Date: 2/20/2023
What Is Self-Confidence?
Estimated reading time: 1 min 56 sec
To persevere in life, a handful of traits can do us well. Characteristics such as trustworthiness, responsibility, kindness, etc., can make us more approachable to others, make it easier for us to make new friends and build professional relationships, and more. But though the decisions you make can influence those traits, another trait takes a bit more work and can pay off in dividends. That characteristic is self-confidence.
The benefits of self-confidence
Self-confidence is the attitude you intentionally demonstrate to others regarding your skills and abilities. Those who are self-confident accept and trust themselves and their actions and have control over the decisions they make in their lives.
If you demonstrate that self-confidence, you can expect to experience the following benefits:
- Less fear and anxiety.
- Increased motivation.
- More resilience.
- Improved relationships.
- Authenticity in your actions.
Your relationships might improve as you gain more respect from others. Conversely, less fear and anxiety make you more likely to stand up for yourself in challenging situations. And self-confident people are less likely to be subjects of bullying and crime because would-be offenders are more likely to shy away.
How to improve your self-confidence
But being self-confident doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and sometimes it takes some work. If you want to improve your self-confidence to improve your motivation, become more resilient to the actions occurring around you, and be more authentic, here are a few things you can do.
- Find a website or book of motivational quotes. Look at one or two quotes each day and reflect on their meaning. Journal how the quotes make you feel and one thing you might do differently that day because the selection inspired you.
- Practice smiling at a stranger. Smiling is good for you. It reduces your blood pressure, increases endurance, reduces stress, and strengthens your immune system. And the more you practice smiling at others, your mood will lift, and your self-confidence will increase.
- Say thank you to the person who compliments you the next time they say something nice. And do this regularly. Downplaying compliments is a sign of low self-confidence.
- Take time to present yourself the best you can every day. If you are feeling down, don’t let that emotion take over. Instead, get out of those yoga pants and put on your work clothes or an outfit you might wear out on the town. Taking a shower, putting on some make-up, and dressing up is all part of self-care and can make you feel better about yourself.
- Pay it forward. Do something good for someone else. Pay for their coffee, help someone cross the street, or offer to do something for a neighbor. No matter how small the gesture, you’ll feel great because you did it.
Self-confidence is a choice and takes a bit of effort every day. And the more you take the above steps, the better you’ll feel and the more self-confidence you’ll feel.