4 effective ways to build self-confidence
Self-confidence is the ability to believe in yourself and think about yourself in a positive and able manner. Most people wish to have this quality but fail to achieve it. A lot of people we know and interact with are struggling with low self-confidence and want to know how to develop this quality. Confidence is of two types - social and internal confidence.
Social Confidence -
This type of confidence is the one people see and recognize. The ability to express yourself and be comfortable around other people - but it is a bit more complex than that. Think of it this way, social confidence is the result of actions you take to develop your confidence during your interaction with other people.
Internal Confidence -
This type of confidence is built through self-talk and positive thinking. Accepting your flaws, recognizing your abilities, and acknowledging yourself as the person you are through a lens of complete acceptance is internal confidence. This is the most ultimate form of confidence - seemingly less important than external confidence.
The catch about both of these is that they develop simultaneously with each other. The more comfortable a person gets in social situations, the more internal resolution they gather due to their progress in challenging their comfort zone. Let's discuss the four ways in which you can build your self-confidence up.
- Push out of your comfort zone -Most humans have a tendency to explore and settle for a comfort zone. A comfort zone is a set schedule and a set of activities to which the person finds it easy to get accustomed. It might be a city that you live in, a set of activities that you do on a daily basis, a kind of food that you eat every day, or a group of friends. People tend you prefer the known circumstances in their life rather than explore and make the best out of the unknown circumstances that occur naturally to them.
The comfort zone is an enemy of growth. Choosing to live in a pattern may feel comfortable, but it will surely dampen your confidence and prevent you from learning new things and meeting new people. A comfort zone can make a person attached to the situations they encounter on a daily basis - making them live in an illusion that they are in control of everything. Exploring the unseen and living the unknown is the best way to make yourself feel more capable, adaptable, and confident.
- Have unbreakable faith in yourself - This one is definitely said easier than done. Having an unshakable faith in yourself does not come automatically for most people. It depends a lot on what circumstances you encountered while growing as a person. Believe in the fact that no matter what occurs in your life, you are going to deal with it and reach the best outcome possible. This needs deep self-talk and self-appreciation - meditation helps this fact greatly. When a person is meditating, they are truly within their minds and bodies.
Tell yourself that you are capable enough to handle the good and the bad things that happen to you and the ones around you. Root for yourself each time there is any form of adversity - you have to be your own cheerleader first. Building this faith would take a lot of time, but it would be totally worth it.
You have to talk to yourself in a manner that you would talk to a loved one - a parent, a sibling, or a significant other. Constantly telling yourself good things about yourself will cause a great boost to your confidence. After all, loving yourself is the best way of placing great faith in yourself and feeling confident in your skin.
- Improve your physical health -Eating unhealthy, and not paying attention to your physical fitness can greatly reduce your self-confidence. Physical activities regulate heartbeat, increase blood flow, help keep our nervous systems healthy, and can be a great stress-buster.
Exercise reduces cortisol and adrenaline in the body, which causes a state of calmness and tranquility in our nervous systems. This greatly improves the quality of sleep and our moods when we wake up from sleep. Exercise also releases dopamine and endorphins in the body which help keep us in a satisfied mood for longer, and helps us deal with stressful situations in a more controlled manner.
Taking care of our health can make us feel extremely confident because we are working towards the welfare of our bodies each and every day. Daily exercise helps promote a great sleep schedule, good discipline, accountability, and several other character-building aspects in our lives. This is one of the best ways of improving physical and mental health - which provides a boost to our self-confidence on a daily basis. A fit person feels naturally confident and feels comfortable in a room full of people.
- Keeping emotions in check -Our emotions may trigger immediate reactions out of us. We get angry when somebody provokes us, get irritated when things do not go according to our plans, and get incredibly happy once things go according to our plans.
While it is great to be in connection with our emotions, expressing them to people without giving a second thought can greatly affect the way people perceive us. We can train our minds to take a pause before we express any emotion in front of other people. Keeping emotions in check helps build a strong impression on people, which enables you to be taken more seriously.
Taking a minute to evaluate situations before reacting can greatly boost our confidence and help us avoid looking immature or weak in front of others. Keeping our emotions pre-calculated and thought out can greatly boost our internal self-confidence - which makes us look mature and calculative externally.