How to Develop Lasting Confidence
We all have times when we doubt ourselves and lack confidence. Whether it be due to a bad day at work or an awkward social interaction, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of self-assurance. But what if you consistently struggle with low self-esteem? How do you make the shift from lacking confidence to feeling strong and empowered? It may seem like a daunting task, but don’t worry - we’re here to help! Read on for our beginner’s guide on how to build lasting confidence.
Identify Your Strengths & Celebrate Them
The first step in developing lasting confidence is to identify your strengths. Everyone has something that they are good at or excel in, so it is important to recognize these areas so that you can focus on them and build your confidence from there. Spend some time reflecting on your strengths - what are you good at? What activities bring you joy? Once you know what your talents are, you can start looking for ways to develop them further or take on new challenges in those areas. And don’t forget to celebrate them! This will give you a sense of accomplishment and help to boost your self-esteem.
This lady has reached her ‘happy place’ after taking time to recognize her strengths and celebrate them. Photo by Artem Beliaikin.
Set Goals
Once you have identified your strengths, the next step is setting goals for yourself. Having clear goals will help keep you focused on achieving them and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Setting goals also gives you something to work towards, which will make it easier for you to stay motivated and positive about whatever challenge comes your way. Make sure that these goals are realistic but also ambitious enough to make progress quickly so that you don’t get discouraged too easily.
Start With Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are short statements that have been proven to boost one's mood and increase self-confidence. They focus on positive words and phrases such as “I am worthy”, “I am enough”, “I’m loveable” and “I am capable of great things". Writing down 10 positive affirmations each day can help combat negative thought patterns and help you start feeling more confident about yourself. You can even take it one step further by writing these affirmations down in the mirror each morning or saying them out loud in front of the mirror - trust me, this works wonders!
A woman in a meadow saying her daily positive affirmations to herself in a mirror - already looking more confident. Photo by Caroline Veronez.
Be Positive
It’s easy to focus on the negative things in life, but this won’t do anything to help build up your confidence. Instead of dwelling on the things that aren’t going right, try focusing on what is going well instead. Thinking positively will help shift your mindset towards seeing the good things in life instead of just the bad ones, which will help contribute towards boosting your self-esteem and overall happiness levels as well.
Practice Self-Care
One of the most important tips for developing lasting confidence is making sure you take time out of each day for self-care activities like yoga or meditation or simply taking a few minutes each morning or evening for yourself without any distractions from technology or other people. These activities will not only help reduce stress levels but also give you time to reflect on what matters most in life, which can be incredibly helpful in helping you feel more confident about yourself.
A beautiful meditation practice taking place overlooking a lush green forest. Photo by Jared Rice.
Remember That Nobody is Perfect
Perfectionism can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem, so try not to focus too much on perfectionism or compare yourself too harshly with others. Everyone makes mistakes, that’s part of being human! As long as we learn from our mistakes, they can actually help us grow our confidence as well as knowledge. So instead of criticizing yourself when things don't go perfectly, focus on how far you have come since making those mistakes.
Building lasting confidence takes time and effort but it's worth it in the end! Start by identifying your strengths and setting achievable goals for yourself - then move onto being positive about everything around you and making daily affirmations - before finally taking time out each day for some much needed self care activities! With these tips, anybody can develop their own inner strength and become more self-assured - before you know it, you'll feel like an entirely different person! Just remember that everyone has imperfections - so celebrate yours!