Lack of self confidence has its own consequences and impacts, not only in terms of growth in career or in social interaction, but it also impacts in the mental health and peace. There are many reasons for low self confidence, the obvious being not believing to be good enough. Research has shown that it is built on early life experiences and it can also vary from time to time as per the situations.
There is a certain image of us in our mind when a person is not able to match up with that false image it leads to the lowering of self confidence. Thinking about the perfect image makes a person feel good, but it is the main reason for lowering the self confidence.
Killer Actions to Boost Your Self-Confidence:
“Know yourself and you will win all battles” – Sun Tzu
Everybody in this world dreams of many things but are they all able to fulfill them. Well, as a matter of fact, not all are able to achieve their dreams and the reason of it can be many.
The most common reason which hinders many people’s path to success is the fear of failure. And the best way to overcome it is to have self confidence and self-esteem. These are the things that help them to overcome all the problems that may arise when trying to fulfill their dreams.
Being lesser on your self confidence can weaken you and can create trouble in winning their dreams. So to make your dreams come true it is very important to boost your self confidence and make others respect your worth (self-esteem). Here we have enlisted few tips on how to improve self-confidence.
Ways to Boost Self Confidence:
- Work on smaller tasks
- Be active all the time
- Avoid procrastinating
- Clear your desk
- Empower yourself with knowledge
- Exercise and get fit
- Be grateful
- Volunteer
- Smile
- Focus on solutions
- Change your habits (unlikable)
- Set smaller goals and achieve them
- Increase competence
- Stand tall
- Speak slowly
- Have principles and believe in them
- Be prepared
- Always be generous and kind
- Acting positive
- Know yourself well
- Avoid any kind of negative thoughts
- Think positive
- Work on your self-image
- Dress attractively
- Groom yourself well
“One important key to success is self-confidence. A key to self-confidence is preparation” – Arthur Ashe
20 Tips for Overcoming Lack of Self Confidence or Low Self Esteem:
1. Accept yourself:
It is important to accept yourself the way you are. One needs to understand, that every human being has one or the other flaw and no one is perfect. The idea of achieving perfection does not exist and one should not get lost in the false idea of perfection.
One need to understand any great achievement requires time, hence accepting your own flaws will help to overcome self-doubts.
2. Appreciate your own achievements:
The best way to gain self confidence is to appreciate the previous achievements. One needs to think and believe that what a person has done and achieve in past and understand from it that they are capable to achieve it with patience and perseverance.
Sometimes a person is lost to keep up with others, that they tend to forget what they have achieved previously, hence thinking about the positives helps to be real.
3. Avoid comparison:
Comparing our own achievements and failures with others will do no good. It is important to understand that everyone have their own benefits and shortcomings also every individual has different goals.
Understand your goals and figure out a realistic plan to achieve it. Competing unnecessarily does not lead us anywhere but defining healthy limits as an individual do help in developing self confidence.
4. Stop being a people pleaser:
One cannot please everyone around. It is a hard truth at times to accept. Trying to keep pleasing people might boost your confidence for a shorter period of time, but it has its own impact on long run. It is important to define healthy limits around us. It takes courage to say no at times, but it is important to say as in when required.
5. Stop thinking too much:
One of the causes of lower self confidence is that one tends to think about something or the other without any reason. These thoughts could vary from what people think about me to past failures and many other negative thoughts.
To overcome these issues it is essential to know that no one has time to think about others, also keep yourself engaged in various activities.
6. Know yourself:
To gain acceptance from others, people tend to do things to impress others and avoid spending time with them to know their own self. It is important to take a break from everything and pay attention on yourself to know about your own likes and dislikes.
7. Let your emotions out:
Lot of people tend to bottle up their feelings and don’t let them out and later they keep on overthinking about it, over-analyzing the situation leading to the negative effects.
It is good to talk to your close ones and share your feelings or cry it out. Crying is never a sign of a weak, but it shows that you are comfortable with your own feelings.
8. Make changes in your lifestyle:
It might sound absurd yet it is highly effective. It is good to take care of your health, sleep properly, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. A fit body leads to a good mindset leading to an increase in self confidence.
Humans are not designed to be static in a place, yet as per the current social and job scenarios, the physical movement is getting negligible day by day, which is also leading to lower in self confidence.
9. Interact with positive people:
Surround yourself with people who have positive approach towards life, listen to their experiences and how they turned their failures into achievements. This will give you the inspiration to have a positive outlook towards life. Spending more time with critical people lowers the confidence level a person and reduces the chances of being happy.
10. Reward yourself:
It is good to treat yourself from time to time on your achievements. Set some goal and when achieved reward yourself with a vacation, gift or dinner. Appreciating yourself with rewards helps in boosting your self confidence and builds a sense of self-appreciation.
11. Live the present moment:
One cannot go back in past and rectify the errors made or get into future. Present is the only real thing and if missed then the regret of losing it remains for quite long.
It is best to take advantage of the present moment and live it to the fullest and don’t miss on the opportunities of the time. Sometimes it is good to do things on an instinct and not necessarily it has to be planned always.
12. Follow your heart:
Sometimes one tends to miss out on the heart’s desire just to fit in with the social norms. This at times leads to dissatisfaction further developing into lowering of self-confidence. It best to pursue what you like the most and listen to your instincts. A happy heart increases your self confidence.
13. Develop a hobby:
At times it is not possible to do what you like professionally, but this should not be a reason to let you down. Infact never stop pursuing it, do it as a hobby or in case figure out one. Hobbies are a way to take a break from routine life and let a person be self.
14. Say positive things to yourself:
Every morning look into mirror and remind yourself with all the achievements you have made. These affirmations and reminders help to boost your positive energy and increase the level of self confidence. A positive word reaches to the sub conscious mind which helps in betterment of mind and body.
15. Act on the problem:
If there is something which is bothering you and is letting you down. For example, if you are upset about your weight then act on it and start working out regularly. Thinking on the problem never does any good but acting wisely on it always works.
16. Make realistic goals:
It is important to understand that achieving the desired result is not a day’s job; it requires lots of hard work and perseverance. Therefore, break a larger goal into short steps and hence make realistic goals.
Decide the timeline on the same and work consistently towards it. No matter how hard it seems initially, gradually things will work out and the results will be achieved.
17. Improve social and communication skills:
Giving excuses of not being social or lack in communication skills never work. These things can be learned and implemented for the benefits of self.
Reach out to more and more people, put your effort in interacting with as many people you can, know their fears and problems. Once the awareness of others increases the chances of accepting ourselves increases more.
18. Enjoy being a part of humour:
If someone tries to make fun of you, rather than sulking in a corner it is good at times to laugh at yourself and allow loosening up yourself. This allows people to see you in a different light altogether and increases a self-assurance to your own self. Do not let others to take advantage of your vulnerability.
19. Experiment and explore:
Travel, meet and greet lot of people. Allow yourself to explore various cultures and know their different lifestyle. This will help in opening up your own experiences and helps in getting better ideas about the world.
Being in seclusion at times disconnects us from the real world and stops us from developing social skills. Also, explore various forms of work and art which helps to develop more and more knowledge.
20. Take help:
If nothing works out then it is best to take professional help. There is nothing wrong in asking for help since it is good to resolve issues. Taking professional help is good as it guides us to the points where one is lacking.
Conclusion:
It is not an easy task to get the desired self-confidence, but putting an effort to resolve these issues will give great results. One need to understand that it is a continuous process and the motivation for self is required on daily basis; a slight deviation from this lowers confidence. Healthy self-confidence leads to a better life.