Written by Stacey Greer | March 8, 2023
International Women's Day is about celebrating the strength of women around the world. Learn how to harness your own inner power with these tips for believing in yourself and building unshakeable confidence!
What is Self-Confidence?
According to Merriam-Webster, the self-confidence definition is: "confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities". So how do you go about boosting self-confidence? Read on to learn more.
Confidence in Others
Confident people have the power to achieve anything they desire. It is confidence that builds us up and gives us strength, helping us to face whatever life throws our way. From confidence comes conviction in one's abilities, courage to take risks, and self-assuredness to reach beyond what we thought possible. When one is confident in their decisions and actions, success follows naturally.
Build Self-Confidence and Build Belief in Yourself
Believing in yourself is one of the most powerful tools you can use to create a life that you love. It’s easy to be hard on ourselves, especially when we compare ourselves to others. We can often have unrealistic expectations of ourselves leaving us feeling like we are not enough, or that we don’t measure up.
Believing in yourself is essential for building confidence and getting the most out of life. The first step to believing in yourself and building self-confidence is to understand that everyone struggles with self-doubt from time to time. This is a normal part of life, and it doesn't mean that you are not good enough. What matters is how you deal with your doubts.
Here are some more tips on how to develop self-confidence and believe in yourself so that you can discover your potential and achieve your goals.
1. Understand That Everyone has Doubts
As previously mentioned, everyone struggles with self-doubt as a normal part of life. However, if you let these doubts control you, they can cause you to lack self-confidence and self-esteem, affect your self-worth and body image, as well as your mental health.
Equally important, letting these doubts control you will be a hindrance to your success. But if you face them head-on and use them as personal motivation to improve, then they can be a powerful force for good in your life.
2. Practice Self-Compassion (Be Kind to Yourself)
We tend to be our own worst critics, so it’s important to remember to practice self-compassion and be kind to yourself. Instead of focusing on your failures or shortcomings, focus on the positive aspects of yourself. Remind yourself that you are capable and worthy of success. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and learn from them instead of beating yourself up over them.
3. Challenge Negative Thoughts and Negative Self-Talk
Negative thinking and negative self-talk can become habits and can lead us down a path of self-doubt and low self-esteem if left unchecked. Instead, shift your perspective and view your life through a new lens. Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones such as “I am capable” or “I am worthy” – these small changes can have big impacts in building confidence, helping us believe in ourselves and our own ability.
4. Realize That Small Steps Lead to Big Results
When building anything, you have to start with the basics and work your way up. Constructing confidence is no different – start small by setting goals for yourself and celebrating even the smallest of successes.
Celebrating your wins helps you realize that you can do more than you thought possible and helps build upon your success rather than letting it simply dissipate into thin air.
5. Develop Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the foundation for achieving success and self-confidence. Cultivating self-awareness allows us to recognize where you are right now and effectively understanding your emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in order to make proactive, self-directed decisions.
One way to do this is by writing down your thoughts, feelings, and life experiences – try keeping a journal. Take time each day to reflect on these things and you will find you start to understand yourself better and begin to grow.
6. Acknowledge Your Achievements and Positive Qualities
One of the best ways to start believing in yourself is to take a step back and acknowledge all your achievements and positive qualities. Write down a list of everything you’ve accomplished, no matter how big or small. This will help you to see just how capable you are and remind you of what you’re capable of achieving. Next, make a list of all of your positive qualities. This can sometimes be a hard task to do, especially if you are struggling with low self-confidence, but this particular task is a necessary step to build confidence.
7. Spend Time Doing Things You Enjoy
Take time out of each day to do something that makes you happy such as reading, painting, exercising, or going for a walk outdoors – whatever activity helps recharge your batteries and brings joy into your life!
When you take time out for yourself it helps boost your self-esteem by giving a sense of accomplishment from completing an activity that was enjoyable at your own pace with no external pressures or expectations from anyone else involved.
8. Practice Visualization
Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you believe in yourself and achieve your goals. It involves picturing yourself achieving your goal in your mind’s eye as if it has already happened. Imagine what thoughts and feelings you would be having as your future self if you were living the life you want to live. This helps to program your subconscious mind for success and increases your belief that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
9. Create a Support Network
Surround yourself with people who support you and your goals. Find friends who will listen without judgment, encourage without pressure, and challenge you without criticism. Your support network should lift you up and be there for you during both the good times and the bad times.
10. Be Patient with Yourself
It’s important to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. A strong sense of self-confidence and self-belief won't happen tomorrow. It takes time to develop these qualities, so be patient with yourself as you work on building them up. Trust that if you keep taking positive steps, eventually you will get there and you will build greater self-confidence day after day.
It is Possible to Develop Self-Confidence
Building belief in ourselves isn’t easy; it takes hard work and dedication. However, believing in yourself is an important step towards achieving success both personally and professionally – it gives us confidence to take risks without fear and push through challenging situations with resilience! With practice, being kinder to ourselves can become second nature; replacing our negative thoughts and feelings with more positive ones can help us improve our overall well-being.
The Power of YOU
Remember to start small and give yourself grace as you embark on this journey. Take some time out today just for YOU – do something that brings joy into your life; remind yourself how capable and worthy YOU are; create a support network around YOU; challenge any negative thoughts or feelings YOU have about YOURSELF. All these small steps will help YOU believe in YOURSELF more deeply every day!
With practice and patience, building belief in ourselves becomes easier over time. No matter the challenges that come your way, maintain a positive attitude, stand tall, and radiate confidence--you've got this! You are well on your way to a more fierce, unshakeable YOU!
