Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit- E.E. Cummings
Whenever I talk about self-confidence, it feels like such as small issue. Something you tell a child so that they learn to love and appreciate themselves. However, even in our adult lives, whether consciously or unconsciously, the level of self-confidence we have has a lot of effect on how our lives turn out. Sometimes, the lack of confidence in ourselves can be masked by other things. For example, you may tell everyone that the reason you do not want to open your dream business is due to lack of money or lack of time while the issue is that you think the business will fail. The issue of self-confidence is something most of us struggle with during various periods in our lives. Often you need to keep reminding yourself that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to until you do not have to sing that song to yourself anymore. So how do you boost or enhance your self-confidence?
Get to know yourself
You would be surprised by all the things you might know about yourself. You may tend to spend your time looking at all the great qualities of other people instead of getting to know what you have to offer. Every person has their positive and negative qualities. Spend some time with yourself. Do not always be in a rush to hang out with other people.
Enjoy your own company and get to explore who you are. This gives you ample time to get to know and appreciate your positive attributes. At the same time, you are also able to point out those qualities you can improve on quickly and those that have to be worked on long-term. You cannot be confident when you barely know yourself.
Self-Acceptance
Once you get to know yourself, the next step is self-acceptance. You can never be truly confident if you are not comfortable in your own skin. Be okay with the good and the bad. Acknowledge that you are not perfect and be okay with it. Lack of self-acceptance is what leads you to want to be like other people. This can be exhausting not to mention damaging any self-confidence you have.
Concentrate on the positives
Often times our self-confidence is seen when we are faced with tough situations such as making an important decision or when going for an interview. It can be easy to concentrate on the things that make us unfit to best handle those situations. The trick is to concentrate on the opposite. Think about why you are the best person to deal with the task at hand. Concentrating on the negatives does not make handling the problem easier, it only makes you feel like you will come up short. Confidence is derived from believing in yourself and you can only do that by reminding yourself what makes you the best.
Good grooming
To feel good, you must also look good. The idea of good grooming may be personal. Practising good grooming ensures that you physically look good. Walking into a presentation with a torn garment will only serve to distract you. However, remember that it is not necessarily about how other people view you, it is about how you view yourself. Do not derive confidence from other people’s comments or remarks. Listen and be thankful to those who compliment you but do not let it be the foundation of your confidence. 4 Reasons Why You Should Dress Up To Stay At Home
Avoid Comparing Yourself with Others
The thing is, when you start to compare yourself with others, it is often not a fair fight. You will find yourself comparing your weaknesses to their strengths. This is a sure recipe for dropping your self-confidence levels. You might treat life like a competition and this will prevent you from even seeing the great things about yourself. 5 Ways To Deal With Comparisonitis (Comparison Syndrome)
Check out Using Fake It Till You Make It To Achieve Self Confidence
Sometimes you may be around people who serve to pull your confidence down, Mental Health: 5 Signs That You Need To Walk Away From Toxic Family Relationships
