How to Improve Self Confidence

Build awareness of your negative thoughts and beliefs., Encourage yourself., Learn to forgive yourself., Congratulate yourself., Make sure your expectations are realistic., Challenge negative thoughts., Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses...

8 Steps 4 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Build awareness of your negative thoughts and beliefs.

    In order to build your self-confidence, you will have to address some of your negative thoughts and beliefs.

    Keep a journal handy so that you can write down any negative thoughts and beliefs that enter your head throughout the day.

    Then, look over what you have written and try to determine where the thought or belief is coming from.

    Consider what you think might be causing you to have these types of thoughts and beliefs., Positive daily affirmations can help you to develop more self-confidence.

    Take a few moments every day to look at yourself in the mirror and say something encouraging to yourself.

    You can either say something that you believe about yourself or something that you would like to believe about yourself.

    It helps to write out your affirmations and place in a spot you will often see, like inside your wallet or the welcome page of your mobile telephone.Some examples of positive affirmations include: “I am an intelligent person.” “I am a good father.” “I have accomplished many important things in my life.” “People enjoy spending time with me.” , People with low self-confidence are often highly critical of themselves.

    One way that you can begin to conquer your inner critic is to learn how to forgive yourself when you make mistakes, just like you would forgive a friend.

    The next time you make a mistake, take a deep breath and stop yourself from assigning blame or insulting yourself.

    Instead, practice saying something like, “I made a mistake, but that does not make me a bad person.”, Another way to improve your self-confidence is to congratulate yourself when you do something well and remind yourself of things that you have done well in the past.

    Giving yourself a little pat on the back now and then will help you to stay focused on your positive qualities and help build up your self-confidence.Keep in mind that you can congratulate yourself on everyday successes as well.

    For example, after a long day at work, you could say to yourself, “Way to go! You did a great job today!” , Although having high expectations for yourself is not always bad, unrealistic expectations can set you up for failure and disappointment.

    If your expectations are too high or if they are not in line with your current situation, consider reevaluating them to reduce the possibility of failure.For example, if you have just graduated from college and you expect to have a job within a week of beginning a job search, you may end up being disappointed.

    Instead, focus on goals that are within your control, such as applying for a certain number of jobs per day. , Negative thoughts are common in all people, but they may be even more common if you have low self-confidence.

    It is important to acknowledge and challenge any negative thoughts that you have in order to improve your self-confidence.

    Practice acknowledging the thought and then saying what you do not accept it.For example, if you have the thought, “I am stupid,” acknowledge that it is just a thought by saying to yourself, “I am having the thought that I am stupid.” Then, challenge the thought by replacing it with something positive like, “I am an intelligent person.” , Taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses can help you to get a more realistic view of yourself, which can be hard to do if you have low self-confidence.

    Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and on each side make a list of 10 strengths and 10 weaknesses.

    Congratulate yourself for the things that you excel at and work on accepting your weaknesses.Try using a mantra to help you silence your inner critic.

    For example, you might repeat something like, "I am only human.

    I am doing the best that I can and that is all that I can do."

    Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you to develop your self-confidence.

    To use visualization, close your eyes and imagine a time when you succeeded at something or when you felt especially confident.

    Try to remember every detail of that moment, where you were, who was there, what was said, and how you felt.

    Replay this moment over in your head once a day to help build yourself-confidence.
  2. Step 2: Encourage yourself.

  3. Step 3: Learn to forgive yourself.

  4. Step 4: Congratulate yourself.

  5. Step 5: Make sure your expectations are realistic.

  6. Step 6: Challenge negative thoughts.

  7. Step 7: Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses.

  8. Step 8: Use visualization to improve self-confidence.

Detailed Guide

In order to build your self-confidence, you will have to address some of your negative thoughts and beliefs.

Keep a journal handy so that you can write down any negative thoughts and beliefs that enter your head throughout the day.

Then, look over what you have written and try to determine where the thought or belief is coming from.

Consider what you think might be causing you to have these types of thoughts and beliefs., Positive daily affirmations can help you to develop more self-confidence.

Take a few moments every day to look at yourself in the mirror and say something encouraging to yourself.

You can either say something that you believe about yourself or something that you would like to believe about yourself.

It helps to write out your affirmations and place in a spot you will often see, like inside your wallet or the welcome page of your mobile telephone.Some examples of positive affirmations include: “I am an intelligent person.” “I am a good father.” “I have accomplished many important things in my life.” “People enjoy spending time with me.” , People with low self-confidence are often highly critical of themselves.

One way that you can begin to conquer your inner critic is to learn how to forgive yourself when you make mistakes, just like you would forgive a friend.

The next time you make a mistake, take a deep breath and stop yourself from assigning blame or insulting yourself.

Instead, practice saying something like, “I made a mistake, but that does not make me a bad person.”, Another way to improve your self-confidence is to congratulate yourself when you do something well and remind yourself of things that you have done well in the past.

Giving yourself a little pat on the back now and then will help you to stay focused on your positive qualities and help build up your self-confidence.Keep in mind that you can congratulate yourself on everyday successes as well.

For example, after a long day at work, you could say to yourself, “Way to go! You did a great job today!” , Although having high expectations for yourself is not always bad, unrealistic expectations can set you up for failure and disappointment.

If your expectations are too high or if they are not in line with your current situation, consider reevaluating them to reduce the possibility of failure.For example, if you have just graduated from college and you expect to have a job within a week of beginning a job search, you may end up being disappointed.

Instead, focus on goals that are within your control, such as applying for a certain number of jobs per day. , Negative thoughts are common in all people, but they may be even more common if you have low self-confidence.

It is important to acknowledge and challenge any negative thoughts that you have in order to improve your self-confidence.

Practice acknowledging the thought and then saying what you do not accept it.For example, if you have the thought, “I am stupid,” acknowledge that it is just a thought by saying to yourself, “I am having the thought that I am stupid.” Then, challenge the thought by replacing it with something positive like, “I am an intelligent person.” , Taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses can help you to get a more realistic view of yourself, which can be hard to do if you have low self-confidence.

Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and on each side make a list of 10 strengths and 10 weaknesses.

Congratulate yourself for the things that you excel at and work on accepting your weaknesses.Try using a mantra to help you silence your inner critic.

For example, you might repeat something like, "I am only human.

I am doing the best that I can and that is all that I can do."

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you to develop your self-confidence.

To use visualization, close your eyes and imagine a time when you succeeded at something or when you felt especially confident.

Try to remember every detail of that moment, where you were, who was there, what was said, and how you felt.

Replay this moment over in your head once a day to help build yourself-confidence.

About the Author

E

Emily Tucker

Specializes in breaking down complex lifestyle topics into simple steps.

50 articles
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