We all have times when we lack self-confidence and do not feel good about ourselves. When you have low self-esteem and it becomes a long-term problem, it can have a harmful impact on your mental health. Your self-esteem is directly linked to your self-confidence.
What is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. When we have a healthy self-esteem, we feel positive about ourselves and about all areas of life. When you have a heather self-esteem, you are far better equipped to deal with all the ups and downs of life.
However, when our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a more negative or critical light. So, when challenges arise, we don’t know how best to deal with them.
Confidence is something I have struggled with for a long time. I would never think I could pass exams and then when I did, I thought it was down to pure luck rather than my abilities. Now I am an adult, I very much struggle with my self-confidence and can often be guilty of negative self-talk. Despite these actions, I am working hard to improve my confidence and have found these 6 habits are helping me, so I thought that I would share them with you to enable you to boost your confidence and your personal growth.
1. Recognise What You’re Good At
Everyone is good at something, whether that be cooking, drawing, doing puzzles or writing. You will have a talent or activity that you are good at. Writing a big list of things that you are good at helps to concentrate on what you are good at rather than focus on negative things you think about yourself. This practice acts as positive affirmations, something you could do on a daily basis as a reminder that you have so much to offer. When you are reminding yourself regularly of what you are good at, you will boost your mood.
Read: 30 affirmations that will improve your self-esteem
2. Build Positive Relationships
Who you surround yourself with affects your mental health. What people say to you and how they treat you can affect how you will feel about yourself. If you spend time with people who put you down, do not support you or do not appreciate you, you are going to attach that to your worth.
When you choose to build positive relationships with people who are supportive, build you up and appreciate who you are and what you have to offer, it makes it far easier to feel better about yourself. ‘Your vibe attracts your tribe’!
3. Celebrate Your Small Wins
Whether large or small, a win always marks an achievement. Small wins can sometimes be so small that you could miss the value they confer on your life, but it is important that you recognise how they all lead to a bigger picture and life goal.
Celebrating small wins sparks the reward circuits of your brain and releases endorphins that will give you a sense of rode and happiness. Once you recognise your achievements, they will motivate you towards your next one. Your mood and confidence will be boosted by seeing how well you are doing. Here are 7 ways you can celebrate your small wins:
- Treat yourself to a tasty treat
- Surprise yourself with a gift
- Take a personal day
- Practise self-care
- Go for a walk outside
Photo by Matt Flores on Unsplash
4. Do Kind Acts For Others
If you are filled with challenging thoughts that are bringing you down, you should get out of your own head and put your efforts into doing kind acts for other people. Do an unexpected good deed. You could: smile at someone, hold a door open, help someone with their shopping, surprise a loved one with a gift, or even send a kind message over the phone or social media. Kind acts do not need to be big; however, you can make someone’s day. When you see the response/reaction of the other person, it instantly makes you feel good about yourself.
Read: 5 ways you can show kindness
5. Get Moving
Any form of moving, whether that be exercising at the gym, walking or even doing the housework, when you move your body, you immediately feel better. When you get your heart umping chemicals like endorphins are released which makes you feel good and builds confidence. Sometimes, self-esteem and confidence issues are tied to body perception. Regular exercise helps build your confidence by improving your body image.
6. Be Kind To Yourself
Being kind to yourself is a form of self-care. When you talk and act kindly to yourself, it helps to improve your self-esteem and your mood. You feel awkward when you first start talking kindly about yourself, but you should stick with it and it will improve your worth, mood and confidence. If you talk down to yourself, or talk negatively about yourself, your self-worth and self-esteem will of course lead to low confidence.
You should think about what you would say to a loved one in a similar situation. Often, we all give far better advice to others than we do ourselves. This practice of kindness to yourself is the power of acceptance and growth. How you treat yourself sets the tone for how others will treat you.
6 ways you can be kinder to yourself:
- Learn to calm your mind
- Spend time with people who treat you well
- Be compassionate towards yourself
- Celebrate your growth
- Don’t live your life online
- Shut down negative self-talk
Practising these 6 habits continuously will enable you to grow in confidence and live a happier life. When you have a new found confidence, you are far more likely to take on new challenges and push yourself beyond your comfort zones. We all know that outside our comfort zones is where we grow and develop.
Do you think you are a confident person? How do you boost your confidence? I’d love to hear in the comments.
Love this post Lauren! Confidence is so tricky: One day you have and the next day it’s gone. So it needs constant work to keep a healthy self-appreciation going on. I like to think about moments that were really good and channel that positive energy for increased confidence.
Thank you for reading and commenting and sharing your thoughts.
These points are so important in helping to boost self-confidence! Celebrating the small wins is something that helps my self-confidence! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
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What a great post! Thankyou Lauren♡I struggle with self-confidence, always have so this has helped a lot♡
Thank you for reading and commenting. I am glad this has been helpful, it is something I am working on, so I am glad it has benefited you too. Can you link your blog x
Yes very helpful thanks😘LittleWildflower.site
Been feeling down about myself because I was not doing well at my job but your post helped me celebrate the small win I had today. Thank you!
That’s great you celebrated a small win! Keep doing that. Thank you for reading and commenting. X
These are all important points to boost your self confidence! I really love the idea of writing down what you are good at, it can be great to read back when you are having a bad day. Also celebrating small wins is so important!
Fab tips! Confidence is something that I’ve always struggled with and I love the idea of writing out a list of things you’re good at, that’s such a great idea. Doing kind things for others always makes me feel so much better too! Thanks for sharing x
Thank you for reading and commenting. The list really is a great task to try.
Thank you for sharing. We all struggle with self confidence so this was a comforting read. Positive relationships is key. We need to surround ourselves with people who support us and love us unconditionally.
Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing your thoughts.
Great tips, doing kind acts can definitely boost our confidence. I like you shared how to be kinder to ourselves. Thank you for sharing!
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I am not as confident of a person as I would like to be, hence I so loved reading your fun and helpful tips! Your ideas for treating oneself offer a wonderful variety of ideas, and I love that you include exercise and extending kindness to others as confidence boosters too!
These are the tips I am using to improve my self-confidence also! Thank you! I hope some of these tips help you Jaya! Thank you for reading and commenting.
Self confidence is important to accomplish goals in life. I really appreciate each tip you included. You must shut down negativity definitely and celebrate small as well as large accomplishments. Thank you for sharing this about this topic. 😊
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
Letstakeamoment.com
These are the tips that I am using to work on my self-confidence. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Self confidence is essential thing. All the 6 ways you mentioned are priceless. Awesome post.
Thank you for reading and commenting. If you have a blog can you share your blog.
I don’t really think that I am. I know I am good at some things, but I tend to overthink and doubt myself. I try to work on it and these tips are great for that! I have found that going back to school helps – every past exam is small win and it really boosts my confidence when presentations go well and classmates are asking help from me 🙂
These tips are helping me work on my self-confidence. That’s great you have seen changes. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Love this! Being kind to others is such a little mood and confidence boost 🙂 thank you for sharing x
Thank you for reading and commenting. X
A great list here! I have to agree celebrating the small wins gives you a big boost!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Thank you for reading and commenting. These have been helping me!
Great post Lauren! These are all wonderful ways to boost self-confidence. I love that you’ve included doing kind acts for others. It makes a huge difference to make someone else’s day and see them smile! Thank you for sharing!
Yasss love this post! Great article and a fantastic reminder for us all.
What great suggestions, Laura this is such an important topic! Love the affirmations this such good reminders of how powerful they can be. Thanks for sharing!
Small wins are so important. Great suggestions!
Thank you for reading and commenting Jamie! X
Self-confidence is something I have struggled with for a while. These are great tips and I agree it is great to celebrate your small wins. I also like the idea of writing a list of things I’m good at.
It is something I am struggling with but using these tips to help me. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great tips on increasing self-confidence. Doing something kind for another person is likely my favorite! x
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This post is great, and we definitely agree with Numbers 1 and 3. The small wins go a long way in making us feel better about ourselves. Thank you for sharing this post!
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You’re welcome!
I think I’m pretty self confident, and if others judge I don’t really care if it’s something I know that I’m good at. I’m not sure how she managed it but our mum brought my brother and myself up to both recognise our strengths and be confident. I’m not about everything but there’s not much point worrying about not being perfect at something.
It is great you have a healthy attitude and are a confident person in your abilities. Thank you for sharing your experience.
So well written as self esteem and self confidence is one factor makes us and help us to be what we are and what we would become. The positive self talk that you mentioned is so true as it helps in building confidence. 👍
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My pleasure the blog was interesting and with some good insight ✌
Celebrating your small wins is so important. No matter how small celebrate. I’ve struggled with self confidence for as long as I can remember but day by day I’m learning to love me and appreciate myself more and more
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Wonderful list & great reminders!!
Thank you!
I love this post. Thank you so much for sharing and for this list of wonderful reminders.
Clem x
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Thank you for reading and commenting. Do you have a blog?
Yes
Loved it ,some of the part resembled to my feelings.
It is so important to have confidence and Being kind to yourself is definitely an important step! We so often think about how we treat others or how we’d want others to treat us but don’t think about how we treat ourselves. That’s how I gained confidence I used nothing but kind words and positive affirmations in the morning before I start my day.