For some people confidence is something that needs to be practiced as it does not occur naturally to them.
We have heard it everywhere, a lot of people are making content on how to become more confident, and we have heard phrases like “be kind to yourself” or “stop comparing yourself to other”.
These are good advice, sure, but are they practical? Not really. So, today we would like to give you practical way on how to be more confident.
1. Cut Down on Social Media
Yes, this is the easiest way to feel more confident. Most of our insecurities come from looking at other people’s picture perfect life on social media which when compared to our own lives, could cause some emotional distress.
Unfollow anyone that makes you feel terrible about yourself. However, if you want to go a step further, instead of merely unfollowing people, use social media as an inspiration. You have to understand that that there are a lot of effort put to achieve that picturesque life, making it unrealistic for the majority of people, but you can still take inspirations from these influencers. The key is to shift your mindset from the “comparison” to “inspired” mindset.
2. Take Care of Your Appearance
This may sound superficial, but it is the most realistic way to be more confident, if you look good, you will feel good, and no, we are not telling you to do something extreme like doing surgeries. What you can do though, is to look at the mirror and identify parts of your body which makes you feel insecure, and which part of your body you love.
What you want to do is improve parts of your body which makes you insecure and enhance / highlight the parts you love.
Feeling overweight? Start exercising and pay attention to what you eat. Having acne? Consult your dermatologist and find the best treatment to get rid of your acne.
Don’t like how your teeth look? Get braces or go to the dentist for your choice of treatment. The key is to take action. Instead of crying in front of the mirror and feeling sorry for yourself, or simply giving yourself the wrong affirmation by completely destroying your beauty to challenge the beauty standard, think of ways you can improve your appearance to become the best version of yourself.
It would not happen overnight, but with consistent action, you’ll start looking better and as a result, you’ll feel more confident about yourself.
3. Learn to Dress for Confidence
Whoever told you that you don’t have to dress to impress is lying. Dressing well will play a major role in increasing your confidence. First of all, you have to navigate your own personal style, what kind of style do you want to apply for yourself?
Some people are more artistic and they love to play with colors while some people prefer a simple, neutral, classy look.
For women, learning fashion can be a huge confidence booster, no matter what body size you have, the key is to find the right piece which will suit your body type the best. However, stay away from anything that will accentuate your “flaw” points.
Learn how to dress for confidence and you will immediately feel even more confident.
4. Learn New Skills or Become Really Good at Something
A way to boost your confidence is to learn new skills or become really good at something. Why? Because when you are learning new skills, you obviously won’t have any time to worry about making mistakes, which can actually be a good practice in improving your confidence.
When you have a skill that you are enthusiastic about, be really good at it.
This way, you know when you have something that you excel at, so whenever you feel down for any reason, just think of this skill you have and you will be reminded of your real worth, which will lead to an increase in confidence.
Find three hobbies, one to make you money, one to get you in shape, and one to increase your creativity, and master them. This way, you will have no reason to look down on yourself and you will start having more self confidence
5. Practice Public Speaking
Oh, boy, introverts are going to face palm at this, but practicing public speaking is a fantastic way to increase your confidence, it will allow you to face your fears of being around people.
When starting out, you can practice in front of the mirror or a camera and start talking, yes, you will look crazy, and your family will think you have gone crazy, but ignore them and just focus on your speech.
Find a topic you really like to talk about and start practicing. Then start speaking in front of your friends and family, then in front of your class or office meeting, overtime, you will become used to it, and before you realize it, you will become more confident than before
Bonus: Don’t Look at Other People with Envy, Instead, Learn from Them
Envy is the ultimate confidence killer, it is the only sin out of the seven deadly sins that bring no pleasure. When you are looking at someone who is beautiful, successful, intelligent or talented, do not look at them with envy.
It is very easy to judge others for their success and sometimes your judgement comes out of bitterness, instead, place them as a source of inspiration. Find out what they did to achieve that level of success in their life and find out what you can apply for yourself.
You may not end up exactly like them, but you don’t have to, you can be the best you.
