Why is confidence so important?

Confidence is believing in yourself, your personality, your feelings, your decisions, that you can do everything right and that you have a solution for everything. In addition, confidence is attractive, helps you relate to others and makes you fundamentally happier when you feel good about yourself. Here’s a little self-confidence boost for you, because, like so many things, it can be developed too.

Written by: Reka Paulikovics

Self-confidence is linked to almost every aspect of a happy and fulfilled life. The more confident you are, the more you’ll be able to quiet the voice inside you that says, “I can’t do it.” You will be able to let go of those bad thoughts and act in accordance with your own values and feelings.

Most people, so probably you too, have suffered from low self-esteem, worrying and constantly thinking about problems, replaying events in your head over and over. This is cannot be good for you in the long run, it can lead to anxiety, even depression. A good remedy is to boost your self-confidence, which can help you break the cycle and get off the overthinking merry-go-round.

Motivation

Start small! Set yourself small goals that you want to achieve. For example, exercise for a quarter of an hour every morning for, say, two weeks. Or reading 20 pages or a chapter of a book every night. The point is to take small steps that leave a lasting sense of achievement. If you’ve ever learned a language, mastered a skill, achieved a goal in exercise, or in any other way overcome a setback to get where you want to be, you’re on the right track. Think back to your school years, there must have been times when you said to yourself, “I’m proud because I got an A in my maths test!”. And what does that have to do with your life now? Much more than you might think. When you look back, you realise that you do have the perseverance, you can overcome difficulties, you can achieve your goals – and not just at school, but in any area of your life. As your confidence grows a little, you realise how you can expand your abilities. I’m not saying that you’ll never think “What if I fail?” or “What if…?” again, but you can quickly get over them and focus on your goal. So, the first step is to always have some kind of motivation to keep you moving forward.

Resilience

First, let’s be clear about what this concept means. If you want to translate it simply, it’s a kind of resilience, mental adaptability. It has become fashionable to talk about it nowadays, and there is quite a lot of literature on it. It’s about how to stay psychologically healthy despite traumatic circumstances. The good news is that this skill can be developed. It is closely related to self-confidence, as it gives you the skills and methods to deal with failures and problems. Self-confidence doesn’t mean you won’t fail sometimes. But you will know that you can handle challenges, and they won’t bring you down. Even when things don’t go at all according to your plans, you’ll be able to see the positive and not get knocked down. As long as you keep pushing yourself to try new things, you will start to understand how failure and mistakes lead to growth. You accept that failure is a part of life and the world doesn’t come crashing down, you pick yourself up and move on.

Improving relationships

It may seem counterintuitive, but when you have more confidence, you focus less on yourself. We’ve all experienced walking into a room and thinking: “They’re all looking at me. They all think I look stupid and that everything I say is stupid.” The truth is, people get wrapped up in their own thoughts and worries. When you get out of your own head, you’ll be able to make real connections. You’ll enjoy interactions much more because you’ll stop worrying about how you impress others, and you’ll also stop comparing yourself all the time. And this kind of calmness helps you develop deep relationships. Self-confidence can also lead to deeper empathy. When you’re fully present, you’re more likely to notice when a meeting doesn’t fill you with joy, or, for example, when a friend sitting in the corner at a party looks like he’s about to cry. When you’re not preoccupied with yourself, you can be the person who helps others.

Credibility

True confidence is rooted in being able to show who you really are. You’ll be able to accept your weaknesses, knowing that they don’t change your worth, but you’ll also be able to celebrate your strengths and use them to much greater effect in different areas of life. If you are truly confident, your actions will align with your principles, adding even more purpose to your personality. You will know who you are and what you stand for. You have the ability to show up anywhere without fear, to dare to stand up for yourself and others. In other words, you will be able to live your best self.

A few small steps to boost your confidence:

– Write down your favourite quote or thought about confidence and put it somewhere you will see it often. On the fridge, on the mirror, in your wallet, or even use it as the background of your phone.

– If you have a photo of yourself feeling confident and successful, take it out and put it in a prominent place so you’ll always remember that you are. Beautiful, confident and successful, full of vitality. If you did it once, why not do it again?

– Keep a positive diary! Write down every day the good things that have happened to you. Write down everything that made you feel good that day, so that when you open it up in days, weeks or months, you’ll see how good your life is and how successful you are.

– Be grateful! Every night before bed, give thanks for at least three things in your life. It may not be easy at first, but with practice, within a week or two you will have many things that fill you with joy and satisfaction.

– Move as much as you can. Instead of the car or public transport, choose to walk, go for a run, do yoga or exercise. Exercise keeps your mind focused on the task at hand, increasing blood flow to the brain. This causes alertness and releases neurotransmitters. Fitness gives your body and mind a boost, which has a significant impact on your confidence.

– Pay attention to good posture, as it contributes to a sense of well-being and a confident appearance. Straighten your shoulders, lift your head and look people in the eye; this will help you feel more confident.

– Do something new! Mastering something that seems challenging is a fantastic way to boost your confidence.

Did you know?

Confidence isn’t the absence of fear! Just because you believe you can do something doesn’t mean you don’t fear doing it. It’s normal to assume that confident people don’t worry, get anxious, or fear failure in their pursuits. But that’s not remotely true. Confident people feel as much fear as everybody else—but they don’t allow it to prevent them from action. They acknowledge the fear, cope with it, and in some cases even embrace it as motivation. But they never get the luxury of living without it. Nobody does.

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Source(s):

Original article: Miért fontos a magabiztosság? Translated by: BOGI – CONTINENT SURFER

Psychology Today

The Muse

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Like what we do?

If so, please support us, every little counts and much appreciated!

You will help us to come up with useful information regularly, so please support us every once in a while or even on a monthly basis! Thank you!