7 Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence and Achieve Success

 

What is confidence? Is it the way you stand? The way you talk? The way everyone hangs on your every word?

Confidence is hard to describe, but when you see it, you know it.

Self-confidence is hard won. It is born out of practice and effort.

It may increase in good times, when success is guaranteed and life is easy. It may dwindle in bad times, when failure is imminent and challenges are around every corner.

It is a vital personal quality that can help you achieve your goals and find personal and professional satisfaction. Yet it is not always easy to feel confident.

Whether you are preparing for an interview, a presentation, or a gala, here are seven ways to boost your confidence and get you in the mindset required to achieve success.

Use these tips to appear confident, even when you’re quaking on the inside.

 

1. Project an Air of Self-Confidence

Stand up straight. Hold your head up. Make eye contact. Stop mumbling. Don’t slouch.

Although it sounds like a lecture in deportment, projecting an air of confidence begins with your body language.

Hunch over, slouch forward and say “I feel confident.”

Now sit up, roll your shoulders back and say “I feel confident.”

What’s different about these two poses?

If you want to command the room, or be in command of yourself, you must look confident. Take on the mantle of self-assurance and project it back into the world.

 

2. Assume a Power Pose

A power pose is a posture that makes you feel confident and assertive.

Power poses are about taking up space and asserting your dominance in that space.

Before your big event, spend a few minutes posing like a superhero, the winner of a race, or a person who is trying to take up all the space in a room.

Stand with your feet wide apart, hands on your hips, chest out, shoulders back.

When you assume a power pose, you can’t help feeling confident. Your body and brain are in sync. Both are flashing neon signs saying “I’ve got this.”

For power poses in action, watch Amy Cuddy’s TED talk.

 

Amy Cuddy TED Talk - Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are

 

3. Practice Positive Self-Talk

Positive self-talk and positive self-regard are essential to boosting your confidence.

Take those negative thoughts and toss them out the window.

If the voices in your head are telling you “I am weak. I am insecure. I am not worthy,” push back and speak out loud.

Tell yourself “I am brave. I am confident. I am worthy.”

Turn negatives into positives, then act in a way that makes those positives become truth.

 

4. Surround Yourself with Positivity

Choose your inner circle wisely.

Just as negative thoughts can drain your energy and poise, negative people can drag you down into the depths of despair.

Surround yourself with positive people who support you and build you up. People who focus on honesty, growth, and positive self-image will encourage you and inspire you.

What do you see when you look at the people closest to you? The people in your life are a reflection of you.

Choose to surround yourself with people who will help you be your best self.

 

5. Prepare for Success

To thrive, you must plan for success.

Write down your goals and create a roadmap to achieve those goals.

For the highest confidence boost, prepare, practice, and learn from your mistakes.

Prepare for your job interview. Practice your presentation. Research gala attendees; know whom you’d like to meet and what you’d like to discuss.

Set manageable goals and establish realistic timelines. Identify potential challenges and outline how you will handle those challenges.

Success rarely comes without conscious, dedicated action. Take action and prepare yourself for success.

 

6. Dress for Success

Confidence comes from within and from without. Dressing for success can make you feel in control and self-assured.

Dress like a superstar, chief executive officer, or whomever you strive to be. Take on the persona of your ideal, confident self, and wear clothes that make you feel confident and comfortable. It’s hard to look confident when your clothes are too big, too small, or just not you.

Embody the successful person you wish to be, while upholding the true, authentic you.

 

7. Take Care of Yourself

Health and confidence go hand in hand. When you feel poorly, it is difficult to do your best.

Strive for optimal mental and physical health on your journey to success.

Appreciate the good things in your life. Build upon your strengths and celebrate your accomplishments.

When you feel good, it’s easier to feel confident.

 

Confidence is born out of practice and effort.

Boost your self-confidence. Become your best self.

Look good. Feel good. Do good.

 

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