How do you rate your level of confidence? If you feel you have low self-esteem or you’re not very confident in yourself it can have a negative impact on your life. Practicing confidence building exercises can be a key element in helping you achieve happiness and success. With a positive self-esteem you can also attract more successful people and achieve personal growth.
There are many factors that can hinder a person’s self-esteem, sometimes tracing back early on in life. Childhood trauma, abuse, abandonment or separation from a parent are just some of the common factors which contribute to low-self esteem. Negative life changes such as the loss of a job, a divorce, poor health or mental health disorders can all potentially hinder an individual’s self-esteem as well. Regardless of the cause, rebuilding your confidence is possible. With a little bit of training you can gain self-assurance through confidence building exercises.
Confidence vs Self-Esteem and Self-Worth
What is the difference between confidence, self-esteem and self-worth? It is common for these to be used interchangeably, but they are actually different concepts. All three elements share one thing in common- it is a state of mind. However, each of these components relate to a person’s own view of themselves in a different way. Likewise, each of these can be affected differently.
Self-esteem is the way you feel towards yourself overall. It’s the value you give yourself based on your attributes and qualities. How you view yourself as a person is often reflected by the experiences and situations you have faced. A healthy self-esteem is when you view yourself realistically and in an honest and positive manner rather than negative. Low self-esteem is typically indicated by underestimating the positive traits you possess.
Your self-worth is your belief in how valuable and lovable you are in spite of your characteristics. You may have a negative view of yourself yet you still recognize that you are lovable and valuable to someone. A mother that feels uncomfortable in her appearance after having children or feels judged in how she parents might experience low self-esteem. She knows she is loved and valued, therefore she still possesses self worth.
Self confidence, on the other hand, refers to the way you feel towards your abilities. This can change depending on the situation. For instance, you may have great confidence in your ability to give a presentation whereas your confidence level in social gatherings is significantly less. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have a low self-esteem. Each of these aspects go hand in hand, but you can have one without the other.
Maintaining a healthy self-esteem and building your confidence are essential to grow and achieve success and happiness. How you see yourself and your confidence in various situations can affect critical aspects of your daily life from work to relationships and your psychological health. Here is an in-depth look on what you can do to harness the power of gaining confidence and boosting your self-esteem.
Confidence Building Exercises
Are you ready to hit the gym!? Just kidding, although getting some physical exercise can be a great mood booster. Fortunately, building up your self-esteem is not as rigorous as building muscle. It does take commitment and requires doing things that are healthy for your mind as well as your body. Listed below are daily activities you can practice to give your confidence a boost and gain self-assurance. You can do as many of the following exercises as you feel comfortable with.
Feed Yourself Positivity
Just as good food helps nourish our bodies, good thoughts can help nourish our minds. Positivity is essential to helping you boost your self confidence and a great way to build up your self-esteem. Think positively of yourself and remember that you are worthy of self love. Not to sound cliche but each one of us are truly unique in our own way and that’s what makes each of us special. Remind yourself that you are special and capable of great things. When you start to think negatively, challenge those thoughts with reassuring statements. Would you call a good friend a loser or tell someone you really cared about that they were worthless? My guess is NO. Stop saying these things to yourself.
Focus On Your Positive Attributes
You may need to call on the help of a friend or family member to help with this exercise. It can be difficult sometimes to recognize our own positive attributes. Plus having the support of someone you can trust will help you ultimately achieve your goal. Compile two separate lists of positive aspects – one list will be for your strengths and positive traits and the other list for all of your accomplishments. It doesn’t matter how small you think they are. Try to think of how you would describe yourself if you were on a job interview for a position you strongly desired. Use this list to reflect on every day.
Spread Positivity —
You are not alone among those seeking confidence building exercises. In spreading positivity to others you are not only helping yourself, you could be helping someone else in the process. Smile more often. You may not feel like smiling but you might be surprised in how it can change the way you feel almost instantly. The more you smile the easier it will come naturally and give you a boost in your self confidence. Be kind to others. Even if you aren’t feeling great about yourself, being kind to someone else is one of the easiest ways to feel better about yourself.
Practice Self-Care —
It’s hard to see yourself in a positive way if you don’t look and feel your best. Hygiene should be a priority. Shower, brush your hair, brush your teeth, all of the things your mom would likely tell you to do before going to school. Dress accordingly in something that makes you feel good about yourself. Even if you have nowhere special to go, dress comfortably in a way that makes you feel good.
Get enough sleep! This is not only important to your overall health, but getting an adequate amount of rest is equally vital to your self-esteem. Plan a schedule or routine to allow yourself to get the sleep your mind and body need to function at your best. Find something relaxing that helps ease your mind as it gets close to your bedtime so you can fall asleep more easily.
When was the last time you treated yourself to something you truly enjoyed? Treat yourself to something positive that makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be anything luxurious or out of your budget. Find small ways to treat yourself from time to time.
Recognize Your Triggers —
One of the best ways to work on improving your self assurance is to recognize the triggers that affect your self-esteem and avoid them. Think about what it is that has allowed negativity to dominate over your thoughts. Take a break or remove yourself from whatever this is if possible. Sometimes this is easier said than done and can’t always be avoided. If it’s a person bringing negativity take measures to avoid them as much as possible. If you find yourself feeling triggered by something negative that you can’t avoid, redirect your focus to something that is positive.
Discover Who You Are —
It is equally important to recognize who you are. This may sound silly but it’s easy to get lost in who we really are inside when trying to follow the crowd or looking for acceptance from others. Focus on who you truly are inside. Focus on your likes and dislikes as well as what makes you truly happy. Don’t be apologetic for who you are and stay true to your principles. When you really get to know yourself as a person and stay true to yourself you will find it easier to overcome the triggers.
Emulate Confidence —
Building up your self-esteem can take time but appearing confident can go a long way. Present yourself as though you are more confident than you actually are in those challenging situations. It can be as simple as wearing a nice suit, a favorite tie or your favorite necklace. Make eye contact while you are speaking to someone. Direct eye contact is often interpreted as a sign of confidence and trustworthiness. Adjust your posture so that your back is straight and your head is raised. Simply improving your posture can instantly boost your self-esteem with minimal effort.
You have likely heard too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, right? The same goes for boosting one’s self-esteem. You don’t have to be confident all of the time but feel comfortable with being yourself. It’s important to find a good balance between a reasonable level of self confidence while staying humble. You want to be confident in your abilities without being arrogant. Admit when you’re wrong. Be approachable and interested in the people you are speaking to. Don’t limit your connections to just people you know.
Don’t feel discouraged if you have trouble sticking to these confidence building exercises. There are some practices that work well for many but not everybody. There are various ways you can train yourself to be more confident.
Self-esteem classes are available to prospective students that may struggle in this area or want to be more confident in their careers. Entrepreneurs may enroll in self-esteem courses to gain the confidence towards becoming successful. These courses are valuable to individuals that may not have a support system or lack the motivation to build up their confidence on their own. They are set up in a way that can allow a person to find beauty within themselves.
📖 Top 5 Books on Building Self Confidence
Do you enjoy a good read? Immersing yourself in a self-help book may prove more beneficial than enrolling in a class. Many entrepreneurs and business builders have benefited from reading motivational material as a method for achieving confidence. Some have even gone on to write their own books providing valuable content to help others find confidence the same way they have.
1. The Confidence Gap : A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self Doubt
In this book Russ Harris, the author, guides readers on how to overcome low self-confidence and insecurity through solutions using cognitive behavioral therapy. He explains how to build confidence by changing how you relate to fear and anxiety. Readers learn how to clear the common misconceptions regarding confidence and how to harness inspiration and motivation through their own beliefs. It’s available as an audio and digital book in addition to the print copy.
2. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
The author of this book, Dale Carnegie, also wrote the best seller How to Win Friends and Influence People. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living combines a fascinating read with lessons he arranged from night classes for his adult students on the subject of overcoming worry. It addresses underlying emotions and life-altering circumstances to effectively apply practical techniques that will last. It is available as a hard copy as well as digital and audio book formats.
3. Unstoppable Confidence : How to Use the Power of NLP to Be More Dynamic and Successful
Written by a Certified Neurolinguistic Programming Trainer, this book proposes the scientific approach known as NLP to help readers grasp confidence. Kent Sayre introduces methods that deliver realistic ways in which the reader can change the way they think and view beyond events. This book offers a guided program which utilizes verbal and nonverbal procedures, featuring ready-to-use mechanisms and tasks on constructive thinking to direct your mind toward your goals. It can be purchased as a hard copy as well as digital copy.
4. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem : The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field
Author and physiotherapist Nathaniel Branden offers answers on common questions many of us have in regards to self-esteem. In this book he demonstrates what self-esteem really is and covers the fundamentals of its importance in five key areas of our everyday lives. It consists of the six action-based practices to apply daily in order to acquire a solid foundation for establishing self-esteem while gaining confidence. It can be purchased as a hard copy or digital as well as an audio format.
5. You are a Badass : How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
If the title of this book doesn’t compel you to get your hands on it, perhaps being rated a #1 Best Seller by the New York Times might. Author Jen Sincero provides insightful advice and easy to apply exercises in this entertaining book with a little bit of attitude. In this 27-chapter book you will find hilarious and compelling stories that are relatable. Readers learn how to identify their self-destructive concepts of thinking that are keeping them from achieving their goals and how to overcome them.
Everyone at some point in their life has found themselves in situations where their confidence has been challenged. Amidst the many factors that can hold a person back from success, lack of confidence or low self-esteem are likely the most common. We are all capable of success and there are many resources to help you attain it. Whether you are self-driven or prefer a more guided instruction approach, confidence building exercises can offer the support you need to boost your self-esteem and become a better version of yourself.
