Regardless of your industry or the size of your business, when seeking to improve your performance, it’s essential that you have a solid sense of self-confidence. You can lose out on critical opportunities simply because you don’t believe in yourself enough to make bold moves; but if you believe in yourself (and know what exactly about yourself is capable), then chances are much higher than you will achieve the success you want.
According to brain scan research, when our self-esteem is high, we are more likely to perceive common emotional wounds like rejection and failure as less painful and recover faster. When our self-esteem is stronger, we are less prone to worry; when we are stressed, we produce less cortisol in our bloodstream, and it is less likely to stay in our system.
People who are self-assured see their life in a good perspective even when things aren’t going well, and they are generally content with and respect themselves. Isn’t it wonderful to have this level of self-assurance every day of the week? What’s more, guess what? You certainly can.
5 Powerful Ways to Boost Your Confidence
Avoid negativity and bring on the positivity in your life
Be optimistic, even if you aren’t experiencing it right now. Put some positive energy into your connections with others, and you’ll be off to a nice beginning on your next venture. Start concentrating on your problems and start focusing on solutions and making positive changes in your life.
Make a list of your skills and work on improving them
Demonstrating true talent and performance in areas of your life that matter to you builds self-esteem. Throw more dinner parties if you consider yourself an excellent cook. Sign up for races and train for them if you’re a decent runner. In other words, identify your primary abilities and seek out chances and occupations that highlight them.
Change your body language and image
This is when the posture, smile, eye contact, and conversation begin to play a role. Simply lifting your shoulders back conveys the appearance that you are a self-assured individual. Not only will smiling help you feel better, but it will also make others feel more at ease around you. Imagine someone who has decent posture with a grin, and you’ll see someone who is self-assured.
According to studies, people who take the time to talk slowly and clearly have greater confidence in themselves and look more confident to others as well.
Get rid of the negative thoughts
Negative thoughts that race through our heads on an unending loop is a common source of low self-confidence. You’re creating a self-fulfilling prophecy if you frequently criticize yourself and say things like “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not pretty enough,” “I’m not clever enough or sporty enough,” and so on.
You’re becoming the very thing you’re preaching to yourself, and that’s not a good thing. When you hear that negative voice in your brain again, quickly flip it to a positive affirmation and repeat until it reaches the level of a self-confidence boost.
For tough times, when all else fails: Create a gratitude list.
Write it down right now and write a list of all the things you are grateful for in your life, as well as a list of all the things you are proud of having accomplished. If your self-esteem is eroding, browse through those lists and allow yourself to feel and be motivated all over again.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, when our self-esteem is low, we are likely to damage it even further by being self-critical. Since our goal is to enhance our self-esteem, we need to substitute self-criticism with self-compassion.
Finally, enhancing self-esteem takes some effort since it entails creating and sustaining healthy emotional habits, but doing so, and doing it effectively, will pay off in terms of emotional and psychological benefits.
