Wellbeing

5 tips for building and sustaining confidence

Because why shouldn’t we start leading our best lives right now?

Written by High Life North
Published 19.06.2021

By Nicky Cossins

Confidence is essential for seizing everything life has to offer. You’ll make better decisions, eliminate fears, be more fulfilled and feel more positive towards yourself. Confidence is a beautiful thing, and the best part is that it’s something we all have access to.

Whether you’re just starting on your journey to unlocking the secret to a happier, healthier life, or are in need of a confidence boost, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s our top 5 top tips for building and sustaining confidence – so you can start living your best life right now.

Accept who you are

Your life only truly begins when you accept who you are. You can’t possibly live your life to the fullest when you’re wishing that you were someone else.

Accepting who you are isn’t about being in love with every single part of yourself (but if you are, good for you!). It’s acknowledging and accepting everything that makes you who you are – the good and the bad. We all have flaws, but confident women play to their strengths, and you can only do this when you’re able to recognise them.

 

Get out of your comfort zone

Your comfort zone is a great place to be, but permanently living in it won’t allow you to grow as a person and build up your confidence. Fear can talk us out of doing a lot of things, but the majority of the things we fear never happen. Take a step back and ask yourself if just the thought of potential discomfort is a good enough excuse not to do something you really want to do? After all, there’s no reward without risk.

The more you realise what you’re capable of, the more confident you’ll become. Taking risks will become second nature, as the fear of not doing something becomes scarier than actually doing it. Even if it doesn’t always work out, you’ll have stepped outside of your comfort zone and that’s a win in itself.

The only opinion that matters is your own

Stop worrying about what other people think of you. We only have one shot at life, and we should live it for ourselves. The only person’s opinion that matters to you should be your own. Don’t let complete strangers have any power over the things you say or do, as living according to others will prevent you from going after what you want in life.

We’re not saying don’t ask for a second opinion, but never let it get to you if it’s not what you want to hear. Always remember it’s only a second opinion – the first (and foremost) is your own.

 

Replace negative thoughts with positive ones

We can all think negatively, but some of us are more prone to it than others. The good news is that you can shift your mindset to a more positive default setting. For every negative thought you have, counteract it with a positive one, especially when thinking about yourself.

For example, instead of thinking: ‘I wish I had longer legs’, (we’ve all been there), replace it with: ‘I’m so thankful for all the places my legs have taken me and all the beauty I’ve been able to see because of them’. If you practise this way of thinking regularly, you’ll discover a newfound level of respect for yourself, which will boost your confidence.

 

Take control of your own happiness

Relying on external sources for your happiness can seriously affect your confidence. They can be easily taken away and knock your confidence on the way out. You’ll live in constant fear of change. Taking control and relying on nothing but yourself to make you happy is a sure-fire way to hold onto that confidence indefinitely.

Life is full of surprises, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always a lesson. If you lack happiness within yourself, you’ll focus more on the absence of a source that once made you happy and less on personal growth as you embrace change.

 

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