If you want to achieve something in life, you got to have the drive of self-confidence in you. Without that, you might see yourself at the end of every race, finding it hard to pull though challenges. When you believe in yourself, you will be more than willing to try new things, which is the key to achieving greater success.
However, with our challenging life and circumstances, we need to give our confidence a reality check from time to time and give it a regular boost to ensure we’re on track. In order to do so, you need to uphold to these strategies to lift your confidence.
1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
It’s easy to fall in the trap of comparison with others. It could be comparing the way you look with your Facebook friends, salary comparison or career status with your friends. Doing this will just bring more harm to yourself and erode your self-confidence further. Avoid comparing or matching your life with others, because everyone is running their own race and life isn’t a competition.
A study in 2018 published in Personality and Individual Differences found a direct link between envy and the way you feel about yourself. It was found that people who compared themselves to others, experienced envy. And the more envy they experienced, the worse they felt about themselves. It can be a vicious cycle.
2. Take Care of Your Body
There’s nothing more important than looking after your mental and physical health. If your health is not in top form, your performance and everything around you becomes a struggle. Eating unhealthy, skimping on sleep and lack of physical exercise will not only take a toll on your well-being but are also primary causes of low confidence. Many studies prove that physical activities boost self-confidence.
A 2016 study published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment found that regular physical activity improved participants’ body image. And when their body image improved, they felt more confident.
3. Embrace Self-Doubt
Often time when people are doubtful about doing something, people refrain themselves from doing it. It could be asking someone out on a date, or applying for that promotion. They tend to delay doing things until they’re 100% confident. Similarly, if you emulate the same behaviour by thinking that if you wait a little longer until you feel completely ready, chances are you might not even get there. Sometimes, embracing your fears is the best way forward. If you feel you’re going to mess it up, go for it anyways. Without giving yourself a chance, you will never know what the outcome will be. Of course, if you have a big presentation or speech coming up, best thing to do would be practicing in front of friends or family first to gain some self-confidence.
Embracing a little self-doubt might actually help you perform better. A 2010 study published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise found that athletes who embraced their self-doubt outperformed athletes who were 100% confident in themselves.
