Have you ever pondered over- “What will she think about me if I go to the party putting that bold lipstick?” or “I would rather be a painter, but people won’t give me as much respect as they would if I become a professor”? At some point or the other, all of us have come across such apprehensions.
Human beings are social creatures and seek others’ company to share their ideas, beliefs, feelings, and comfort themselves. Enjoying the company of your near and dear ones is not a problem. The complication springs when you rely on their opinion to determine what you should do. In simple words, when you surrender yourself to social validation.
No matter where you are- school or workplace, you come across different types of people. Some are talkative, bubbly and confident; some don’t like to speak much while several others don’t know how to put across their ideas well. Whether you talk much or not is an altogether different story that depends on your nature. What matters is your confidence!
Know yourself, love yourself
Quite often, confidence is considered a result of success- in accordance with the standards set by society. Often, without realizing you might have this belief so deep-rooted in your mind that you fail to put in your best foot forward to make the most of the opportunities that are right in front of your eyes.
When you do not have adequate confidence in yourself, others try to reap its advantage. In fact, many brands are feeding on this lack of confidence to make you dwell on your ‘imperfections’, making you feel inferior. They keep you from embracing your real self. For instance, many beauty products equate the freckles on your face with low confidence. As much as seventy-seven per cent of Australian women feel that media and advertising set unrealistic beauty standards that can’t be achieved.
Detoxify your mind
You might have heard about detox water to get your body rid of all the harmful substances. But what about detoxifying your mind? You might not realize but having too many things in your platter might make you puke instead of quenching your hunger for delicious food. Similarly, if you have too many things in hand and want to excel in them all at once, you’ll end up succeeding in none and blame yourself. It further gives rise to negative emotions and increases anxiety. All in all, it is a vicious circle.
There is a lot you can do to give your mind the much-needed dose of calmness and stay sane. There is no hard and fast rule as to how you should go about it. For relaxing your mind, you can do anything that makes you happy whether it is watching a movie at home, spending time with friends or helping an NGO.
An even better approach would be to do something that requires keeping your mind and body in sync like yoga or meditation. If you think that sitting straight continuously for some time would be a task for you, a meditation cushion can be of considerable help.
Get rid of “I should do it all right” mindset
If you want to try new things with all your heart, go for them! Don’t spend too much time doubting yourself. Come up with the best way you can think of and put your plan into action. It’s okay to be imperfect. After all, there are other things that you are even better at. Remember that doing all you want to do gives you unparalleled confidence. Indulging in some self-love regime like paying more attention to your dressing, grooming and communicating can do wonders.
Replace all the traces of self-doubt with self-love, care, and improvement. You are your best friend. Nobody knows you the way you do. Bid farewell to those apprehensions and doubts about self-worth and take your life’s steering wheel in your hand.