Do you find that you don't have the confidence to express yourself and your feelings to others? Do you feel at times that you're not very competent, not very smart, not very attractive, etc.? Well you can change that. You can take control of how you feel. Here are 15 of our favorite tips that we'd like to share with you. Some may or may not work for you, but pick a few to try and start taking control of your self-esteem today. Here goes:
You'll be amazed at just how big of an affect taking a shower & dressing nicely can have on you. Wear something that makes you feel good and makes you feel like you look good and presentable in. This simple step may be just what you need to instantly flip your mood around completely.
We all have an inner voice in our head that says, "I can't do it, this is too hard, I'm not smart enough, etc." Be aware of your self-talk and stop the negativity. Whenever you notice this negativity parasite festering in your mind, stomp on it and replace it with positive thoughts. Think instead, "I can do it, I'm smart enough, It's not that hard..." This seems like such a small matter, but it can really have a huge impact on how you view obstacles in life and helps you to better overcome them.
The best way to defeat an enemy is to know the enemy well. Well in this case, the enemy is yourself. So while you are trying to reshape your thoughts, as mentioned above, to be more positive, try to figure out what negative thoughts you have about yourself and why. Write them down and then start thinking about the good things about yourself, what you can do well. Think about what limitations you feel about yourself and see if they really exist or if we've somehow made it up. We may begin to realize that our worries or so-called "limitations" may not actually exist and that we were placing our own stumbling blocks. As we dig deeper and get to know ourselves better, we will gain greater self-esteem.
So...you don't feel confident. Beat that feeling by preparing as well as you can. Got a presentation next week at work? Prepare, prepare, prepare. If you don't prepare well, chances are you definitely won't have much confidence in your delivery. However, if you'd done all you can, you can definitely make a huge boost to your confidence.
A person who has authority will speak slowly. Speaking slowly can significantly impact the way others perceive you. Usually, a person with low self-esteem may speak quickly because they feel that what they are saying isn't worth listening to or they don't want to keep others waiting on them. So, even if you don't feel confident, try speaking slowly - but don't overdo it either - and you can boost your confidence.
When you stand tall and avoid slouching, you will feel better about yourself. Just think about how you view others when they stand tall and confident - they look more attractive and appealing. So remember that as you straighten up your posture.
You will feel more competent when you become more competent. How? By practicing and studying. What area do you want to be more competent in? Speaking? Then set aside time each day - like 30 minutes - to practice speaking. The more you practice a skill, the better you will get, and the more competent you will feel about yourself.
Set small goals that are more achievable. In that way, once you reach it, you will feel better about yourself. If the goal you set is too high, then when you fail, you will get discouraged and feel worse about yourself. So aim low and slowly progress to bigger, achievable goals and you'll see you self-esteem growing along with it.
Do you find yourself focusing on the issue and just complaining? Swap that attitude out and focus on how you can fix the problem. This is the best tactic to use especially at work and to boost your self-esteem. A lot of energy and time is wasted when we complain about a situation. Instead, when we use our time and energy to fix problems that come up, we can see more progress & results, and thus feeling better about ourselves.
This seems like nothing, but it may be odd at first for those who aren't accustomed to doing this. However, this tactic really works. We feel better when we smile and you may begin to notice that it helps us to be kinder to others as well. It's not hard to do, so why not invest some of those face muscles and smile more.
When we show ourselves grateful and thankful for the many blessings we have in life, it helps us to remain humble and also feel good about ourselves along with our circumstances. No matter how bad our situation may be, if we take time everyday to jot down and think of things we are grateful for, it can positively improve our outlook on life.
Not only is exercising great for your physical body, it can also impact you mentally! When we tackle our workout goals each day, we feel better about ourselves. Make it your goal to work out at least 15-25 minutes each day and notice the difference!
We don't feel confident when we feel like we don't know much. So one of the best methods for building self-confidence is by becoming more knowledgeable. Start with a subject of interest and do your research. With the internet now, it's super easy and quick to brush up your knowledge about something. Keep reading and learning. Don't stop just because you're done with schooling. The more knowledge we possess, the more confident we are about what we have to say, what we know, and overall about ourselves.
Is your room a mess? Clean it up and organize. Your office desk is cluttered? Fix it. This again might seem like a small and insignificant thing, but it can definitely help clear up our thoughts and make us feel more in control of our life. Being neat and organized can really help us to build confidence.
Got some free time? Use it wisely. Start a small project. Do things for others. Learn a new hobby. When we stay busy, we have less time to allow negative thinking to overtake my mind. We also tend to feel productive and proud of ourselves when we use our time effectively to get things done. Especially with the pandemic and social distancing, it's easy for us to sit back after a day of work to and just lay around and watch telly. But don't waste it all on that. You can do something relaxing that's also productive, so start planning!
So, you have low self-esteem? Pick a few tips above. Work on it. Take control. Start today! And you will begin to see an improvement on how you feel about yourself!
