have listed a few here. I also encourage you to read up on the topic, pay attention to times when you’re feeling more confident, and then work out a plan to intentionally boost your self-confidence based on your own research and experience.
We tend to respond to different strategies, techniques, and events—we are unique! Some of us thrive on words of encouragement, while others want to see results, or thrive on actions from others. For example, do you put more meaning into a kind word from your boss, a raise, or a promotion? Maybe public recognition for something you have accomplished? We all have different confidence triggers. Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to figure out what your confidence boosters are and how you can get more of them!
General confidence boosters include words of encouragement, making a list of things you are proud of, listening to some upbeat music, going out for a run, and dealing with disappointments in a positive way. Pay attention to your self-talk–you are becoming what you are preaching inside your head. Give the preacher a positive script! Try any other interesting confidence boosting tip you come across a try.
Once you determine what your confidence builders are, take action. As far as I know there isn’t an injection for increasing self-confidence. It takes effort. If you respond well to compliments and words of encouragement, call a friend or anyone else in your life who makes a great cheerleader (your Positivity Posse). Get those positive verbal affirmations whenever you need a little boost. Keep a journal so you can look back and see how much progress you’ve made. This is particularly good if you’re trying to change your life, your habits, or make progress on a long-term project. Being able to look back and see how far you’ve come can be very inspiring. Let yourself feel inspired by your own accomplishments!
When things go wrong – and let’s face it, they will sooner or later – you can either allow it to bring you down and undermine your confidence, or you can look at it as a learning experience. Guess which view is better for your self-esteem?
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