In the age of social media and constant personal scrutiny, it can feel impossible to boost yourself up or carry around any form of confidence with you. It takes effort to be confident in this day and age, but it’s worth the work! We go through different tips and things that help us with our confidence.
1 – Start your day off right. Listen to a good song to give you a boost, listen to a podcast telling you how hardcore you are. Whatever works! I personally recommend a podcast by a lady by the name of Erika Cramer called The Confidence Chronicles, the episodes are between 15-30 minutes long on average and are a great kick up the backside when you first wake up.
2 – Compliment someone else. Sounds hard doesn’t it? It really isn’t. I’m a person who will make sure to comment on someone’s new hairstyle if I notice they have had it done. It gives someone else a nice boost in their day and what you put out, you get back.
3 – Do one thing everyday that scares you. We’re not talking jumping out of a window – that quite rightly scares everyone and I highly advise you NOT to do that, unless the window is close to the ground and the building is on damn fire! We’re talking, texting that person you miss but worry will reject you, going for that first run or putting out a spider when all you want to do is scream and run.
4 – Attack the thing on your ‘To Do’ list that you want to do the least. This ties in with the above point. If there’s a call you don’t want to make but have to, just do it first! Then, not only is it done and out of the way, you’ve shown yourself you can handle the thing you wanted so desperately to avoid. You get a confidence kick, and the annoying thing is done.
5 – Dance like you want to. If you like to throw your arms in the air and shout “WOOOO” then do it! If someone wants to judge you, they will so you might as well have fun! (Disclaimer – please make sure not to whack anyone in the face whilst throwing out these bomb shapes – they probably wouldn’t appreciate it.)
6 – Pay less mind to the opinions of others. Opinions are like nostrils, we all have at least one and probably two…maybe even three! People will always have an opinion, but it is down to you whether or not that opinion changes how you behave and feel about yourself. You’re not owned by anyone else, so don’t let them run your life.
7 – Surround yourself with good people. There is a saying I’ve come across a few times which is “Before you diagnose yourself as depressed, first make sure you aren’t surrounded by *BLANK*” (put whatever word suits you there) And it is completely true. Research suggests we become like the top 5 people we spend the most time with. Look around yourself, are those people motivating you? Are they supportive? Do they want you to smash everything you put your mind to and succeed? If not, maybe find others who are…
8 – List what you like about yourself. Now, this one can be HARD. I know this form experience. However, it is important. If you struggle with this, then ask someone you trust and who has your back that will help you the first time.
9 – Love/appreciate yourself as you are now. That doesn’t mean you can never make changes to yourself, you absolutely can – it’s YOUR body. However, appreciate the way you are now first! You don’t have to hate what you have in order to change things. Want short hair? Great, chop it” But it doesn’t mean your longer hair isn’t already great as it is.
10 – Stop striving for perfection. Literally, stop. Sorry to be harsh, but you’re never going to get it. You are wasting precious time in your life, and making yourself miserable in the process. All in the pursuit of something that cannot be obtained because it does not exist. And even if it did exist, who wants to be perfect anyway?! Imagine the pressure of living on that thousand feet high pedestal! No, thank you.
You can’t force the world to give you confidence, you can’t even wait around for it. You’ll be disappointed. Instead, put the time in to yourself and building up your confidence and self love. Trust us, you’re worth the effort.
NF/JC x