Believe in yourself, and you can achieve anything! The sky is the limit!
Self-confidence and self-worth are fundamental to living a happy, healthy life. If you believe in yourself, you will build confidence, a key component to achieving all of your life’s desires.
Here are ten tips to help you develop confidence, the secret ingredient to believing in yourself.
1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
In the world of Insta-perfection and online highlight reels, it’s effortless to scroll through the perfect photos everyone else posts of their life’s most incredible moments and wonder what we’re doing wrong with our own.
We’re not doing anything wrong.
All you see online is a brief snapshot of what they want you to see. It’s perfectly curated to make you think you aren’t good enough when, in reality, their life is just as dull and grinding as yours. Social media influences have a decent camera and an eye for aesthetics, but that doesn’t mean they are better than you.
Comparing yourself to others in real life can be problematic as well. Maybe you have a friend or family member who seems blessed. They have a dream life – a perfect partner, job, family, etc.
But there are a lot of things you don’t see.
How perfect is it? Do you know the ins and outs of everything, or does it just seem perfect from the outside? And even if it is perfect, how much hard work did it take for them to get there?
People rarely succeed from luck alone, but we don’t pay attention to all the failures and setbacks they faced along the way. We only look at where they are now.
Everyone has to live at their own pace. Wherever you are in life, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with taking your time or choosing a non-traditional path. What matters is that you are where you need to be at this moment.
2. Fake it ‘Til You Make it
Sometimes faking it helps. Pretending you know what you’re doing makes you realize that you really do understand what you are doing. And even if it doesn’t, fake confidence sometimes creates truel confidence.
If you don’t have any belief in yourself – fake it!
Pretend that you do. Act as you do. Changing your mindset to believe in yourself might involve tricking yourself, but that’s okay. It really does work!
3. Be Purposeful with Body Language
Stop slouching. Sit up straight. Roll your shoulders back. Open your body up and own the space you occupy.
It may seem silly – but being intentional about how you take up space can do wonders for your self-esteem.
Pay attention to how you present yourself. Are you always trying to be small or take up as little space as possible? Stop!
Imagine you have the confidence of a man on a subway and permit yourself to exist in the space you need. Acknowledging that you have the right to be will help you believe in yourself overall.
4. Give Yourself a Boost
Many of us already have a few things at home that help us feel better about ourselves. Perhaps wearing a particular outfit improves your mood, or a specific hairstyle gives you a little pick-me-up.
Wear that favorite outfit and style your hair that way. Do the little things that you can do to boost your self-esteem. Sometimes a tiny boost is all we need to have an epic day.
5. Change Your Style
If these tiny changes to boost yourself don’t help anymore, consider a more drastic change. Sometimes a wardrobe change or a new hairstyle can help you build confidence.
Experiment with your style and own it. Dye your hair the color you’ve always wanted, get creative with your outfit choices, or give yourself a complete makeover. These changes can give you the boost you need to feel good about yourself.
6. Maintain a Positive Mindset
Positive thinking helps. Maintaining a positive outlook on life reduces your risk of illness and leads to happier lives.
Your mindset affects everything in your life. Those with a scarcity mindset might be overwhelmed with negativity. Their inner voice may whisper that all the good ideas are taken. There’s no room left at the top, so why even bother?
On the other hand, those with a growth mindset realize that possibilities are endless. You believe you can grow, adapt and change to create the life you’ve always wanted.
Embracing a positive mindset will help you avoid limiting beliefs and find the bright side of everything the universe tosses at you.
7. Use the Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction is the idea that the universe gives you what you ask for. However, it’s not as simple as a one-time ask.
The law of attraction is related to the positive mindset shifts discussed above. You need to showcase to the universe what you truly desire in the deepest depths of your soul.
The law of attraction proposes that if you constantly think negative thoughts about yourself and your abilities, those negative thoughts will manifest into reality, and you will continue to fail.
Conversely, if you shift your mindset and think positive thoughts, encourage yourself through constructive self-talk, and honestly believe that you are worthy of good things in your life, the good stuff will start to come to you.
You attract what you put out into the universe.
8. Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone
One of the best ways to gain confidence is to succeed at something new and challenging. Army recruits run taxing obstacle courses, team-building events focus on demand tasks, and escape rooms burst with complex puzzles because defeating these things build confidence.
Defeating challenging scenarios helps you build confidence in your abilities.
You can do many things to step outside of your comfort zone and boost your confidence. Join Toastmasters to overcome the terror of public speaking, face your fear of heights with a roller coaster, or master the horror you feel in the presence of creepy crawlers by getting a little too close to that spider.
Take a hard look at the things that frighten you and find ways to overcome them.
9. Take Care of Your Physical Health
Taking care of your physical health is a primary key to building your confidence and believing in yourself. Studies have shown that a healthy diet and physical activity help people build confidence and feel better about themselves overall.
It’s not easy to change a lifetime of bad habits.
Start small by making minor substitutions in your diet and committing to a light walk daily. Gradually work towards healthy changes, a more nutritious diet, and physical activity.
As an added bonus, embracing a healthy lifestyle will give you more time to enjoy your dream life!
10. Therapy
Let’s be honest. Sometimes your self-esteem issues are horrible, and no amount of positive thinking, journaling, or faking will make it better.
You may struggle with a mental health issue, like depression or anxiety, limiting your ability to believe in yourself.
There’s a stigma against therapy, and it needs to go away. Whether your lack of confidence is related to mental illness or not, seeking treatment can help you if you can’t help yourself.
I’ve seen a therapist for issues ranging from codependency to imposter syndrome. There’s no shame in getting the help you need.
Believe in Yourself!
Believing in yourself will help you achieve your goals. So it’s time to put aside that self-doubt and start working towards everything you want.
Melanie launched Partners in Fire in 2017 to document her quest for financial independence with a mix of finance, fun, and solving the world’s problems. She’s self educated in personal finance and passionate about fighting systematic problems that prevent others from achieving their own financial goals. She also loves travel, anthropology, gaming and her cats.