Confidence and self esteem are a large part of a person’s daily life. The way you feel about yourself can have tremendous effects on the success and happiness of your personal, social, and business life. Looking and feeling your best can help you enjoy life more, stress less, and reach any dream you hold. But looking and feeling confident is sometimes easier said than done. Start feeling your best and unlock the happiness you deserve with these 8 easy tips.
1. Take Care of Yourself
It can extremely hard to feel good or confident about yourself if your health isn’t in check. Whether it’s your mental or physical health, it’s essential to practice good self-care. Eating a balanced, nutritious diet and exercising regularly can help improve your body image and feel better about the skin you are in. In fact, science has determined that there is an extremely strong correlation between physical activity and overall mental health.
In addition to eating right and staying active, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep. The health of your body, spirit, and mind are all connected. Looking and feeling your best begins with being the healthiest version of you.
2. Find a Look That Works For You
Appearances are certainly not everything, but how you look and how you are perceived can have a lot to do with how you feel about yourself. The impression you make on others and how confident you appear can exude or limit your success in a variety of areas within your life. The trick, however, is to focus on your appearance with a focus on yourself and not others.
It is important to be confident in how you look and to never dress with the thoughts of others in mind. In order to be fully confident in your own skin, you must be comfortable with what you wear and how you look. Take a mental inventory of your best assets and build a look that takes advantage of your best traits and qualities. After all, nothing exudes confidence like being comfortable in your own skin.
3. Start Defining Yourself By More Than Your Appearance
The way you present yourself to others can play a large role in your confidence and self esteem. But the way you present yourself must come from the inner, most unique parts of yourself. Without the self-esteem and confidence to see your best qualities and attributes, how can you be successful in reaching any goal? Your appearance is merely a reflection of your best self.
Using Affirmations: The knowledge of your own self-worth is essential to your confidence, self-esteem, and how you move through the world. It is important that you can recognize the best parts of yourself. Every day, try reminding yourself of these qualities within you. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself things that are true and positive. Affirmations can include things like, “I am a good parent,” “I am smart and strong,” “I can conquer this day,” or “I am worthy of great things.” Affirmations should be personal to you and can be changed to meet your goals and aspirations.
4. Reserve Your Judgment and Practice Forgiveness
We all have positive and negative thoughts, but as humans, we tend to be our own biggest critics. It is important to honor both good and bad feelings, but holding too much negativity can have serious effects on your mental health. You must learn to turn negative thoughts about yourself into positives and learn to forgive yourself for mistakes and transgressions in the past. By finding the positivity in every negative thought, you can change your inner dialogue into a much happier and confident you.
Try this quick tip the next time you feel something negative about yourself: Take a breath and come up with 5 positive thoughts about yourself or things you are grateful for. This quick exercise can help you acknowledge the negativity, but also move past it.
5. Smile, Smile, Smile
Ever hear the expression, “fake it until you make it?” Sometimes, forcing yourself into a certain mood or behavior can alter your state of mind. Confident people tend to smile and laugh more. Even if you’re not feeling like it, try to smile as much as possible. Not only does smiling make you look and appear more confident to others, but smiling can actually help improve your overall mood and therefore, how you feel about yourself.
6. Strengthen Your Body Language
Just as famed motivational speaker Tony Robbins states, “Confidence is not just something you have – it’s something you create.” Even when you don’t feel your best, certain behaviors can create a sense of confidence that becomes reality over time. Part of what makes you feel confident is how others perceive you and how you feel in front of others. And your body language can say a lot about your self-esteem. Work on what you exude to the world, and it may just help understand how strong and unique you really are.
- Posture: One of the most telling signs of a person’s confidence, or lack thereof, is body posture. A slumped, hunched over body creates an appearance of insecurity. Remember to stand up straight, with your shoulders back and head high. This will help you look and feel more confident.
- Fidgeting and Hand Movement: When you fidget, it’s typically a sign of anxiety or nervousness. This can make you appear uncomfortable in your skin. Learn to control your fidgeting and unnecessary hand movements. Every time you feel yourself going in for a quick fidget, take a deep breathe and redirect your body.
- Eye Contact: A confident person is sure of themselves in any situation. And a lack of self-esteem and certainty can be seen in those who find it hard to make eye contact with others. By keeping eye contact with others, you not only show a sense of confidence inside yourself, but also the ability to focus your attention and show empathy.
7. Don’t Make Comparisons
There is no one like you in the world. As a truly unique individual, you are priceless. But in today’s world, it can be easy to compare yourself to others. When you begin comparing yourself to other people and their lives, you begin to find flaws with yourself. It is important to remember that everyone has positives and negatives in their lives. The more envious and jealous you become of others, the worse you will feel about yourself. Focus on the things that you are in control of and remember that there are always things to be grateful for. Life isn’t a competition and no one is winning at it better than you.
Looking and feeling more confident can help you achieve a more positive, happy, and successful life. With the control in your hands, and a few tricks, you can boost your self-esteem and become a healthier and happier you.
