You probably know that increased confidence can improve every aspect of your life. It will help you smile in the face of rejection, get the promotion you want, sell your books. Most people will even tell you that confidence is one of the biggest factors that makes someone an attractive date.
So how do you boost your confidence?
For most people, it takes concentrated effort on a daily basis. It’s about erasing negative thought patterns and learning to trust yourself. And no matter how hard you work, sooner or later something’s going to deliver a blow to your confidence. How much of a blow–and how quickly you recover–depends on your discipline.
Simple daily routines can help you build self confidence:
1. Stretch.
A brisk walk or run might also be a good idea, but even doing a few daily stretches can make you happier and more confident. Oh, and stretching your arms and wrists out two or three times a day can help you prevent the development of carpal tunnel or repetitive strain injury.
Even half an hour of yoga a day can make you more flexible while also building your strength and your confidence. In a few months you might even be just as flexible as you were when you were a kid.
2. Learn or practice a skill.
Learning new facts and skills or mastering a skill you’ve already learned is one of the best ways to boost your confidence. The more you can do, the more competent you’ll feel, especially if you remind yourself how many people around you can’t do what you can.
Building confidence isn’t about thinking you can do everything when you can’t. It’s about becoming confident in what you can do, and one of the best ways to do that is to master the skills you’ve learned.
3. Write a list of accomplishments each day.
Often when you miss a couple items on your to do list you end up berating yourself when there’s really no need. When you’ve already written down a to do list and you’re staring it in the face, it’s easy to forget why those things got missed. Sometimes life gets in the way. You have to clean up something you spilled. Traffic takes longer than expected. You get a paid rush project and have to ignore something on your to do list.
I do this all the time. I miss something on my to do list and I get angry at myself, but then I start thinking about all the other things I’ve done that day. This has been particularly true lately, since I’ve been running around a lot, looking for a place to live.
When you start doing this, stop and write down everything you did do on that day. You might be surprised when you realize how much you accomplished. Do it every day for a month, and you’ll quickly realize that you get a lot done, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Confidence may not come easily to you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become confident. It may take a little bit of hard work or it may take a lot. You may struggle with your confidence for the rest of your life–I certainly struggle with mine all the time, and I doubt that’s going to change any time soon–but it will get better, however minutely, if you work at it.
Here’s one thing I do know: there are enough jobs, enough publishers, enough avid readers out there for all of us to someday make a living. It may be a small one or it may be massive, but with some ingenuity and a lot of hard work, each and every one of us can make it.
What do you do to bolster your confidence when you’re feeling down? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments below!