Secrets on how to be confident are revealed in this comprehensive guide that contains 21 simple yet powerful strategies to boost your confidence level.
None of us are born perfect or all-knowing, yet some of us have the confidence and self-esteem to conquer the world. We’ve collected some of the best advice here. Let’s discuss this in detail.
How to be Confident - STEP 1: Project Your Self-Image
Have you ever said something similar to “If only I lived …” or “If only I had …” ? One of the common humanity traits is to blame our circumstances rather than ourselves. The truth is, if you want to change your life, you should always start with yourself. If you desire to be confident, look no further but inward. Do you see yourself as a confident and powerful individual? A positive self-image is usually seen as confidence by other people. If you have no doubts about your worth, neither will anyone else. So, step number one on how to be confident is to write down how you would like to see yourself as a person.
How to be Confident - STEP 2: Create Positive Ideas
So, after doing step 1, you probably feel quite skeptical. All is well in writing about the ‘DREAM YOU’, but how do you make it happen? We, human beings, have a tendency to see the negative first, so step 2 on how to be confident is that you start with writing down negative ideas of yourself and changing them into positives. What are the things you believe you can’t do or you are not good at? Is that the truth, or is that your biased opinion? Write these down and ask your family members and people you trust what they think. You might be surprised by how untrue your supposed ‘facts’ are in reality!
How to be Confident - STEP 3: Repeat Affirmations as Mantras
Now that you’ve got some encouragement from others, let’s remodel these ideas to be confident as soon as possible. Affirmations or positive statements will ensure that your conscious and subconscious mind is looking for ways to change your life even when you are not aware of it. Your task is simple here: take 2-3 minutes a day in front of the mirror and repeat something like this:
I’m cool because I can do … on an extraordinary level.
I am confident!
My boss/ parents/ friends appreciate and praise me at work/school.
I interact with others easily.
Don’t forget to say these with energy and a smile!
How to be Confident STEP 4: Visualize Your Success
Many successful people and leadership gurus talk about how powerful our mind is. An easy way to explain this would be to remind you of your dreams. Have you ever had one that felt so real that when you woke up, it was difficult to understand where you are? Or a nightmare that made you wake up in the middle of the night shaking? While these are your unconscious mind, they still show how powerful something totally unrealistic can be.
Visualize yourself feeling confident. Playing numerous scenarios in which you act confident will increase your confidence in real-life situations because they will feel familiar. Let’s say you lack confidence while presenting in front of an audience. Now, imagine how you would act if you felt confident. How would you talk, walk and look? The more scenarios you create in your mind, the more confident you’ll feel when that or a similar situation arises.
Now, let’s look at the actions you can take throughout the day that can help build your confidence.
How to be Confident STEP 5: Set Your Goals
First and foremost, look at your daily life and decide what are the most important things for you. Is it to spend time with your family, achieve high results at school or work, and earn more money or something else? Write down whatever comes to mind and compile a list. Don’t worry if you can’t think of many, you can add to them once you progress! The more specific your goals are, the more they will help resolve your query on how to be confident because you will know exactly what you want to do or become in the future.
How to be Confident STEP 6: Break Them Down into Something Achievable
Step 5 on how to be confident might feel a bit overwhelming but we’ve got you covered! You might have a goal similar to ‘Become rich’ or ‘Become fit/strong/slim’ and those are so huge that they might make you anxious, which is totally normal. In order to be confident all you have to do is break them down into smaller, shorter-term goals.
Let’s say your goal is to lose weight. Break it down into smaller, less overwhelming aims.
GOAL: lose 10 kg
Week 1 goal: eat 1 healthy meal per day
Week 2 goal: drink 2 litres of water every day and spend 10 minutes exercising
Week 3 goal: add 2-3 different vegetables to your lunch and dinner
… You got the gist! Eating 1 healthy meal per day seems a lot more achievable than losing 10 kilograms, doesn’t it? Smaller tasks are way easier to complete and with each completed task you will have no choice but to be more confident in your abilities.
How to be Confident - STEP 7: Set Realistic Expectations
Creating goals is all good and fun. However, you have to remember to be realistic! Don’t fall into the trap of ‘I will do everything starting Monday’ idea. Start small, identify the things you need to change and start changing them one by one to be more confident.
There are hundreds of apps that help you stay consistent, track your progress and see the results. Just observing those will boost your confidence and self-esteem.
How to be Confident - STEP 8: Create Empowering Environment
We know you’ll probably hate us, but we do encourage you to tidy up, keep a clean workplace, desk, kitchen and any other place that you spend a lot of time in. As you may have realized, taking consistent action is a must to being confident. Many success gurus advocate a clean environment because your mind can focus on important matters rather than hindrances. So declutter and refocus
How to be Confident - STEP 9: Conquer Procrastination
We have all had those situations when we said, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. And that tomorrow … might have never come. Sometimes, it’s okay to delay tasks that aren’t that important to our long-term goals. Sometimes, it’s okay to delegate and ask someone else for help. However, most of the time, we should look at our goals, take one task at a time and start doing it. Not only you’ll be more confident once you complete yet another task on the list, but also be able to enjoy your time with family, friends or by yourself.
How to be Confident -STEP 10: Prepare in Advance
It’s really pretty simple. The more time you spend in preparation, the more confidence you have actually doing whatever the task is. Do you feel anxious about a talk with your teacher/boss/coworker? Prepare everything you want to say in advance. Think of any questions or issues they might have. Practice it with someone you trust and repeat it until you can be confident you will handle the actual situation.
“Knowledge is power” – Sir Francis Bacon
How to be Confident STEP 11: Develop Healthy Habits
You are changing your life. It’s not going to be easy; otherwise, you would have already done it. However, the secret lies in simplicity. With every single, even the smallest action you take, your willpower increases. You may start with 20 minutes of exercise every day and that will end up being 120 hours at the end of the year. Observing the daily changes in your routines and habits will impact your looks, the way you feel, the way you act and, as a result, Start feeling confident.
There are a few steps that you can focus on throughout the day:
How to be Confident STEP 12: Praise Yourself
Do you remember when you were a child, your parents or teachers used to tell you ‘good job’, ‘great work’, ‘you are amazing’ and so on? You must do that to yourself as well! In order to know how to be confident, it’s important to notice the changes and the progress that you make. You feel great today? Tell it to yourself. You got a high mark or a promotion? Praise yourself. SAY THE WORDS. It’s simple, but powerful.
How to be Confident STEP 13: Celebrate Your Achievements
Similarly, make sure you celebrate your milestones. Writing down your goals is only useful if you achieve them. Make a big deal out of it once you do! Did you lose a pound? Reward yourself with a great book or a session at a SPA. Whatever makes you happy, take the time to enjoy it. Feeling ecstatic has a tremendous impact on letting yourself be confident.
How to be Confident - STEP 14: Stay Busy
, stay busy. Have you ever been so bored that you couldn’t even get out of bed? How did you feel? Tired? Terrible? Anxious? What if somebody invited you to go on a rollercoaster, a park, or whatever else you find exciting? Did the apathy disappear and instead, you were jumping at the opportunity? That’s an example of how staying active and busy takes away the possibility of feeling discouraged. The more you move and the more you get done, the more you will feel accomplished. This is one of the most important steps in how to be confident.
Now, let’s talk about how others can be part of your journey to be confident.
How to be Confident STEP 15: Find a Role Model
It’s important to find someone whom you admire and whom you think is confident. Analyze what they look like and act like, and follow their example.
How to be Confident STEP 16: Be a Role Model
Another important step to know about how to be confident is to help others learn. Think about something that you know really well. Then, think of someone who doesn’t have the same skills as you do. Teach them. Take the time and share your knowledge. Not only will someone be grateful for your help but you will also feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.
How to be Confident STEP 17: Challenge Yourself
Each of us has something that we are anxious about. Facing our fears is a challenge that most of us avoid, however, it’s also the biggest opportunity to learn. In order to learn how to be confident, it’s important to dare to step out of your comfort zone, feel uncomfortable and push through your own limitations to increase your confidence level. If you need some ideas, search for ‘fear challenge’ and you’ll see how some people go to extremes to feel powerful!
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
How to be Confident STEP 18: Face Rejection and Persevere
We do not suggest you go out and ask hundreds of people something random. That has been a powerful tool in recent years when boosting someone’s confidence. However, we do recommend you ask someone you trust to re-create the situations that create anxiety, worry and stress in your life. How would you act in those situations if it was someone you’re friends with? Would it be easier or more comfortable? In many situations, the fear of the situation is in our minds rather than the situation itself. Don’t be afraid to fail and always keep on trying till you succeed.
How to be Confident STEP 19: Be and Act Your Best Self
Your daily life must be full of challenges. Some repeat over and over, and most of the time, we react the same way. If you become aware of this tendency, you can change your reactions, think positively, act as the best person you can be, and reach different outcomes. While it won’t be easy, it will definitely increase your self-esteem, confidence level, and personal growth in your quest to be confident.
How to be Confident STEP 20: Fake it till you make it
Last but not least on how to be confident… Act as if you are on top of the world every single day. The more you make an effort to be confident and show that to others, the more you will see yourself as the confident individual that thrives in all situations. Becoming confident is not a straight journey but it is definitely rewarding. Most importantly, take some or all of these tips and have fun.
How to be Confident - STEP 21:Attend our SMART Camp
We are proud to teach teenagers not only how to be more outspoken but also how to be confident in their daily lives. Skills such as confidence, public speaking, teamwork and creativity are essential to every young adult’s life! Besides, everyone finds a ton of new friends from across the globe, learns how to adapt to a multicultural environment, overcome its challenges and create a new family with people that will always be there for each other in the future. So, If you are a teenager, simply register or login to the website and come to our Smart Camp.