Building Confidence Step by Step

Confidence is a belief in oneself, a knowledge of your capabilities to face life’s challenges and succeed, no matter what. Most people want to feel more confident in life, but cultivating confidence is something you have to actively build and maintain. Confidence can feel elusive or easy to lose when you experience feelings of failure or make mistakes. Building up your confidence is crucial and there are several easy ways to gain confidence in your life.

How to Build Confidence

There are four different types of confidence:

1. Social confidence: This is when you portray yourself as confident in social situations.
2. Confidence in your expertise: You trust your skills or abilities and can set realistic expectations about what you want to achieve in your personal and professional areas of life.
3. Physical confidence: You are certain you can do well in a specific sport, exercise or movement. You might also have a positive body image and take pride in your physical attributes.
4. Confidence in your self-worth as a person: You set high standards for yourself and have strong moral convictions and values. You believe in yourself and are unlikely to give up when presented with challenges. You live your life with dignity and self-acceptance. 

It’s important to understand that confidence is not an innate, fixed characteristic; it is something that can be acquired and improved on over time. You might find that you have high confidence in some areas of your life and less in others.  It takes time to achieve balance within yourself. Here are some simple ways you can increase your confidence:

• Set a challenge for yourself to try a new activity or learn a new skill. Create a game plan that sets you up for success and makes you excited to keep trying, no matter how challenging it feels at times.

• Go one step at a time and take things slowly if necessary. It’s always a good idea to do something that you enjoy and will be committed to.

• Focus on the effort and the outcome may surprise you. Setting your priorities and staying focused is crucial for success. If you give one hundred percent and try your best, the results may surprise you. It is not how you start; it’s how you finish.

• Stop criticizing yourself. We all have that inner voice that underestimates and criticizes us. Remember that positive self-talk will increase your desire to take the next step in accomplishing and achieving your goals.

• Surround yourself with people that lift your spirit, believe in you, do not judge you and give you unconditional support and love. Family and friends are always good to lean on and will support your efforts to build up your confidence. Be social and do fun activities with others.

• Dedicate time and effort to physical and mental self-care. Be sure to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet. Exercise regularly with a balanced fitness routine that include stretching, strength training and aerobic exercise. For your mental well-being, try meditation, yoga, relaxation exercises and affirmations.
  
  
• Get a proper night’s sleep in order to feel happier and more optimistic. During the day, take time to do things that relax you and that make you feel good.

No matter what our age, we all lack or lose confidence in ourselves at times. We might feel afraid, intimidated, insecure, shy, or worried. Through my dance and exercise program, For the Young at Heart, I love motivating and encouraging my students and helping them build up their confidence levels. Students and participants are always amazed at what they have accomplished by the end of each class. My philosophy has always been that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Never give up and feel confident every step of the way! The “I can do it” attitude is the best!

This article originally appeared in the Coastal View.