In the fast-paced and evolving working environment of today, confidence is a necessity. It can mean the difference between living your dream life or staying dormant in your comfort zone. If Anthony Wood didn’t have the confidence to for his company, we wouldn’t have the Roku App in our homes today. What if Steve Jobs also decided not to boost his levels of confidence? Where would we be today?
Self-confidence is something you have to consistently work at improving. Anyone you think is confident, likely has made an effort to be that way. No one is born as a confident person. And neither can you get it overnight. For unrelenting confidence, you will need to make consistent efforts.
7 Ways to Boost Your Confidence for Better Self Growth
Being confident means that you have a solid sense of self-worth. It’s infectious. If you believe you are capable of something, others will follow your lead. People are more likely to listen to someone they feel is confident.
Use these 7 methods to give your confidence the boost it deserves:
- Say “No”, Every Once in a While
- Hear “No”, Often
- Put Yourself First
- Tip the Odds in Your Favor
- Don’t be Too Hard on Yourself
- Be Your Biggest Supporter
- Face Your Fears Daily
#1. Say “No”, Every Once in a While
What does saying “No” signify? It’s a power play. It tells the other person that you are not willing to do something you don’t want to. It allows you to control your actions better. This control boosts your confidence levels. Additionally, it forces others to respect your boundaries. This is kind of like your secret superpower. By denying others to manipulate your actions against your will, you are taking charge. But use your powers wisely. If your boss tells you to hand in reports by the end of the day, saying “No” might not be the best option.
#2. Hear “No”, Often
Rejection is a scary thing. No one likes receiving it, but it is a part of life. You will never be able to live free from rejection. When you are denied something, it affects your confidence levels. The best way to negate the effects of rejection is to desensitize yourself of it. Jia Jiang managed to make this fun for himself. He recorded his experience in his book Rejection Proof. What he did was, come up with a 100-day challenge for himself.
The idea was that he would go up to people every day for 100 days and make them outrageous offers. Offers he hoped they would reject. 100 rejections later, he was able to manage his rejections better.
#3. Put Yourself First
Good self-confidence is highly dependent on good psychological and physical health. If you think positively about yourself and like the way you look, it immediately boosts your confidence levels. Go shopping, get a massage, do things to make yourself feel better. Taking care of yourself shows that you are worth taking care of. This is an effective way to boost your confidence levels.
#4. Tip the Odds in Your Favor
Remember the difference between confidence and over-confidence. You probably want the absolute best for yourself, but learn to go easy. Setting up smaller goals along the way is a good idea. When you set up and accomplish smaller goals, you are able to give yourself confidence boosts. Saying you want to have a billion dollars in your bank account is a terrific aim. But its probably going to take some time to get there.
The rejections along the way would be the least of your worries. At each hurdle, your confidence will take a blow. By setting up smaller goals, you can boost your confidence rather than destroy it. Break down your aim into goals like setting up your company or finding your first client. When you accomplish these smaller goals you will feel better about yourself. If you feel better, your confidence levels increase.
#5. Don’t be Too Hard on Yourself
Have you ever heard of the term “You are your biggest critic”? It’s true. In an effort to produce the best we can, we tend to get overly critical of ourselves. This criticism has a grave impact on our confidence because it is coming from within. If someone else were to criticize us, its easier to manage, but when it’s from within, things get grim.
#6. Be Your Biggest Supporter
You should find ways to tell yourself how good you are. Looking in the mirror and talking aloud is the most direct way. You could also leave yourself positive messages on post-its around the house or work. Another effective way is to formulate your positive affirmations into question formats. Our brains are conditioned to seek answers to questions, without analyzing their validity. Ask yourself “Why am I so good looking?” instead of telling yourself “I am good looking”.
#7. Face Your Fears Daily
The 100-day rejection challenge, mentioned above, removes the fear of rejection. By getting rejected constantly you are effectively reprogramming your fear of rejection. Similarly, facing your fears and overcoming them boosts your confidence levels. By overcoming the thing you fear, you are putting yourself in control. That control boosts your levels of confidence.
Make these practices a daily part of your day. Within days you will be able to feel the difference in your confidence. You will have better energy levels. you will want to be more social. The days when you used to stay at home and use your Spectrum internet only to watch movies would end. Boosting your confidence can change your outlook on life and allow you to pursue your dreams. Higher confidence levels will boost your mood and you will be able to distinguish opportunities better.
