Are you negatively affected by the lack of confidence? Is your low self-esteem impeding your progress in doing what you want to do? Building up your self-confidence is an essential part of personal development. This lies within the core of your endeavors and it impacts the achievement of your goals. If you want advice on how you can build up your self-confidence, read this article.
Being confident in yourself means believing in yourself. It means liking who you are. To help yourself see your own strengths, write down the things about yourself that you are proud of. Do not be humble about it because this exercise is about finding all the things that you like about yourself. Your are probably your worst critic, and because of that, you need to push aside that self-criticism and focus on your strengths. So, write down everything, no matter how small. When you are done with your list, you may be surprised at how many things you are able to find that you like about yourself.
Write down the things that you would like to change about yourself, and the reason why you want to change it. Include why you think changing it will make you happier. Sometimes making yourself write down these things helps you think about how realistic it is. For example, if you do not like the way you look and want to look like a supermodel, would that really make you happier? Perhaps what you really mean is to learn how to make your appearance more professional-looking, which is an attainable goal. Writing down these things helps you sort out your thoughts. It could be as simple as starting an early morning walk for extra exercise.
Make some goals for yourself. Use your lists and set a few realistic goals. Do not make too many because that will overwhelm you. Think about what your priorities are, and set goals for improving the more important areas in your life. Once you have your goals set, you should set a time line in achieving those goals so you can gauge your progress.
Whenever you achieve a goal, reward yourself with something special. This is a way of telling yourself that you are proud of your accomplishments. This will boost your confidence and motivate you to go on to the next goal. You may think that rewarding yourself is frivolous, but actually it is important to your own psychological need for building up confidence. When you look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself what a great job you did in reaching that goal, this can boost your confidence tremendously. Giving yourself that reward is acknowledging to yourself that you are worth it and deserve it.
Do not slack on the praises that you heap on yourself. This is not a show of arrogance, but is a necessity in changing your mindset to a more confident one. It is important for your self-esteem.
Following these guidelines will help you gain the confidence that you feel you have been lacking. It may take some time, but the more you approach your life this way, the more confident you will become.
David Atog is a staff writer and contributor to the ever-growing Simple Life Habits blog. He enjoys reading and writing about anything related to productivity, self management and goal setting.