Having confidence is for sure one of the most important qualities you will ever need if you want success and happiness. Fortunately, self confidence can be improved, and below is the simplest yet the most effective strategy you can use to improve your self confidence. Now that we know that, let's begin.
1. Power Posing
Images courtesy of Amy Cuddy, Harvard University
Our body language is very important, it can affect our mood, health, and confidence. A lot of studies were conducted on body language and what effects it has on us. One study concluded that power posing can greatly improve your overall confidence and self esteem. Power posing can, for example, consist of 2 minutes where you straighten up, fill your lungs with air, throw back your shoulders, raise your head and just simply act tough and powerful. If you are nervous before a big job interview, we guarantee that if you power pose right before it, you will immediately feel a great confidence boost. This is simply the best thing to do if you need a quick and easy self esteem boost, and it has been shown that power posing can also positively affect your mood.
Additionally, we suggest that you take a few minutes to watch one of the best TED talks ever given. On it, Amy Cuddy talks about her research regarding the same subject of power posing and confidence.
2. Try And Stay Positive
True that it is not easy to stay optimistic and in a positive mind set when we can be surrounded by negativity every day, it's just the way that our brains are wired, but like our body language, our mind state and our thoughts can have a big impact on our mood, health, and confidence. First of all, being in a positive mindset has been shown multiple times that it can benefit our mental as well as physical health. Always, and no matter what, try to stay positive and believe in yourself. One way of maintaining a positive state of mind is to always repeat positive thoughts in your head, like "Yes, I can!" and "I will succeed no matter what happens."
3. Set Realistic Goals And Embrace Your Failures
You know what you are capable of, you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you must know your limits. But the important thing here is that you never sell yourself short. If you still don't know what you can do, test yourself, see if you can really do that something or is it simply unachievable for the moment. And don't be afraid to fail. When you are fearful of failing always remember this adage: " Either you win or you learn, failing is feedback."
4. Embrace Fear And Overcome It
When you see someone on a big stage, in front of a big crowd of people giving a public speech, do you really think that they don't experience fear? Of course that they do, they just know how to embrace it and cope with it. When you experience fear that is your body telling you that you are out of your comfort zone, and if you are not in a life threatening situation, you just need to embrace the fear and tackle it head on. Focus on what you are doing and don't let fear grab your attention. Just ignore it, forget about it, and when you do that and when you successfully finish do that thing that you were afraid to, you will feel a great sense of pride and you are going to feel much more confident than before.
5. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
When we see celebrities on the television or on social media, we usually become envious and start comparing our lives to theirs, which is not good for our mood, and is certainly not good for our positive mind set. You just have to stop comparing yourself to other, and you have to remember that there are always going be people who are wealthier, prettier, smarter and more successful than you, and there will always be people who aren't that is the fact and you just have to deal with it. When people post bits of their life on social media, they usually post only about good things in their life, leaving out their bad moments, and that just forms a misleading illusion where it seems that their life is all sunshine and flowers. If you want to compare yourself to anyone, make sure that the person you're comparing yourself to is you.
The Important Take Away
Improving your self confidence is the best decision you could ever take, and you reading this is for sure a sign that you're on your path to a happier state. Use and adapt this 5 steps strategy to work yourself and always remember that your are the product of your own choices and decisions.
