If you are reading this, the chances are, either you or someone you know has been struggling with with low confidence and self-esteem. Understanding these issues coupled with a little hard work can definately turn things around. Read on to discover what confidence and self-esteem mean and more importantly—what you can do to give them a boost. So, whether you're on this journey for yourself or looking to support someone close, let's untangle the secrets to boosting your confidence and self-esteem.
Here are a few tips that may help boost your self-confidence:
Set yourself sensible goals and work towards achieving them consistently. This can give you a sense of achievement and boost your self-esteem.
Try if possible, to spend time with confident and helpful people who have confidence in you in you and your capabilities.
Maybe pay more attention to your physical and mental well-being. This can help you to feel proud of yourself and boost your confidence.
When people pay you compliments, accept genuinely and believe in your own values.
Challenge negative thoughts and beliefs you hold about yourself, and make an effort to replace them with positive ones.
Be aware of how you appear to others groom and dress in a way that brings out your self-confidence.
Maintain an upright posture and make eye contact when communicating with others. This can help you feel more self-assured and poised.
Develop self-compassion and treat yourself with the same kindness and empathy you would show to a friend.
Be aware that everyone makes mistakes and that's fine. Instead of being too hard on yourself, learn from your mistakes. .
In the end, developing self-confidence is a journey that may take time and effort before you see positive results. The key is to be patient with yourself and constantly work on developing a healthier, more positive outlook.
An exercise to help you to be more confidence and overcome a lack of Self-Esteem
Study this carefully changes won't happen overnight but in the long run, you will be glad that you took the time and made the effort.
1 List the positives
Write a list of all the positive things about yourself – all the things you like, things people have complimented you on, your strengths, talents, and abilities, positive aspects of your character, appearance, etc. Write down everything you can think of.
2 List the negatives
Next, write a list of things you’d like to improve about yourself, or that are still “in process” – things you don’t like about yourself, etc.
3 Re frame the negatives
Now go through the list from #2 and – on a new sheet of paper – write a new positive version for each that “re frames” it in a self-supporting, self-encouraging way, (for example, if you wrote “I can’t jump higher than 2 feet,” you might write the new version of “I’ve increased my jumping ability by 6 inches during the last year” or “I can jump with more accuracy than I could 2 months ago.”
Another example might be if you wrote “I don’t like my face,” you might rewrite it as “my nose gives me a wonderful, unique character all my own” or “my eyes convey my beauty and love very clearly.” Make sure that you are still being honest in the new version you write – only write things that you honestly feel. In some cases, you may need to be creative to find the “silver lining.”
4 Release the negatives
When you are finished, tear up or burn your old list from #2 (to symbolically release the negatives), and keep your original list of positives (from #1) and your new “reframed” list (from #3) to review periodically to help keep your self-esteem on track. Keep in mind that the idea of this exercise is not to reject your self-criticisms, but to first acknowledge them, and then use them as a springboard into a more positive, productive way of thinking about yourself.
Self Hypnosis to boost Confidence and Self-Esteem.
Self Hypnosis can be a great tool to help you to be more confident. We have a Self-Hypnosis session HERE All the sessions on our website are written and recorded by Sharon Shinwell. Sharon is a UK qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist who has been helping people to improve their lives for over 20 years.
"This article represents the personal views and opinions of the author and should not be taken as representative of the official policy or position of any organization, professional, expert, or individual."