Low self-confidence has the power to limit you in all areas of your life. It can hold you back in your career, prevent you from having healthy relationships, and even keep you disconnected from your inner power.
Boosting your confidence is often a simple matter of changing the way you see yourself. If you hold a negative self-image because of painful experiences from the past or constant negative reinforcement, creating a more positive self-image will help you to begin rebuilding your confidence.
Here are 3 simple ways to begin seeing yourself in a more positive light:
Fake it until you make it.
This is an old method, but one that can work surprisingly well if you give it enough effort. When you “pretend” that something is true, you perform a mental shift from one state to another. You are, in essence, moving yourself from one “reality” to another. While this usually won’t bring about long-lasting change, it can definitely help in a pinch!
The next time you’re out in a public place, pretend you are the most confident person in the world. Imagine that you are completely secure in your own capabilities and completely accepting of yourself as a unique and valuable person.
Consider how a person with these beliefs would act, and then make an effort to act that way. Pay attention to what happens when you do; how others treat you, how you feel about yourself and so on. You may be surprised to discover just how much attitude has to do with self-confidence.
Affirm your good qualities.
While faking confidence can be an immediate help, you will also need to address the underlying beliefs that cause your low self-confidence if you want to create lasting change.
One good way to do this is by forming a new habit of building yourself up. Take time to acknowledge the good things you do, the achievements you’ve made in the past, and even the effort you give to something new.
Speak kindly to yourself and develop a healthy appreciation for your skills and abilities. If you stop beating yourself up because you’re not the most perfect person in the world, you’ll probably discover that you’re not half bad, either!
See yourself as a work in progress.
Remember that there will always be people who are more talented, smarter, braver, and better than you are in some way. If your confidence is suffering because you are trying to measure up to some impossible standard, learn to adjust your thinking a bit.
Affirm that you are a work in progress, and you get better every year. With each passing phase of your life, you grow in mastery. You are smarter than you were yesterday, better than you were last week, and more talented than you were last year.
This is a process that will continue throughout your entire life. If you can keep in mind that you’ll never be “done” growing and learning, you’ll be able to see your capabilities as ever-evolving aspects of an ever-evolving you!