It’s easy to compare yourself to others around you, whether it be friends or complete strangers, and find yourself lacking. Each of us suffers from low self-confidence at some point in our lives, and this lack can majorly affect the way we interact with other people, as well as the world around us. Rebuilding your self-confidence when you feel low can be a challenge and can often take time. However, if you’re committed to it, it is possible to start feeling better about yourself in no time at all. Wondering how? Try some of these tried-and-true tricks for improving your belief in yourself!
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1.Start Exercising
Aside from the physical benefits that exercise offers, it can also serve as a major boost to your self-confidence. In fact, leading authorities such as the American Physiological Association agree with me–exercise can improve your mood, combat anxiety, and improve your confidence if performed regularly.
2.Try New Things
When confronted with the option to try something out of their comfort zone, not many people are willing to take that step. However, by facing your fears, you allow yourself to stretch and grow that same comfort zone. Confidence is, ultimately, being able to meet challenges and remain comfortable in even the most daunting situations, and trying new things allows you to expand your field of experience. What you try depends on you and doesn’t have to involve throwing yourself in the deep end with a change of job or trying skydiving. It can also include smaller steps doing things you’re not comfortable with, like trying a new cuisine or talking with a stranger.
3.Try a New Look
Your way of dressing affects not only the way that other people look at you, but also the way you perceive yourself. Dressing more confidently can help you feel more confident in yourself and can even result in your thinking and acting differently than you normally would. Keep in mind that a new look doesn’t mean you need to invest a month’s worth of wages into a new outfit–just elevating your current look, or changing a couple of elements, can work as well.
4.Create Personal Boundaries
One of the most challenging things a person can do is learn to say ‘no’–and stick to it. A lot of us feel pressured to accept a request simply because of who is doing the asking, whether it be a superior at work or a family member in our personal lives.
By being more assertive and standing up for your own opinions, you emphasize to yourself and the people around you that your desires as just as important as those of other people. Creating personal boundaries enables you to gain a level of control over your life that you may not have had before and helps you feel more confident in expressing yourself.
Self-confidence is an evolving thing, and it’s something that we need to work one very day in order to build up. While it’s important to strive to increase your belief in yourself, it’s also important to avoid the trap of arrogance. After all, your goal is to feel better about yourself, not make others feel worse about themselves!