Having self-confidence can be the key to many things in life, including getting a promotion, making better connections with people, and having an overall satisfaction with your life.
Some people may seem to have confidence with no effort, while it can be a daily struggle for others. However, being confident is like any skill that can be honed and developed.
Anyone can become confident with the right mindset, attitude, and determination.
Easier said than done, cultivating your self-esteem takes time and effort, and it is something that tends to be gradually built over time.
However, without guidance on how to increase your confidence, it can feel like you are going in circles and are not seeing the results you had hoped for.
Here, you will find several different ways to boost your confidence (that you can start implementing right now!)
Let’s get into it!
1. Dress Nice
The way that you present yourself can really affect your confidence.
One way to boost your confidence is to dress nice. Now you might think that “dressing nice” is completely subjective, and that’s ok!
The general idea is to wear an outfit that makes you feel like you are ready for business, that you are empowered and you are here to get things done.
Wearing a nice outfit can make you feel more important, thus boosting your self-confidence.
If you are working from home, wearing an outfit aside from loungewear or pajamas can help put you into “work mode” and prevent you from feeling too comfortable and slacking off.
This simple action can help you be more focused and productive, which in turn can make you more confident in yourself.
Even though it’s tempting to stick with wearing comfy clothes at home, it can make you feel more lazy, so it’s worth a shot to get out of your comfort zone and see the difference it makes.
Here’s a simple formula to explain the idea:
Dressing nice → feeling empowered → increase in self-confidence
By dressing in a clean and tidy outfit, it can really set your mood for feeling like a boss, thus resulting in a boost of self-confidence.
2. Self Care
It is good to pamper yourself every now and then.
By putting more effort and attention towards self care, you are putting more value in yourself. You are essentially investing in yourself.
Feeling worthy of self care is an important aspect of having self-confidence.
A few examples of ways to pamper yourself include: applying a face or hair mask, taking a soothing bath, cooking your favorite meal, buying new clothes, relaxing at a picnic, and taking a nap.
As you can see from the examples, self care does not have to be expensive, nor should it be a difficult task.
Even if you only commit to one self care activity per week, it still counts as treating yourself with some self love and appreciation, which will hopefully help build your self-esteem.
3. Think Positive
Having a positive mindset can have a profound effect on your confidence.
It is important to truly believe that you have the potential to achieve your goals and that you can be the person you aspire to be.
Positive affirmations and thoughts can help you have an optimistic perspective. Never think that it is silly or a waste of time to repeat a few positive affirmations each day.
By using beneficial affirmations, you are framing your mindset to be more encouraging and hopeful towards yourself. It’s similar to how a team captain gives a motivational pep talk to hype the team before a game.
Being your own cheerleader can really be a game-changer for increasing your self-confidence!
Another method to have a more positive mindset is to use a reflection journal at the end of the day to write about the good things that happened that day. You could write about anything that had a positive effect on you, such as the simple joys of life or achieving a new goal, for example.
An alternative is to start a gratitude journal and list 2-3 things that you are grateful for every day. In the midst of your day-to-day life, you may find yourself taking things for granted, so by taking a few minutes each day to recognize some of your blessings, it can put things into perspective and allow you to see each day in a positive light.
Another helpful method is to write positive messages on a bunch of sticky notes and place them around the house, on a mirror, or on a wall that you pass by often. The sticky notes can serve as little reminders to have a positive mindset and to help boost your mood.
Regardless of your preferred technique, make sure to give yourself a daily dose of positivity and see that confidence rise!
4. Be Organized
Having good organization skills can really help you become more confident. How so?
From an outside perspective, confident people look like they have their lives under control. By being organized, not only does it portray a sense of security and control over your life, but it truly helps in the practical sense.
You can strive to be organized in several aspects, including organizing your workspace, being organized in appearance, writing organized notes, and having an organized schedule.
To aid in organizing an area or room, you might want to consider adding, removing or simply rearranging the furniture.
For example, if an area is cluttered with small items, you could buy a storage cabinet to store those items for a more polished and tidy look. If the room feels too crowded, you could try selling or donating any unnecessary pieces of furniture.
To be more organized in your outward appearance, it is important to start from the wardrobe and figure out your style.
Get rid of (or donate!) any pieces of clothing that you do not need or wear. This eliminates clutter from your closet and allows room for any new clothing you may purchase in the future.
The next step is to fine-tune your style, and identify the clothing pieces that make you feel the most confident when you wear them. If your closet is lacking in this area, don’t worry! You could make it a task to go shopping and update your wardrobe with clothing that makes you feel comfortable, glowing, and the most like you.
The most important part is to not worry about how others will perceive you. Your style defines you, and your unique style is something you should take pride in!
If you would like to write more organized notes and/or be able to make organized schedules for yourself, it would be helpful to employ a few strategies to make those tasks doable and easy.
Some tips are to use neat handwriting, use highlighters to help color code your notes or schedule, and to utilize planners and notebooks. You can also use printables (pdfs that you can print at home) to help you with note-taking and schedule-making.
By managing all of these different aspects of organization, you are taking action to be more productive, efficient, and put-together. The benefits of being organized can greatly improve your overall impression and demeanor, and can truly help your confidence soar.
Like this post? Pin it!
5. Don’t Rely on Others for Validation
One thing that can potentially destroy one’s self-confidence is relying on other people for validation.
When it comes to the opinions of other people, there is no guarantee that you will always receive positive feedback or support. Thus, it is very important to establish a strong foundation of self-confidence before consulting other people for their opinions.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with asking other people for their thoughts and opinions. However, you must ensure that you are not tying your self-confidence to their words. Otherwise, it can be very easy to become insecure and unsure of yourself if their opinions do nothing to increase your self-esteem.
In a world where people often express their unfiltered opinions on social media, it is important to realize the potentially damaging effects of social media on one’s self-confidence.
In case you do post on social media, it can be almost impossible to avoid or ignore the number of likes or the comments on your posts. And by monitoring the likes and comments, it can lead to an unhealthy cycle of relying on that feedback to feel validated.
In order to avoid this, it can be really helpful to change your mindset and intention whenever you post on social media.
By specifically making it your intention to not rely on likes or comments to feel accepted, you are dissociating the opinions of others from the level of self-confidence that you have. It is important to remember and renew this intention each time you interact with social media.
Know that you are an irreplaceable, unique, complex human being on your own, regardless of the thoughts and opinions of the rest of the world.
Once you fully realize your worth as a person, you can finally be free of worrying about how others perceive you, which can immensely help improve your self-esteem.
6. Compliment Others
A good rule of thumb is to have zero expectations of others when it comes to compliments. Why?
A common mistake that can hurt your self-confidence is to wait for someone to compliment you.
It can be easy to feel insecure when deep down inside, you expect someone to give you a compliment…but they fail to do so. It is better to have no expectations to spare yourself from any disappointment.
Instead, try taking a more proactive initiative by flipping the situation around and making it a habit to give compliments, rather than hoping to receive them.
Not only does complimenting others exude confidence, but it also spreads positivity in a world that could use more of it!
When you give someone a compliment, there is a chance that it will not only bring a smile to that person’s face, but it might just make their day. By being a source of positivity and potentially making a positive impact in other people’s lives, it can be a means of increasing your own confidence.
Please note, however, that you should be genuine when offering a compliment to someone to maintain the integrity and authenticity of your words!
Simply try to give sincere compliments every now and then, and before you know it, you may gain a newfound respect even among strangers.
Know that your cheerful attitude might even be infectious, inspiring more people to support and uplift others!
7. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
One of the most impactful ways to increase your self-confidence is to make sure that you are not comparing yourself to other people.
This is because comparing your life to the lives of others can potentially make you feel insecure, unaccomplished, and unhappy with your current place in life.
One culprit that can affect your confidence is social media.
In a world linked together through social media, it may be difficult if not impossible to avoid it in one way or another. The problem with this is that social media often portrays people in an unrealistic way.
Since people usually show themselves at their best, it is easy to forget that everyone has their own hardships, challenges, and private side that they do not necessarily portray to the public eye.
It is important to remind yourself that even though someone may look like they have a perfect life on the outside, that is usually not the full picture.
It is actually unfair to compare yourself to others, since everyone has different experiences, upbringings, values, goals, and ambitions in life.
Know that you are a unique person, with your own ups and downs. Rather than comparing your life to those of other people, it is better to focus on self-improvement.
After all, the only thing that you can be in control of is your own life, so your time and energy is far better spent on investing in yourself.
By being your biggest competitor, you can only compare yourself with where you were in the past. This way, you can be sure to make real improvements, make positive changes, and attain realistic goals for yourself.
By only measuring the progress that you make over time, without the interference of others, you can truly realize the full extent of self-growth in that time. This way, you can really increase your self-esteem and blossom into the confident person that you have the potential to become.
Final Thoughts
Having self-confidence is a skill that anyone can develop over time.
However, there is no universal formula that guarantees people with a boost in confidence since each person has their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities.
What you need to do is to conduct an inner analysis of yourself and figure out which tips resonated with you the most that you could actually implement in your life.
By implementing the methods that work best for you, you can make gradual but lasting progress over time.
Remember that no effort is too small or insignificant when it comes to self-improvement, and don’t forget to reward yourself for each forward step in progress!
