How to be more confident?

In this blog, I am going to refer to different tools and strategies that we can all use to boost our confidence. If you haven’t read the ‘resilience & confidence definitions and importance’ yet go check it out then come back to this one!

Tools and strategies

Exercise, exercise, exercise! 

Let’s get started with the effects of exercise on our well-being. As we all have experienced it, exercising makes us feel better about ourselves. It causes some chemical changes in our bodies which ultimately makes us happier, more grateful, and energetic (especially when you work out in the mornings!). 

Another huge benefit of exercise is that it helps people fight depression by boosting their moods and increasing their self-esteem.

Interestingly, exercise increases the levels of endorphins (act as painkillers) in our bodies (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Working out relieves pain because it keeps the joints moving and also strengthens the muscles. So overall, exercising improves mental and physical health, while reducing stress, anger, and anxiety!

Think and act positively

Growing up we have watched several cartoons and movies that encourage us to gain a positive perspective. SpongeBob SquarePants would always try to look at the upside of different things and would never let anyone’s (especially Squidward’s and Plankton’s) negative thoughts affect his actions, behaviour, thoughts, and feelings! “Thank Gosh it’s Monday” and “Be Positive” music videos in which SpongeBob sings strongly motivate people to be optimistic and hopeful.

Norman Vincent Peale, an American author who wrote “The power of positive thinking”, did an interview with SUCCESS magazine and suggested people focus on the positive aspects of life. He encouraged everyone to “write down three negative thoughts" that tend to replay in their minds and then replace them with affirmations. This activity helps our brain to accept our weaknesses while emphasizing our strengths; which eventually boosts self-esteem! 

Being aware of both your strengths and weaknesses could also help you overcome challenges and difficulties, in other words, it would help you develop resilience. Mainly because thinking positively would motivate you to fight even harder when things get harder! It is also because you would have faith in your abilities and strengths, and being aware of your weaknesses just gives you a great opportunity to work on them! 

Related: Why do we value resilience and confidence at BTST, How to train resilience, Why are some people more resilient than others

Help others/ volunteer

Take a minute and think about how helping others makes you feel. Knowing that you had a positive impact on someone’s day or that you made them happier would give you immense satisfaction! 

Laura Padilla-Walker et al. (2017) conducted a study on the effects of volunteering and helping others on the level of confidence of teenagers, which demonstrates that teenagers who volunteer for strangers and assist them had higher self-esteem and confidence than other participants after one year. Why, you may ask. Volunteering requires you to step out of your comfort zone and build relationships with new people. Not only would this improve your communication skills and creativity, but you would also realize that the biggest opportunity to grow is experiencing discomfort.

Adjust your posture

Believe it or not, body language has a huge impact on our mindset! Amy Cuddy, an American social psychologist, did research on the effects of power posing on the hormones of the body. According to the study, those who sat in a high-power pose had a higher confidence level (measured by changes in certain hormone levels). So, not only does body posture affect our mindset, but also it changes our body chemistry! 

Besides, having a good posture allows your muscles and joints to be aligned properly. Consequently, you would feel less fatigue and tiredness since the pressure on your spine, muscles, and joints would be distributed evenly.

Not to mention, many different organs in your body will be compressed when you slouch, one of them is your lungs. Compression decreases the capacity of our lungs, so sitting upright could improve breathing too! Concentration levels could also be improved by having better body posture. Being able to take in more oxygen as we inhale boosts oxygen flow, so more oxygen would be available for our brain to consume. Increased brain function would result in the improvement of memory, concentration, and intelligence.

Improve your body image 

Social media, advertisements, TV shows, and even cartoons emphasize the importance of being skinny and attractive. This causes people to think they are not good enough and that they need to constantly try in order to be accepted in society. Ultimately, it makes them doubt their abilities and prevents them from focusing on their goals, which is way more important. So, improving body image increases confidence as it would help you overcome comparison as you would be aware of your qualities, strengths, and self-worth. Meanwhile, people would not tend to bully or judge others since everyone would respect each other’s imperfections. 

Don’t forget to stay tuned to learn more about the effects of confidence, exercising, and body image on stress management, resilience, self-esteem, and many more crucial skills!