Self-confidence can make us feel that we are worthy and component enough to accomplish tasks and face challenges. It’s what gives us the courage to stay committed towards our goals and take on new opportunities. However, sometimes we may doubt our abilities and feel insecure in ourselves because of inexperience or past mistakes and failures. Here are some simple things you can do to boost your self-confidence!
Imagine Your Success
Your imagination is a simple but powerful tool. Imagining yourself succeeding, like winning a game or scoring high in a test, can make you feel confident that you can reach your goal. It’s like you already envision a future in which you succeed, so now you just have to take the steps to get there. Imagery is actually an effective technique that helps athletes win games and increases their confidence (Williams, 2018). You can also imagine different scenarios besides your success, like different possibilities or unplanned situations, and then thinking how you would react in these scenarios. Doing so can both manage your expectations and help you prepare for them (Heydari et al., 2018; Lamb & Judge, 2012), which can make you feel more secure in your victory.
Practice Positive Self-Talk
Positive self-talk can empower you for what’s to come, reinforce you, and help you see the good in a situation no matter how bad it seems. Self-talk can happen at any time. For example, before you do the activity, pump yourself up with statements like “I will finish this task!”, or “I will get good results!”. During the activity, cheer for yourself by saying “You’re doing so well!”, or “You’re making good progress!”. Then after the activity, commend yourself by saying “Good job!” or “You did it!”.
However, to successfully do positive self-talk, it’s important to also recognize your negative thoughts and feelings so you know how to stop and address them. For example, try identifying common negative thoughts you have and use them as triggers to do something to stop thinking them, like redirecting your focus or consciously telling yourself to stop (Lamb and Judge, 2012). You can also write down negative thoughts you have about a situation and replace them with positive thoughts (Williams, 2018).
List Down Affirmations
Think of attributes or qualities that you like about yourself, or positive thoughts and feelings that you have toward yourself. These can include skills that you’re good at, past successes that you’ve had, traits you have that can help you in specific situations, or a positive assessment of yourself (Lamb & Judge, 2012). You can include these affirmations in your self-talks or write them on post-it notes or in a journal to remind yourself of them. Affirmations can help you feel good about yourself which can also make you more confident in yourself.
Set Goals for Yourself
Goal setting is a more direction-oriented approach to boost your confidence (Heydari et al., 2018). Give yourself a target to work towards and smaller targets to reach based on your current capabilities. For example, if you aim to improve your physical strength, set a small goal like “do five push-ups” then increase the number and intensity for each milestone. If you aim to finish a project, set goals for each stage of the project. Achieving these small goals can give you confidence that you can accomplish something and that you will eventually reach your main goal.
Do Mindfulness and Relaxation Exercises
There may be times in which the negative thoughts and feelings are so overwhelming that it’s hard to feel confident in yourself. Doing mindfulness and relaxation techniques can help you let go of your fears and doubts, draw you back to the present moment, and promote your confidence in your own abilities. Some exercises you may try are body-scans, muscle relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, and guided relaxation and imagery (GRI) (Kim et al., 2012).
It can be difficult to always be confident in yourself especially at the times when life knocks you down. It can also take time to develop adaptive habits and thinking patterns that could help boost your self-confidence, and there is no problem with that. Take your time in learning how to build your self-confidence and remember that you can always rely on others as well, like your friends and family, to give you the confidence boost you need.
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References
Heydari, A., Soltani, H., & Mohammadi-Nezhad, M. (2018). The effect of psychological skills training (goal setting, positive self-talk and imagery) on self-confidence of adolescent volleyball players. Pedagogics Psychology Medical-Biological Problems of Physical Training and Sports, 22(4), 189. http://dx.doi.org/10.15561/18189172.2018.0404
Kim, B. H., Newton, R. A., Sachs, M. L., Glutting, J. J., & Glanz, K. (2012). Effect of guided relaxation and imagery on falls self-efficacy: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 60(6), 1109-1114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.03959.x
Lamb, M., & Judge, L. W. (2012). Building self-confidence: Implementing a psychological skills training program. Indiana AHPERD Journal, 41(3), 16-21.
Williams, R. T. (2018). Confidence interventions. Do they work? Asian Journal of Humanity, Art and Literature, 5(2), 123-134. https://doi.org/10.18034/ajhal.v5i2.536
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