How do I become more confident in myself?
A lack of confidence makes us question whether we are doing well enough or are capable of achieving what we really want.
It can hold you back and stop you from doing the things you want to do and have a negative impact on your mental health. If you’re lacking in confidence you may well feel insecure about yourself and your decisions and feel negative towards certain things because you don’t believe in yourself.
Confident people, on the other hand, believe in themselves and have a positive mindset.
Most of us have moments of self-doubt or a crisis of confidence at some time or other, but if your lack of confidence is persistent and is keeping you from moving forward in your life or career, or is making you unhappy, it might be time to take some positive action. Confidence can be learned and there are ways to change things. It starts with believing in yourself.
Ways to become a more confident person
Have a read through our top-tips which may help you begin to think about strategies to overcome your feelings of low confidence and build your sense of self-worth.
1. Understand why you lack confidence in the first place.
Try to work out what it is specifically that is holding you back and once you have narrowed down the areas in your life where you do lack confidence, you can then start to do something about them. Things may then not feel quite so overwhelming.
2. Remind yourself of your strengths and achievements and work out what it is that gives you confidence.
Think about a time when you felt confident and what it was about that situation that was making you feel this way. Can you take anything from it to help you in other situations?
3. Stop comparing yourself to others
If you have to compare, compare yourself to yourself and look at your achievements in the context of your life. Ignore what others are doing or what you might see on social media as this won’t help you in your personal situation. Learn to love yourself for who you are and let go of any limiting beliefs – what you believe you are capable of.
4. Developing new skills will grow your confidence
Confidence can be very closely linked to your ability to do something, so learning or improving on your skillsets will help build your confidence and stepping out of your comfort zone or facing up to a challenge is a good way of helping you grow.
5. Change your frame of mind
Discard any negative thoughts and start thinking more positively. If you’re thinking about how well something will go, it is more likely to go well. Your focus becomes reality. Looking on the bright side will help too.
6. Surround yourself with people who support and encourage
People who encourage you will help you find the self-belief and motivation to make positive decisions and actions. If you’re surrounded by negative people, they are likely to bring you down with them.
7. Recognise that your contribution is valuable
If you’re struggling with confidence at school or work, find other areas of your life where you can start to build your confidence back up. Things like volunteering, starting a hobby, exercising or simply meeting up with good friends can help. Make sure you find time to do these things regularly.
8. Jump in – action builds confidence and this is where we might be able to help.
Remember your mind is a very powerful tool. If you continue to tell yourself you’re not confident, you will believe it and your self-doubt will continue. But if you tell yourself you can do it your mind will believe that too.
Becoming a more confident person will not happen overnight but by taking small actions and being aware of your feelings and how you see yourself, you can achieve your goals.
How Inspira can help boost your confidence...
Here at Inspira, we take pride in delivering a number of personal and professional development workshops and programmes that are designed to show even the most bashful people how to be more confident.
Through our programmes, we can help you to discover a new sense of self-esteem, overcome your barriers, become more resilient, and develop new skills for life and employability like planning, overcoming challenges, teamwork and leadership.
We can also recommend a number of online courses that are available to improve your confidence and give you a ‘can-do’ attitude.
Watch our short videos to see how our Inspira advisers have helped people build their confidence to land new jobs.
How we helped Ben with one-to-one support
Building your confidence to succeed in interviews
How Donna gained confidence through an Inspira workshop
Let us help you Be Bold, Be Relevant and Be Resilient.
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