Gaining self confidence may seem difficult and it is difficult for many people. While there is no magic formula for becoming a self-confident person, these “easy” things can get you started in the right direction.
Set Short-Term Achievable Goals
Every time you achieve a goal, you become more confident. The problem is that many people set goals that are not achievable or not specific enough. Let’s take weight loss as an example.
Maybe you need to lose 30 pounds to be at a healthy weight. An unrealistic goal to set would be to lose 30 pounds in a month. People who promote weight loss aids and fad diets might have you think otherwise, but losing a pound a day is not healthy.
Most of the weight lost would be water. Only a small amount would be fat.
A realistic achievable goal is to say that you will eat right and work out today. You can set a goal to lose one pound of fat per week by eating right and exercising. That’s achievable.
Weight loss is just one example. You might not need to lose weight. Whatever you have been thinking about doing, develop a plan to do it. Set small goals. When you reach one goal or milestone you set another one.
Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself
A part of how to build self confidence is to stop being a perfectionist. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Nobody’s perfect. No matter what they say.
Other people may have been critical of you at some point in time. But if you are like most people, you are your own worst critic.
Compliment Yourself
Everyone has strengths. You might be great at video games, an excellent cook, a good parent or a fantastic teacher. Make a list of your strengths and focus on them. Compliment yourself on your strengths. “Hey, I did a great job on that!”
Accept Compliments
As you are learning how to build self confidence, learn how to accept compliments. People with self-esteem issues have difficulty accepting compliments. They tend to shrug them off. You need to accept that what people are saying is true and learn to say, “Thanks!”
Exercise
Whether or not you need to lose weight, exercise helps improve your mood. It’s easy to set exercise goals and pretty easy to achieve them, as long as you are realistic.
Can you do 50 squats? How about 20 pushups? Pick a few exercises and do as many as you can. Write down that number. Try to do one more the next day. You will be surprised by how good you feel about yourself and how much more confident you feel when you do “just one more”.
Find Your Inner Strength
Everyone has an inner strength. Sometimes, you just have to find it. By facing challenges, (things you are afraid to do or think you cannot do) you will find your inner strength and be able to move forward.
Gaining self confidence comes with living a healthy lifestyle, achieving goals, sticking to your principles, helping others and facing challenges. So, go do something! You’ll feel better.