”Doubt”

 

Happy Friday! Today’s Friday feeling is confidence. I believe there’re plenty of us that would gain a lot from being more confident in our daily lives; regarding decision making, when facing challenging situations, or simply how we perceive ourselves, as well as talk about ourselves.

Do you consider yourself self-confident?

Last Friday I wrote a blog post about self-care. You can read it here. I strongly believe confidence starts with self-care. Self-love plays an important part when wanting to grow confidence.

The more self-aware you are, hence the more you know yourself – your strengths and weaknesses – the more you start believing in yourself and all that you’re capable of. As with a lot of things gaining confidence won’t happen over-night. For some it might require a great deal of practise, as well as incorporating daily habits, in order to obtain a feeling of a deeply rooted trust within oneself.

 

Ways to boost your self-confidence

 

”There is no competition. Because nobody can be you.”

 

Take care of yourself.

Don’t forget to groom yourself. Looking neat and tidy are small details that can make a huge difference. Take a long hot shower, dress up in your favourite ‘power’ clothes, pamper yourself. You’ll feel successful and presentable in no time, and ready to conquer the day.

 

Think positive.

Plant positive thoughts in your head, and watch them grow and become a daily practise. Start every morning with a positive thought. An affirmative intention. ”Today will be a good day.” ”I’m doing everything with great success.” You’ll have to become aware of the negative self-talk that might go on in your head. As soon as you become aware of the negative thought – try to catch it, get rid of it and replace it with a positive one. ”I’ll never be able to finish all this work today.” -> ”I can do this. I always do my best.”  However, you should bear in mind that positive thoughts alone are not enough if you don’t believe in yourself, and have trust within that you can do it.

 

Don’t compare yourself to others.

This one is obvious, and I find myself writing about it all the time. But it’s worth repeating, because comparing yourself to other people is the fastest way to feeling miserable. Stop it. Stop it now.

 

Cultivate your strengths.

Get to know yourself well. Start writing down your thoughts about yourself, both the negative and positive ones. Analyse why these negative thoughts keep on popping up. Think about the things you do well, the things you’re good at, the things you like doing. When you dig deep within yourself you’ll gain a great deal of knowledge about yourself, and in the process gain greater self-confidence. The goal is to focus on the things you’re good at, and make them even greater.

 

Embrace your uniqueness.

”Stop trying to be anyone else, when you’ve the possibility to be you.”

You’ve got many powerful traits and characteristics, as well as experiences that no one else has. You’re unique. The way you talk, walk, act, behave, your knowledge – everything about you. Stop trying to be anyone else, when you’ve the possibility to be you.

 

Be kind.

Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself. Last but not least, be generous with your time and what you have. If you have something another person is lacking – a special skill – teach it, spread your knowledge in order to improve another person’s life. Helping another human can have positive effects on your self-confidence.

 

Be grateful.

I strongly believe in gratitude. Being grateful for what you’ve in life, for all that you’ve achieved so far, is a very positive and rewarding activity. Not only will it help to boost your self-confidence, but create a more positive self-image.

 

Gain knowledge.

I believe knowledge is power. The more you know, the more confident you’ll become. Read books, take a course, do the research when you stumble upon something new, learn from someone you look up to or why not hire a mentor. Becoming more knowledgeable will increase your power, your uniqueness, and therefore help you become more confident.

 

Set small goals and make them happen.

Set a goal that you’re confident that you’ll achieve. This should be a small, every day goal such as waking up one hour earlier, spending less time on social media, drinking two extra glasses of water, exercising for at least 30 minutes. When you’ve achieved one goal set another one. You’ll feel much better about yourself when achieving all of these smaller goals, and soon you’ll find yourself setting much bigger goals.

 

Exercise.

Exercise is one of the fastest ways to gain confidence. After a tough and sweaty workout you’ll feel better about yourself, more energised and ready to tackle the challenges life throws at you. And no, it doesn’t have to be a tough workout – just do something. Move your body. Our bodies are meant to be active.

 

❤

Linda