How to become more confident

How to Gain Confidence

This article was co-authored by Camber Hill. Camber Hill is a numerologist, author, speaker, and the owner of Camber Hill Coaching based in Long Beach, California. For over 37 years, Camber has coached entrepreneurs, creatives, business executives, and professional sports figures. He has also inspired creatives in the entertainment industry such as professional directors, writers, actors, and top radio personalities. Camber’s unique use of numerology allows him to understand the under-current which drives his clients to create long-term solutions and measurable results. His work has been featured in the History Channel’s «The Human Calculator,» The Los Angeles Times, Palm Springs Life Magazine, and California radio programs. He is also a member of The International Coaching Federations and is a board member of the ICF Orange County’s Board of Directors. Additionally, Camber is distinguished as a certified business owner by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

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Do you wish you were more confident? Gaining confidence is possible. Most experts agree that self-confidence is a combination of self-esteem and self-efficacy. [1] X Research source Start believing in yourself, your abilities, and your goals. This will help you cope with problems and stressors, while boosting your confidence. Have a positive attitude, set measurable goals for yourself, and keep company with other confident and supportive people. You’ll be well on your way to developing your own self-confidence. [2] X Research source Norton, B. (2014). Overcome social anxiety and shyness: how to become confident and more outgoing. Amazon digital services.

10 Powerful Ways to Be More Confident

Lifehack’s Personal Development Expert, a results-driven coach dedicated to helping people achieve greater levels of happiness and success. Read full profile

Confidence — it’s a powerful word and an even more powerful feeling. Can you remember a time in your life when you felt confident? A time when you felt unstoppable… on top of the world? Now imagine you could feel that way more often. What impact would that have on your health and well-being, your career, your relationships?

Not only does being confident feel good, it helps you seize potential opportunities, take more chances and make that big change or take the next step in your life and career. Life is crazy, busy and beautiful. Figuring out how to be more confident is just part of the journey.

So how to be more confident?

Lack of confidence can stem from many places.

Perhaps, growing up, your parents said a certain career was outside your reach and you could ‘never do that’. Or maybe you have a belief system that says ‘I could never start my own business, I’m not entrepreneurial’.

Perhaps you had a bad experience which opened the door for self-doubt to creep in. Or maybe your inner self-critic is telling you ‘you can’t’ or ‘you’re not good enough’. Maybe (ok, likely) you’re comparing yourself to someone else – a friend, colleague or spouse.

Or perhaps you feel there is something missing in your life – a relationship, the dream job, kids, a degree or title.

In my work with thousands of clients, it seems most (if not all) of us struggle with confidence in some area, or at some point in our lives. Whether that be confidence in our appearance, abilities, relationships, careers, decision making, and social situations.

We all have crises of confidence. Times we are self-conscious and moments of self-doubt. And, if your lack of confidence is keeping you in a bad job or poor relationship — or keeping you from moving forward in your life or career, you’re not alone.

Confident People vs Doubtful People

Confident people believe in themselves and have a positive mindset. People lack confidence feel insecure about themselves and their decisions.

Let’s take a look at this infographic which illustrates the differences between a confident person and an insecure person:

So, how can you be more confident? Here’s your complete, step-by-step guide:

1. Be Specific – What Are You Not Confident in?

First things first, let’s get specific.

In order to tame the demon, you’ve got to name the demon. Where do you lack confidence? When do you feel self-doubt and your negative emotions creeping in? Where do you feel your skills or abilities are limiting you? Where would you like to have more confidence?

Once you get specific, it won’t feel so overwhelming as you’ll have something tangible to tackle.

Maybe you want the confidence to go out on your own and start a new business? Or maybe you’d like to go back to school to get the degree you’ve always wanted? Perhaps you’d like the confidence to go on an adventure or take a trip you’ve been thinking about for some time.

Take a moment now, identify and put into a complete statement: Where do you specifically want to have more confidence?

2. Uncover What Gives You Confidence

This is personal, so it will vary from person to person. There’s no one size fits all approach to confidence and what works for one, won’t always work for another.

How can you figure out what gives you confidence? Think about a couple times in your life when you felt most confident.

Now, think about what was it about those times that made you feel so empowered.

Was it the environment you were in? Something you were doing? A feeling you had? The more you get clear about this for yourself, the easier it will be to tap into when you need it.

3. Be True to You

One of the surest ways to lose confidence is try to be someone else. One of the best ways to build your confidence? Be true to yourself.

When you’re trying to be someone you’re not, every part of you resists it. You are not everyone else. You are you. And the more you can understand who you are and what you value the stronger you will be.

When you stray away from who you are, you lose confidence because it’s ‘just not you’.

Think about what makes you, uniquely you. Write it down. Think about what you value and what’s important to you. Write that down, too.

4. Remember You Are 100% Smart

When one of my daughters was in the 4th grade, her teacher gave an assignment called 100% smart. In this activity, the kids had to make a pie chart and identify what percentage smart they were in each of the following areas; people, self, body, math, word, music, art.

For example, my daughter was 25% body smart, but only 5% art smart. This was such an insightful exercise for her and something I have shared with many clients over the years. She realized that even though she lacked confidence in art, there were so many other areas where she excelled.

This is true for everyone. So, maybe you’re not the best public speaker, but are you a great parent, smart with your money, or creative?

Too many people spend way too much time trying to improve, change, be more of this or less of that. Instead, what if you spent more time acknowledging your talents, skills and successes?

Try this for one week: at the end of each day, write down at least 3 things that you did well, felt good about, or were proud of yourself for. Know your strengths, know your talents and know you’re 100% smart.

5. Stop Comparing Yourself

Nothing zaps your confidence more than comparing yourself to others. Especially now, with social media and the wonderful opportunity to judge yourself against so many others! Lack of confidence comes from a gap in where you see yourself and where you think you should be.

Imagine you are preparing to give a big presentation or speech. So you do your research, which includes watching some of the best speakers in the world doing their Ted Talks. Of course you are going to feel inferior.

Stop comparing yourself to others. Just stop. If you still feel a compelling need to compare – compare yourself to yourself. Measure how far you’ve come. See how much improvement you’ve made. Acknowledge your wins and successes.

6. Realize You Are Enough

This may sound a little bit corny, but try it. This positive affirmation will resonate at a deep level and have a powerful effect on your subconscious.

Every day for the next 21 days repeat this mantra “I am enough.” Don’t just say it, but feel it, deeply, at the core of who you are.

Want to get more specific? Replace ‘enough’ with whatever word you’d like to ‘be’. What would give you the most confidence?

I am brave. I am strong. I am smart. I am beautiful. I am confident. I got this.

7. Acquire New Skills

Since confidence is often directly linked to abilities, one of the best ways to build your confidence is to get new skills or experience and step out of your comfort zone.

Growing your skills will in turn grow your confidence. And please, as you work on building your skills and expertise, don’t mistake a lack of perfection for a lack of ability. No one is perfect. But if you’ve got a perfectionist bone in your body (like I do), it can make you think that just because you’re not the best, that you’re not good at all.

Make sure to check yourself – am I really not good at this, or am I not good as I want to be just yet?

Ask yourself: Is there a specific area where you are lacking confidence? How can you expand your expertise in this area?

8. Change Your State

Changing your physical and mental ‘state’ is one of the quickest ways to access a feeling of confidence. To do this, you need to know what the state of ‘confidence’ looks, feels and sounds like for you.

Here are a few strategies you can use to access that:

9. Find Yourself a Cheerleader

Yes, while I understand confidence is a state from within, you can also boost your confidence by the people you choose to spend your time with.

Make a concerted effort to surround yourself with others who provide encouragement, positivity, and inspiration.

Spend more time with people who ‘get you’ and see all of your greatness – and less time with those that zap your confidence or cause you to feel self-doubt.

10. Just Do It

When Nike came up with this slogan in the late 80’s, they knew just how to get the general population off their butts and moving. Turns out, this is a great strategy for being more confident too.

When you stand at the edge of the water; waiting, wondering, worrying if you can do something, you lose confidence. Your fears creep in and you begin to doubt yourself. But when you take a leap of faith, jump in and get started, your confidence immediately builds.

Action builds confidence and each step you take builds it further.

Think of one step you could take right now that would get you moving in the right direction. Then Just Do It and see what happens. An incredible thing about human brain is that once it realizes something is working, it will keep that momentum going!

To get you to start taking action, join the free Fast-Track Class – No More Procrastination. In this focused-session, you will learn how to beat procrastination and start to take small steps and make your goals happen. Join it for free here.

Final Thoughts

Being more confident starts with one thing — YOU.

YOU making the decision to take action. And when all else fails, YOU can make a choice.

YOU can choose to be confident. YOU can choose confidence over fear and self-doubt.

Your mind believes what you tell it. If you continue to tell yourself the story that you are not confident, you will believe it and your self-doubt will continue. But if you tell yourself you can do it, that you got this, your mind will believe that too.

Remember, fostering a strong sense of confidence is critical to experiencing overall levels of health, happiness and success.

And once you get started you’ll be unstoppable. Be brave. Be confident. You got this.

How To Become More Confident in 8 Powerful Ways

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated April 28, 2022 | Published February 4, 2020

Updated April 28, 2022

Published February 4, 2020

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Confidence is a state of mind that determines how you feel about yourself and your abilities. In this article, we explore what confidence means, what causes some people to lack confidence and how to become a more confident person.

What is confidence?

Confidence is an individual’s trust in themselves and their ability to succeed. Confident people tend to create their own happiness. They are proud of their accomplishments because they know they have worked hard.

They tend to speak with conviction and do not usually doubt themselves. If they are unsure of something, they are not afraid to ask for help and learn from someone with more expertise.

Confident people understand that taking on too many tasks can be stressful and know how to say no with assurance. They take time to listen to others as this gives them a chance to learn something new. Confidence is an important skill to have, not only in your personal life but also in your career.

What can cause a lack of confidence?

Many things can contribute to a person’s lack of confidence. Family life, things they may have experienced in their childhood and other life experiences tend to play a role in shaping an individual’s confidence. Genetics can affect an individual’s confidence as well.

For example, a person with a low amount of serotonin and oxytocin due to genetics can cause feelings of low confidence. Your temperament may also play a part in your level of confidence. Naturally cautious people tend to be more unsure of themselves and the decisions they make. In some cases, a lack of confidence is caused by bullying or trauma.

Confident people are happier in life and more successful at work so it’s important to find ways to boost your confidence.

How to become more confident

Here are eight tips for becoming a more confident person:

1. Be proud of the small things

Those with confidence believe in their goals. On your journey to achieving greater confidence, come up with a goal or several small goals. Use a journal to write down these goals and track your progress.

Celebrate every victory, no matter how small they might seem. For example, you may be a single parent who wants to obtain a specific career. The first step toward obtaining that career is finding a reliable child-care provider. Once you find one, celebrate that goal. Every accomplishment you have will build your confidence in yourself and your abilities.

2. Do not judge others

Judging others tends to mean that they have something you are lacking. Rather than judging someone, try to find what makes them special and find ways to encourage them. Every person has a gift that makes them unique that they can offer the world. Consider that the person you were going to judge might also lack confidence and a compliment from you may help them feel more confident.

3. Learn to say no

Telling people no can be healthy, especially if it’s something that you do not want to be a part of. You do not have to help your best friend move if you already have plans with your children. You do not have to feel guilty about telling someone you cannot make it to an outing or a potluck because you want to rest on your day off. Learn to say no to things you do not want to do with confidence and avoid using phrases like «I will think about it» or «I will get back to you.»

4. Speak up

Confident people are not afraid to speak up and make their opinions known. If they have something valuable to share, they do so with confidence. They are not afraid to be wrong and see input from others as an opportunity to learn. Be confident about your opinions and don’t take being wrong about something personal. Instead, use feedback as a way to improve.

5. Take time to listen

Listening to others gives you a chance to learn new things, especially from those who are more experienced. It allows you to gain knowledge and learn new skills that can help improve your confidence levels. By actively listening and paying attention to others, you can have more productive and rewarding interactions.

6. Believe in your cause

Confident people tend to stick to their beliefs and opinions, even if they feel unsure. If you are confident, optimistic and believe in your cause, others are likely to follow suit. For example, if you believe a change is needed for you and your coworkers, speak on behalf of them and do so with confidence. People are more likely to listen to your ideas and what you have to say when you express them with conviction.

7. Accept that it’s OK to be wrong

People with confidence are not afraid to be wrong. Instead, they view being wrong as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. When they are wrong about something or a mistake has been made, confident people tend to hold themselves accountable and find ways to improve for the future. Accept that everyone, even the most confident of people, can be wrong at times.

8. Get exercise

Exercise can be a great way to boost your confidence. Everyone, regardless of their health or fitness levels, can benefit from exercise. Set goals for yourself and keep a journal to track your progress. As you build your strength or achieve other fitness goals, you may improve your confidence in the process.

How to Become the Most Confident Person: 30 Excellent Tips

What is Self Confidence?

Self confidence is the blend of self- worth and self- respect which is an indispensable part of humanity. Self-worth is the inner sense or faith that we can achieve a range of tasks or aims all through life. Self-respect is alike, however more associated to believing we are usually skilled in what we do, and that we deserve to be blissful in life. An individual with self-confidence usually are eager to take challenges to accomplish their personal and professional objectives and deliberates optimistically about the future. Someone who is lacking self confidence, though, is less liable to feel that they will attain their goals and they tend to hold a negative perspective about themselves and what they hope to acquire in life. The good news is that you can turn into the most confident person.

Below are few ways that will help you on how to build confidence and become the most confident among all.

Powerful Ways to Become a Confidence Person:

The following mentioned are few self confidence tips on how to be confident in yourself and how to become more confident.

1. Define confidence for yourself:

Most of the people endeavor to become confident by pursuing the instructions others set and that is why they at no cost feel confident. Discover out what is your own definition of self confidence and self improvement and then attempt to form your reality, only then you will feel actual confidence. If public speaking is considered a sign of confidence amongst others and if you feel you need confidence to speak to significant people then you should follow your own viewpoint.

2. Dispose of negative thoughts:

Negative thinking and insecurities turn up like pimples. And, just similar to pimples, picking at them even if you imply to disbelieve and burst that depressing bubble off, eventually causes it to be worse. So, mindfulness practice tells you to treat contemplation as tool. Employ and strengthen the ones you require and get rid of the ones you don’t.

3. Identify your strengths and weaknesses:

Understanding who you are cannot happen overnight. It can be difficult to recognize which portions of you are you, and which elements are who you believe you should be. An effective beginning is to identifying your strengths and weaknesses and then assessing those in contradiction of what you enjoy. As you utilize your strengths and enhance where there is room to develop, you will grow both confidence and satisfaction at the same time.

4. Head ahead with your strengths:

Work can test your self-confidence, whether commencing a new job or coping with a tough coworker. Organize your day to concentrate on what you are excellent at. Reminding yourself of previous achievements will keep you occupied, positive and self-assured.

5. Supervise your accomplishments:

Begin every day by preparing a practical to-do list which you can tick off as you go. Each time a task is ticked off, you are adding to a perceptible pattern of high achievement.

6. Speak to different people:

On your next grocery course, initiate a chat with the cashier. You will identify that most people are friendly, and there is really nothing to dread. The more you make the attempt, the easier it will turn.

7. Speak confidently:

An influential speaker speaks assertively, in a constant, rhythmic tone. As an alternative of the “ums” and “ahs” that disrupt the stream, they utilize pauses to emphasize ideas. Implement an assertive, although not aggressive, way of speaking that reveals your self-confidence. You can sense your self-esteem begins to mount. To be considered seriously, prevent high-pitched, tense chatter or twittering chuckles in your speech.

8. Strengthen your mind:

Self-confidence is a state of mind that can be acquired by deliberate action. Giving time to take care of your brain, body and soul preferably an hour each day can be done in a range of methods. Read, or exercise or even meditate in the morning. If you are not allotting time for yourself, then you are letting someone or something to mold your perspective of the world.

9. Attempt something new:

Search online for group activities that happen locally and join up to few. Trying something new will help you boost confidence and help you attain joy.

10. Turn spontaneous:

Other than pondering of reasons not to go, be present at the next occasion you are invited to. Your mind will be less chaotic with preparation and what-ifs. Deliberating on your feet can become natural, creating it easier to deal with unfamiliar situations that occur.

11. Pay attention to body language:

Maintain a straight posture and keep a smile, uphold eye contact and take time at the time of speaking. With doing these simple stuffs, you cannot just feel more confident, but look more confident.

12. Focus on dress up:

When you look impactful, you feel positive. If you pick clothing and accessories that suit you well, match your industry and lifestyle, and gives rise to feeling good, this can automatically boost your self-esteem. Dressing up well will help you cat confidently which will boost you up. Do not be anxious to allow your individuality stand out in your accessories. Bold jewelry or a vivid tie can be a central point and an effective chat starter.

13. Embark on somewhere different:

Book a vacation to a pristine destination that will need you to be assertive. Evading tourist destinations will compel you to converse to strangers, try unusual things, and grant you a confidence lift that can follow you back home.

14. Travel alone:

In your next trip, go solo, self- dependence helps in building confidence. Self confidence is a result of engrossing yourself in unfamiliar region, away from familiar habits.

15. Become fit with others:

Enroll in a local team in a sport that you outshine in or are zealous about. Team sports depend on mutual aid and communication, which means you will need to get yourself out there to plan with your team.

16. Test yourself:

Take part in a challenging outdoor activity, like long distance hiking, and endurance camping or rock climbing. Stepping out of your comfort zone to achieving a tricky challenge, set by yourself, will offer you an unrivalled raise of confidence.

17. Set small goals and attain those:

People frequently make the mistake of aiming for the moon, and then at the time they fail, they get disheartened. On the other hand, aim for a thing that is much more achievable. Set an objective you know you can attain, and then go for it. The more you accomplish on small goals, the better you will become at it, and the improved you will feel.

18. Develop new skills:

The additional skills you cultivate, the additionally confident you become, only if those skills are associated to the life glitches you are presently confronting. Learn the skills which will be able to help you crack your most significant troubles.

19. Empower knowledge:

Empower yourself through knowledge. You can gain more knowledge through research and studying which help you gain confidence, competence and help you become more confident. Internet and books are some major modes that help you gain knowledge.

20. Reflect positively:

Positive energy heads to positive results, so fix your mind to the can-do aspect of any situation. Shine, laugh and surround yourself with blissful, positive people. You will feel improved and the people you work with will take pleasure in your company and presence. Maintain a gratitude journal to prompt yourself of the eminent points of your day and your feats. You will increase more peace and confidence once you are in an obliged state of mind.

21. Undertake action:

You should act your part. Stride up to a stranger at a networking event, or agree to a project you would generally decline. Practice being confident, self-assured and shortly it will turn into a second nature. Inaction produces doubt and fear, whereas action produces self-belief and courage. As soon as you invest more energy into your positive behaviors, your confidence will begin to shine all through.

22. Be prepared:

The more ready you are beforehand, the more confident you will feel about your proficiency and capability. Preparation can help you shun getting tripped up by life’s unanticipated problems. Learn all you can, regarding your industry, your goals and what coerces you towards success. Prior to starting a task, first imagine how you desire to feel once you have finished it.

23. Anticipate success:

Conventional wisdom hints that it’s clever to expect the worst as you won’t be disappointed if you fail and you will be satisfyingly astonished if you succeed. But research proposes this is not a universal fact. Pessimism can weaken your performance forming a self- gratifying foresight. So always be positive.

24. Believe in your capabilities:

Nobody in the world knows all. All excel at some things and are not so good at other things. Don’t asses your security against what you are aware of or can perform; assess it against your keenness and ability to learn. If anyone criticizes you, consider it as an opportunity to advance. If you lack something, understand you can get nearer next time. Don’t be anxious if you are not confident in what you are able to do now, be self assured in your potential.

25. Perfection is not the answer:

26. Please your own subconscious:

If the entire world likes what you are wearing but you do not like it you will not feel confident close to people. However, if you love what you are dressed in but no one likes it then you tend to feel self-assured. With the purpose of becoming most confident, you should be impactful to your own subconscious mind and not everybody else.

27. Avoid being desperate:

Deny those who deny you, overlook those who overlook you and cut the network with those who disrespect you. Desperation is a huge enemy for confidence. If you do not stop chasing after those who take no notice of you, you will not feel genuinely confident.

28. Be kind and generous to others:

Understand that being giving to others and generous with yourself and what you hold, is a marvelous way to advance your self-image. You act in harmony with the Golden Rule, and you begin to feel good about yourself, and believe that you are a good person. It forms wonders for your self-confidence.

29. Practice confidence:

Similar to anything else in life, your self-assurance will enhance with practice. An immense opportunity to do this is while you meet new people. If you begin doubting yourself in your mind, switch your ideas with more confident ones. Ask yourself what a buoyant person will do and then try to follow that.

30. Acknowledge your value outside your work:

Your self-confidence has to be embedded in who you are, outside of your achievements in business. So discover ways to get linked with yourself and develop. You can be volunteering for some events, meditate or work out, read or hang out with friends. Do anything that takes for you to perceive your value irrespective of how well you are performing professionally.

Not all are perfect and worthwhile. But everybody has some talents in some or other fields. Finding out that talent and where their inner strengths lie will help you become positive and confident in life. The above mentioned are few tips which if followed will aid you to be self-assured about themselves. Believing it, is the key to turning into the most confident person in your life. On that note, good luck.

How to Be More Confident

Entrepreneurs need confidence to lead and inspire. Here are some mental hacks that’ll boost your confidence and generate greater success.

As an entrepreneur, it can be challenging to be confident when there are so many variables that go into making your business a success. You might think that once you’ve achieved business success that it will give you a confidence boost. In reality, though, confidence in yourself and what you can accomplish is what will help you become successful in the first place.

Considering that the life and work of an entrepreneur is about constantly pushing boundaries and going beyond your comfort zone, staying confident is easier said than done. It’s easy for self-doubt to set in the minute something doesn’t go as planned or someone tells you «no» or «it can’t be done.» It’s your confidence that helps you push forward, say «yes» to the opportunity and prove that it can be done.

As the leader of your startup or company, working on your self-confidence is a vital part of your personal development and leadership growth. Confident people who are leaders can influence others and get them to believe in the same vision. However, low self-confidence remains a key challenge for many entrepreneurs.

Push through your self-doubts and build your confidence levels to take on everything from business decisions, to public speaking, to social situations with these mental hacks.

1. Don’t listen to self-limiting beliefs

Whether they were instilled in us by parents or other adult figures in our lives, our limiting beliefs might have convinced us to focus on what we can’t do or what might never be possible. Remember, though, that at one time we were enthusiastic children who believed we could be or do anything!

Wherever possible, it’s important to quiet those negative thoughts that are providing reasons why you can’t do something. Instead, take on an uncomfortable situation or try something new and see what happens. Should you succeed at it, you can permanently shut down many self-limiting beliefs.

2. Don’t always rely on your memory for accurate information

Our memory does serve us well in certain situations. However, it can also be our own worst enemy. That’s because it comes with confirmation bias already built-in.

Our brain’s memory does not store information in the same way it was originally presented. What we see and remember is based on our pre-existing beliefs, values and self-perception.

If you have low self-esteem, then your brain tends to confirm those ideas, bolstering your lack of confidence. Every time you remember a certain event, you think of the bad aspects of it, such as the mistakes you made.

To counteract that reaction, improve your self-image and build confidence, it is important to get other perspectives on these situations. These perspectives are best obtained from someone you respect and admire, such as a family member, friend, colleague or mentor. Your trust and respect for the person offering perspective will help you see past your own thoughts on the matter. These external impressions can be invaluable in helping you rethink things and refocus on the positives.

3. Talk yourself out of negative self-talk

Negative thoughts do damage to confidence, but you can boost your self-esteem by using positive affirmations to transform your mindset. There is a lot to be said about the power of positive self-talk as a way to work past challenges and barriers, including those you put in front of yourself.

You can talk yourself out of fear, self-doubt, and fixation on past mistakes by reminding yourself of your capabilities and accomplishments. These «pep» talks can also help you work through a challenge by reflecting on what you can do or how you can find a possible solution. Through proactive discussions with yourself about what can be done, you stop focusing on the fear that you won’t be able to solve a problem.

4. Counter negative thoughts with positive ones

A lack of confidence often originates from negative thoughts that chip away at us. These thoughts destroy our self-image and self-worth. They are not easy to get rid of, either. To do so, you will need to stifle each negative thought with multiple positive thoughts. Have positive affirmations ready to say to yourself or out loud. Reflect on each positive notion before saying or thinking another one.

Don’t think of it as ignoring or suppressing negative thoughts, because they will still be there to take a swipe at your self-confidence later on. Instead, acknowledge the bad thoughts and lack of self-confidence before replacing them with an inner dialogue composed of positive ideas, including your accomplishments and capabilities.

5. Be curious

Curiosity helps you grow. More importantly, it can motivate you to try new things and be open to fresh perspectives and ideas. Going through the process of experiencing these new things, perspectives and ideas can help boost confidence.

Being curious can give your mind something to actively focus on so it stays busy on positive things. It also can point you in new directions that you didn’t know were possible. In doing so, you can change your life for the better. Any positive results you create will, in turn, help build your self-confidence.

6. Gain control by facing your fears

When we feel we are in control, there is a sense of confidence and comfort that surrounds us. It’s when we are afraid that we feel the most out of control. While it may seem counterintuitive, this is the time to move closer to what scares us or makes us feel threatened. By doing so, we are actively going after what scares us. And, when we do, we can eliminate the threat and fear.

The result of taking such action makes us more confident because we feel more capable. Plus, provided that nothing bad happened to us when we went after what was scaring us, it’s a win to add to our confidence scorecard.

7. Identify where you lack confidence and what can give you confidence

It’s also important to identify and define the specific areas where you don’t feel confident. Does it relate to your knowledge and experience in doing things related to your business? Is it your body image? Or, do you struggle with public speaking and making eye contact with strangers?

Building confidence can still be challenging even when you know where you are lacking, but it does help you put your energy into the right areas. You can also bolster your effort to become more confident by concentrating on those areas where you are already confident. Thinking about the situations where you felt empowered can help you re-tap those emotions or actions to use for the areas where you still feel self-doubt.

8. Don’t compare yourself

When you see others and their accomplishments on social media, it’s easy to lose confidence. Comparing yourself to others, you might think you have failed or lack worth because it looks as though others have so much more money, admiration and success.

Nothing good comes out of comparing yourself. Those other people are not you. Their stories are different. You also don’t know how many times they might have failed or made mistakes. It doesn’t make sense to make judgments based only on the visible, highly edited parts of someone else’s life when your path and life are completely different.

If you must compare, then use yourself as the measuring stick. When you do, you may be able to see just how far you have come, including wins and improvements. Those accomplishments are what should keep you striving to do better.

9. Get new skills and experience

Make changes in those areas where you feel you are lacking by taking classes that will help you acquire new skills. Then, put those skills to work and gain new experiences. As you get better at those skills and expand your capabilities, your confidence will organically grow. Turn to other resources like podcasts, conferences, books and mentors to further build confidence.

Confidence starts with you

Becoming more confident starts and ends with you, because you can make decisions and choices. Reminding yourself that you can choose to be confident goes a long way toward actually being confident. Once you start believing what you tell yourself, confidence levels can rise along with success, happiness and satisfaction.

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