Tips to Help Improve Self-Confidence

When we aren’t feeling confident inside, it might seem like nothing is going right on the outside--low self-confidence can send individuals into downward spirals. Self- confidence is deeply intertwined with mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and low self-confidence can even predispose a person to mental illness. While you may feel like you have absolutely no control over the way you feel about yourself, there are actually ways to help improve not only how you are feeling about yourself in the moment, but also, in the long term. 
 
Set Realistic Goals for Yourself
Goals are always great, but it’s important to check in with yourself and see if the goals you’ve set are realistic given the circumstances. For example, if you wanted to build a business, rather than set a timeline to achieve this result by the end of the week, a more realistic approach may be to break this larger goal up into micro goals (i.e. come up with a business plan by the end of the week) in order to set yourself up for success. 

Write Down Affirmations 
Get in the habit of taking a few minutes of your day to write down a couple positive affirmations about yourself. This can be as easy as “I’m a good listener” or “I’m strong and capable”.  Creating this habit will start training your mind to automatically generate positive self-talk. 

Increase Positive Self-Talk
Do you find yourself engaging in a lot of negative self-talk? “I can’t do that” or “I’m not capable” are some examples of what negative self-talk can sound like. When you replace these statements with more positive ones like “I’m trying my hardest and that’s what matters!”, your self-esteem will naturally increase. 

Get Enough Sleep 
Do you ever notice that when you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more inclined to feel down about yourself? Getting proper sleep is important for our bodies and our minds, so that we can feel recharged and energized. When sleep is affected, it’s much more likely that your performance during the day is affected as well, which can significantly lower your self- confidence. 

Engage in Self-Care 
Block out some time every day (even if it’s just fifteen minutes) to do something for yourself. The idea behind this one is that, when do something to take care of yourself, you remind yourself that your needs are important, which reinforces your self-confidence.