Confidence is the key to so many aspects of life. In this post, I'm teaching you how to improve your confidence and change your life, starting today!
“Confidence is key.” How many times have you heard that? It's so true though in every aspect of life!
Have you ever listened to a Ted Talk? If not, I'd recommend you do so today. The people in those talks speak extremely confidently because they are confident in the content they're sharing.
Have you ever been attracted to someone because they radiated confidence? They were sure of themselves and that is an attractive quality in the dating world.
The same thing applies in the business world. Having confidence in an interview, in the workplace, and with colleagues is so important for success. You never see any billionaires with low confidence. They all radiate confidence as if it grows on trees!
How do they achieve confidence? There are many ways to do so and we'll dive into that today. However, the important thing to note is it is easily possible to achieve higher self-confidence and you can START TODAY!
Let's dive right in since high confidence can change our lives!
This post is all about how to improve your confidence.
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12 Proven Ways to Improve Your Self Confidence
1. Read Books
This one shouldn't be taken lightly. The most successful people in the world read CONSTANTLY. Reading not only improves your vocabulary, but it also improves your knowledge.
Fictional books are great, but self-help and educational books are THE BEST! The way I see it is that someone else knows SO MUCH about one topic that they've invested a lot of time and money to publish their knowledge to the world.
Why wouldn't we take advantage of that!? We have so many resources right at our disposal, it's insane to not take the shortcut and just learn from someone else that's been successful. Then, all we need to do is rinse and repeat. Right?
I personally challenge myself to read 10 pages of a book per day. I don't always hit it, but I aim to do it AND I look forward to it so much every night!
The moral of the story is the more you learn from others, the more successful you will be.
2. Give Yourself Positive Affirmations
I'm sure you've heard this before, but I'm guessing you probably haven't done it yourself.
Take a moment right this second and get some sticky notes. If you don't have sticky notes, go to a mirror and tell yourself 5 positive things about yourself.
Once you have your sticky notes, write 5 positive things about yourself and stick them to a mirror that you'll see daily.
Feel free to put some in your car or on your fridge. The idea is that you'll continuously read them and start BELIEVING THEM. They're true, but sometimes we need a constant reminder to truly believe these positive affirmations.
Do that today. That's your homework.
3. No Negativity
Today, we are removing any negative thoughts you have about yourself. We're done with that.
If you feel yourself starting to think negatively, you're going to stop and read one of your positive affirmations. This includes negative thoughts like “I look fat in this” or “he's out of my league” or “I could never get a job like that.”
Those are fear and insecurities. YOU are BETTER than that.
You're AMAZING and it's time you start BELIEVING it yourself.
In fact, in the comments below, write a positive affirmation of yourself RIGHT NOW to affirm it to the world. You've got this!
4. Go to Interviews
This one may seem funny, but it's VERY effective.
Don't want the job? Great, go on the interview anyway!
Every single interview you go on will help you learn something new and help you with interview skills for the job you do want.
Don't turn down any interviews. Go to them all, network, build connections, try new questions, learn something new that you can apply to your future interviews.
5. Join Toastmasters
This is a free (or very low cost) club that meets all over the USA. I guarantee there are chapters (probably several) in your area. In fact, your church may even have one!
This club is an organization that helps you build your presentation skills and confidence. You will present on different topics (if you want) and observe others presenting to give feedback.
It's actually a really amazing organization and since it's free or very little cost (like $50 a year), it's such an amazing asset that's never talked about!
You can check out available chapters by going to the Toastmasters website.
6. Practice Presenting
I ALWAYS practice a presentation to my friends and family before I present it. It helps me to gain confidence in the presentation and allows me to get any nerves out.
I often will rehearse it multiple times so that I feel fully confident when the real presentation occurs.
I highly recommend you do the same as it will greatly improve your self-confidence in presenting!
7. Set Goals
Guess what? One of the best things you can do to improve your self-confidence is to set goals for yourself!
I even created a goal tracker free downloadable printable for you to start doing that today!
Want to run a half marathon? Great! Write it down! People are more likely to achieve their goals if they write them down!
When you accomplish one of your goals, reward yourself with something! Maybe it's ice cream or a pair of shoes or even just a day off! Reward yourself so that it builds your self-confidence in the process!
8. Make New Friends
Having friends is easily one of the easiest and best ways to build your self-confidence.
You can make new friends by joining meetup groups for free or joining a church. When I first moved to my city, I joined Meetup and met many friends through there! Find a topic you enjoy (scuba diving, running, etc) and join the group in your city.
Having friends will make you active in your community, stimulate your brain and make you excited about things in life. This will all contribute to higher confidence!
9. Make a Vision Board
I LOVE vision boards! If you haven't made a vision board before, here's your 3rd homework assignment!
Go online or get some magazines and start going through them for quotes and pictures of things you want to accomplish in life. If you want a dog, find a dog picture. If you want a home or to be a millionaire, find a house and a dollar bill picture.
Put all of these images on one sheet of paper. If it's on the computer, print it. Put it up in your office or someplace you will continuously see it so that you are motivated.
Just having goals alone will bring you so much confidence and make you feel like you have self-worth (because you do, silly!)
10. Make an Achievement List
I do this all year round every year. Every time I achieve something, I write it down on my computer in a word document. I label the file the year so if it's 2020, I label it 2020 Achievements.
Writing down your achievements is so critical for confidence. If you forget the things you achieved, how can you be proud of yourself?
In fact, in my family, we track each other's achievements as well and at Christmas, my mom compiles everyone's achievements and puts our achievements in our stockings. It's such a great reminder of all the amazing things you accomplished that year!
This is your 4th homework assignment. Go write down every achievement you can think of (bonus points if you can remember the year).
Achievements to think about:
- Races
- Sports
- Grades
- Classes
- Graduation
- Babies
- Trips/Vacations
- Life Memories
- Friendships
- Relationships
- Overcoming obstacles
- Jobs/Career
- Financial Accomplishments
Feel free to share them with me on Instagram @financialcookbook. I'd LOVE to see them!
11. Get a Hobby
It boggles my mind how many people don't have hobbies.
I have TOO MANY hobbies. Hobbies bring confidence like you wouldn't believe! You can get really good at something or just have experience doing it that you can share with others/relate to others on.
For example, some of my hobbies include running, traveling, working out, cooking, scuba diving, snowboarding, paddle boarding, hiking, home DIY, reading, snorkeling, boating, real estate, camping, road-tripping, and finances. Honestly, the list could probably go on and on. I LOVE activities!
Doing things that make you feel good and happy is sure to improve your confidence.
12. Learn a New Skill
I am OBSESSED with learning new skills. In this day and age, we have more at our fingertips than ever before!
Go on youtube and learn something new! Maybe you learn how to clean your bathroom effectively or learn how to properly cut an onion or learn how to change the oil in your car. I challenge myself to do a Spanish lesson in Duolingo every day. It's a free app that helps you learn a new language!
Aim to learn something new every single day. This will make you a much more rounded person and will greatly improve your self-confidence!
Let me know what skills you've learned!
How to Easily Improve Your Confidence
Well, that was quite the list! I've actually really inspired myself so I'm going to go read a book and learn a new skill right now!
These tips have helped me go from being shy in high school to presenting in front of thousands of people. I'm CONFIDENT that if you do these things, your confidence will greatly improve as well!
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