Start building self confidence today with these easy activities and quotes.

Wouldn’t it be nice to always think “Yes, I can!” when we are in the middle of difficult problems, choices, or situations? 

Our self-confidence will shape our attitude, thoughts, and feelings.

We are going to find out how building self-confidence can make us happier and more successful.

Self Confidence is the memory of success.
David Storey

What is Self Confidence?

 

According to the Counseling Center of the University of South Florida,

Self-confidence is when you:  

 

  • trust and accept yourself
  • have a sense of control in your life
  • know your strengths and weaknesses
  • have a positive view of your abilities and skills
  • believe you can achieve your goals
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.
Samuel Johnson

Where does our Self-Confidence Come From?

 

We build self confidence every time we succeed at a task.

The more things we do well, the more self confidence we will have.

When we were little kids, we built our self confidence when others believed in us, cheered us on, and encouraged us to keep trying.

For example, when babies start to walk. They are encouraged at every step.

If the baby falls down, parents motivate the infant to try again, until the baby is able to walk.

At this point the child knows that he or she can do it and keeps relentlessly working on it.

After much trial and error, the toddler is able to walk.

This is how building self confidence can change your life because you will trust your own abilities and skills.

However, as time goes by, and tasks get more complex, self doubt may creep in, and people around you may not be very supportive.

If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.
T. Harv Eker

Why is Self Confidence Important?

 

Building self confidence affects success by:

  • Developing a “Yes, I can!” attitude
  • Taking actions towards the life you want to live
  • Considering mistakes as stepping stones toward achieving goals
  • Trying new experiences and opportunities
  • Accepting failure as part of the learning process

 

Developing self confidence is a process that takes time, effort, and persistence.

Therefore, the sooner you start building your self- confidence, the sooner you will see positive changes in your own life.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.
Marie Curie

Building Self Confidence in 10 Easy Steps

 

1 – Smile More 

Smiling is the easiest thing you can do to boost your self confidence.

Why?

Because it can trick your brain into thinking you’re happy and consequently, switch your mind into a more positive mindset.

Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities, arrogance is when you think you are better than others and act accordingly.
Stewart Stafford

2 – Visualize

 

Visualization is key to success in all aspects of life, even self confidence.

Whatever you see in your mind and believe, you will be able to create.

So, start visualizing yourself as the confident person that you want to be.

Imagine yourself tackling difficult situations and achieving your goals.

See yourself happy by building self-confidence and accomplishing tasks that you value.

Soon enough, you will actually start to take action in real life.

Here are more tips on how to use visualization to build your self confidence.

Confidence isn’t optimism or pessimism, and it’s not a character attribute. It’s the expectation of a positive outcome.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter

3 – Meditate

 

Forming a habit of meditating daily will help you disconnect your mind from negative self-talk and focus on the here and now.

During meditation you will connect with yourself and feel more detached from your thoughts.

Therefore, if negative, anxious, or toxic thoughts come to your mind you will be able to let them go instead of identifying yourself with these thoughts.

By meditating on what you want to achieve, you will tell your brain that it can be done, therefore, building your self- confidence.

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.
Stan Smith

4 – Stop Judging Others

 

When we judge others we form an opinion about them based on our perceptions, experiences, and beliefs.

Many times we are not able to see the whole picture or really understand the situation from the other person’s point of view.

When we judge others negatively, we do it to feel better about ourselves.

In addition, judging others just affirms to yourself that others are judging you.

Judging and criticizing others will make you feel doubtful and reduce your self confidence because you assume that the other person will be as critical to you, as you are.

Furthermore, when we assume that others have the best intentions even if we may not understand or agree with their actions, we assume that the same is true for us.

Not judging others and yourself will boost your self confidence because you will understand that there are different ways to achieve the same result.

These thoughts will help you to try new things, experiment with different situations and despite failures or mistakes still feel confident.

Confidence. If you have it, you can make anything look good.
Diane Von Furstenberg

5 – Do What Makes YOU Happy

 

Many times we rush through our days trying to complete all the tasks on our to do list while trying to make everyone around us happy.

However, the problem is that soon, you will feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and dissatisfied with your life.

You will feel that your choices and needs are not important, which will reduce your self-confidence.

Take time out of every day to do at least one thing that makes you happy.

If you are strapped for time, then make it something small, like treating yourself to a fancy coffee on your way to work or listening to your favorite song.

Spending time everyday doing something that makes you happy will build self-confidence in your preferences.

That is because you will focus on your strengths and activities that bring you joy.

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear.
Norman Vincent Peale

6 – Surround Yourself with Positive People

We usually behave like the people around us. If we are among cheerful people, we tend to have a more positive outlook.

If we are around toxic people, we are more likely to behave like them.

People with a positive attitude are more optimistic and are able to see possibilities where others only see obstacles.

Be aware of who you spend most of your time with, as it can determine lots of things about you.

Make sure that you are around positive people who encourage you to take action toward the life you want to live.

This will build your self-confidence and make you happy.

Don’t you dare, for one more second, surround yourself with people who are not aware of the greatness that you are.
Jo Blackwell-Preston

7 – Keep a Journal

 

Take 10 minutes at the end or beginning of every day to write in a journal.

Write how you feel about yourself and your life.

Reflect on your achievements, plans, and goals. Describe your progress building self confidence.

This makes it easy to look back and reflect on the good or bad times, helping you understand what triggers your self confidence levels.

If you are not familiar with journaling, here are 8 Easy Tips on How to Start a Journal for Beginners.

 

Confidence is key. Sometimes, you need to look like you’re confident even when you’re not.
Vanessa Hudgens

8 – Don’t Expect Others Approval

 

Basically, don’t worry about what others think of you.

Spend time with people who share your same values. It is not reasonable to expect that everyone will agree with your choices, or that everyone will like you.

It can be especially disappointing when close friends or family don’t see eye to eye with us.

As you build self-confidence you will kindly consider other people’s opinions, in addition to your own.

Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.
David Storey

9 – Don’t Compare Yourself with Others

 

Everyone is on a different life path.

If you compare yourself with others who are further ahead on your path, you’ll feel discouraged.

Even though it’s good to have mentors that inspire you and give you good ideas, comparing yourself with them will make your progress look insignificant.

Don’t think that others are better than you.

Everyone has a different set of strengths and weaknesses and focusing on your strengths will help you build your self-confidence and increase your feelings of happiness.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
Norman Vincent Peale

10 – Stop Negative Thoughts in Their Tracks

 

Being negative never helped anyone, and it certainly won’t help you, or your self-confidence.

So, every time you feel a negative thought coming on, cancel it out with something positive.

An example of this would be waking up in the morning.

Instead of thinking about how much you don’t like waking up early, to go to work, think about how by not going to work you wouldn’t be able to pay the bills.

Just simple thoughts like this can change your whole day, and your self-confidence will thank you for it.

If you struggle with negative thoughts you may want to read: How to Stop Negative Thoughts Today: 10 Easy Tips.

It is confidence in our bodies, minds, and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures.
Oprah Winfrey

The quotes in this post are from keepinspiring.me.

Building self confidence takes time and determination to focus on your strengths and challenge your weaknesses.

What step do you think will be useful for building your self confidence?

 

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