How do you boost your self-confidence?

Question

How do you make yourself feel better about yourself? What do you tell yourself when you look in the mirror? What are some tricks to boost your self-confidence?

Answer 1

Only listen to yourself and block out all of the negative thoughts by replacing them with positive and loving thoughts. Look in the mirror and picture yourself as a really old person (100 years+), when you project your thoughts to the future it makes the NOW seem pretty good doesn't it? Enjoy yourself NOW because it could always be worse. Acceptance is the key to self-confidence. Be yourself.

Answer 2

Are you overweight or underweight? Why do you cover up so much? Maybe you should work out or something to increase your self confidence within your body, but please don't do anything daft like becoming a size 0 twiglet, just be healthy! And don't even think about diets! Diets do not make you pretty, they make you ill! And hey, there's nothing wrong with never being kissed at 13! My first kiss... I was 14! I have had relationships, in fact im in one now and it will happen when the time is right. Don't force it! And don't settle for second best! You deserve a nice boy!

Answer 3

Grin. I have been grappling with this my whole long life. I see you have other answers to this question so after posting this I am going to go read them and see if I can get some new ideas :)

Having a good relationship with God is a plus, but God helps those who help themselves....I have a suspicion God does not like slackers who just call upon him and expect him to do all the work. sooo...things you can do to help yourself.

First thing to try, is before you go to bed at night, when you feel you are about to fall asleep, you repeat a mantra to yourself "I am Tracy, I am a very capable young women, and I love challenges"

Actually, after you tell yourself your name, you add whatever problem you want to work on. It does seem to work.

Second thing is hard. You have to face whatever it is you are having problems with head on. When I got divorced, my stepfather told me I needed to do something I never thought I could do. So....I studied for my Ham Radio License, and, to my shock, I passed the test. My self confidence shot up 100 notches after that.

Just be yourself, and sally forth out into life. When you wake up in the morning say "Watch out world, here comes Tracy"

Go get them girl :)

Answer 4

Best trick...call a friend or family member that may be down or need advice and help out.

If not possible, keep the focus off of yourself and on other's...whether you know them or not. Volunteer work is great, and although I haven't done it in a while...it makes you feel great and makes you realize a bit about youself.

If you're really feeling bad and find it hard to get out, sites like this...as far as really giving good answers and helping others out in your expertise helps also.

Answer 5

when i think i look good, i feel good. the only time i have low self confidence is when i just wake up, or like when i spend the whole day at home not going anywhere. i feel a lot better about myself after i wash my face, moisturize it, have clean hair, nicely trimmed eyebrows. i literally look in the mirror and i smile at myself. call me a freak, but it works. it`ll make you feel A LOT better about yourself. the only trick is to love yourself for who you are and confidence will follow ! (:

Answer 6

if u are a believer in christ or some other "almighty", u say like i do daily. i am a child of God. I am beautiful. He made me and really begin to believe that and inturn u will notice that u start keeping yourself neater and respecting yourself and others also. u will find beauty in the small things and even some things that others might think is "ugly".

i had the same problem because of course i was abused by my ex for about 15 years. loose confidence quickly, but i also regained it quickly by believing in Jesus and saying that i was not none of those "ugly" things he called me.

Answer 7

Well first you got to love yourself before other people can love you. I learned that the hard way, but its true. If you haven't accepted yourself for who you are, you'll just act differently and nobody will ever really be able to accept you.

Also get out more, hang out with friends a lot and get to know people.

Answer 8

Write out phrases such as "I am attractive" or "I am confident" about 20 times each, every day.

This is hard to explain. I suggest going to a bookstore and reading some selections in the psychology section that is concerned with self-image, how the "mind" works, and social anxiety. You will understand why everything is really a product of what you are thinking and if you are thinking negatively, you will act in this way. That is why writing that out, and saying it to yourself, is actually an effective exercise.

A brief explanation of a thought process:
1.)You have "core beliefs". There are beliefs that you are 100% are true, even though you do not have the evidence. Your core belief may be "I am stupid." Then, because you have this thought:
2.) You have "intermediate thoughts", which base themselves off of your core belief by placing alot of pressure on you. An intermediate thought may be, "If I don't say everything EXACTLY right, people will think I am stupid." Notice how this intermediate thought is based off of your core belief. You assume people will think you are stupid so easily just because you have the core belief that you are! You put pressure on yourself to be PERFECT in order for your percieved stupidity to not come out.
3.) The result are your automatic thoughts. For example, if you want to speak up in class because you don't understand something, your automatic thought may be, "That's too hard to ask." You don't want to ask because you have a core belief that you are stupid, and that if you don't ask the "perfect" question, everyone will think you are stupid. Automatic thoughts are the thoughts that prevent you from speaking up, from saying hello to new people, from taking the time to study for a difficult exam, etc.

Self-confidence is a product of your thoughts and perceptions. UNDERSTANDING how your thought process works will make you more confident because every time you have a negative thought, such as "I can't talk to that guy... it's too embarrassing," you can understand that there are other girls who may want to talk to him, and some might talk to him, and the REASON they will and you won't is simply because you think that you are going to get embarrassed. It's the same guy for every girl that wants to talk to him, but yet YOU are afraid to do it... So, logically, the only reason you are afraid to talk to that guy is because of other beliefs you hold about yourself that create that automatic thought of, "I can't do it, it's too embarrassing."

So, then, when you keep writing down and verbalizing things such as, "I am smart. I am attractive. I am outgoing," you are slowly changing your core beliefs about yourself, and the rest of your actions will follow.

Think about a difficult test coming up. There are 3 people that need to prepare for it. For the SAME test. Person A will say, "Hey, I'll just study and get an A!", Person B will say, "Oh man... there is so much material to cover. I'll skim over it and hopefully get pass or something." Person C might say, "This is wayyyy too much stuff, I'll never be able to understand this. Why even try?" So, then, what will happen? Person A believes he will do well, so he/she will study and probably get an A or B. Person B thinks that there is too much stuff, but it's worth a try, and he/she will probably get a C on the test. Person C, on the other hand, probably has a core belief such as, "I am stupid." and will not even attempt to study, and will fail the test. So, SAME test, yet the different core beliefs about themselves completely change the way these people approached the test and what grade they earned...

You just have to understand that it is REALLY in your hands. Think about what your core beliefs are. Maybe, "I am not attractive. I am lazy. I am not very smart. I sound funny when talking in a group." Then, ask yourself why you believe all of this? Make a chart and put down some automatic thoughts you had. Maybe you wanted to contribute your thoughts but didn't speak up. Why? Because you have a core belief that says that you sound funny when speaking within a group? So, then, go further. Why do you think you sound funny? Perhaps, a few times, people laughed when you spoke up. Okay, why? What did you do wrong? Is there ANY reason to believe that you are going to be wrong every time you speak up? Do other people around you always speak PERFECTLY? Do they have there moments also?

It is what you believe about yourself. You are what you believe. Knowing this fact will help you in itself. You can begin to understand why you do things the way you do them. What is the core belief that prevents you from acting how you want to? Just recite the opposite of that core belief (If you think you are dumb, keep thinking you are smart. Visualize yourself saying smart things, etc.). Just know that it is ALL about your core beliefs and that will make it easier to change them.

Answer 9

Get into an excercise program and stick with it. The longer u go,
the better U will feel & look which = More self-esteem & confidence !

Answer 10

Develop a relationship with Jesus then you become a child of a King as a child of the King you are able to take authority over such obstacles. Education is the answer to an inferiority complex. Study to show thyself approved unto the Lord. With the Lord you can do all things thru Christ who strengthens you.