7 Ways to Increase Your Self-Confidence

When you believe in yourself and you’re sure that you’ll succeed at something, you have self-confidence. Throughout life, your level of self-confidence might fluctuate when you’re faced with challenging situations. However, you have the power to build your self-confidence.

Although parents can encourage young children to believe in themselves, as an adult, only you hold the keys to strengthening your own confidence. If you find that you’re feeling less self-assured than you’d like, you can step up and take action to build yourself back up.

Here are 7 ways to increase your self-confidence:

1. Select a mentor. If you want to believe in yourself, seek someone that you feel shows great self-confidence. Consider this person to be your model of self-confidence. When selecting a mentor, ask yourself:
• Does he/she stand straight and strong?
• Is he/she relaxed and open to others?
• In addition to these traits, maybe he/she has a good sense of humor and looks people straight in the eye when he/she speaks to them. Or perhaps he/she models other characteristics you admire. Having someone to emulate is incredibly inspiring. Modeling after your mentor enhances your self-confidence.

2. Identify what you’re doing right in your life. Sure, you know your shortcomings, but what about all those things you do well? Everyone excels at some tasks or activities. Seek out what those things are for you.
• Make a list of what you believe you’re good at.
• Consider this: no one in the world has the same unique qualities and strengths that you do in the way that you do.
• What are you doing right? If you know the answer to this, your self-confidence will bloom.

3. Pretend you’re self-confident. You can most likely identify times and situations in your history when you didn’t feel particularly positive. Think about how you handled some of them.
• On your good days, you put your chin up and plowed forward into the situation at hand. You pretended you believed you could do it. And chances are, you did!
• Going forward, on the days you feel the least self-confident, think of your mentor and pretend that you’re confident like he or she is.
• Believe in yourself. Have faith that you’ll make it through.

4. Make a list of your strong points. What character traits do you have to offer that are of great benefit to you or others?
• Are you patient, kind or caring?
• Identify personality characteristics that you’re proud of.
• Knowing yourself will enhance your self-confidence.

5. In your daily life, notice when you do something well. Perhaps you just cleaned up your car and it looks awesome. Maybe you completed a report and it’s the best you’ve ever written.
• Recognize your accomplishment whenever you do well.
• Little efforts add up to build your self-confidence.

6. Celebrate your progress. Take notice of your good fortune.
• When you’ve met or surpassed your goals, celebrate!
• Rejoice in your own successes.
• Congratulate yourself as you build the self-confidence you seek.

7. Choose optimism as a daily approach to everything. Strive to be positive in life’s journey.
• When you make the decision to find the best in whatever life brings you, your self-confidence will soar.

Strengthening your self-confidence is within your reach. Choosing a mentor, knowing your strong points, and celebrating the attainment of your goals are just a few of strategies that build your self-confidence. Promise yourself today that you’ll strive to strengthen your belief in yourself.

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