In the words of Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics “Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand brake on.”
The above quote is incredibly resonant, as your confidence and self-esteem is simply your opinion about yourself and your capabilities. While you may be willing to go hard at your goals, your self-esteem is the energy that fuels your will and turns it into action. When you’re running low on self-esteem, you’re unable to go all in. You curl up in your comfort zone and play ‘safe,’ afraid of the unknown.
If you pay a little attention to those you admire, however, you’d realise that they have something in common: their self-esteem is on another level. With confidence and high self-esteem, it is way easier for you to take on challenges and conquer them. People will admire and respect the positive influence you spread, and you will see your life taking the shape you’ve always wanted.
While it is very easy to develop low self-esteem, it takes time to build a high level of confidence in yourself. Maybe you got a bad review from an unsatisfied customer, or perhaps you held a presentation that you feel went poorly and it put a dent on your self-confidence. No matter what your history is, you can always pick yourself up and work yourself back to the top.
Life In this article, we will discuss ten ways you can quickly build your confidence and self-esteem.
If you believe your general performance is poor – in the workplace, for example – it’d not be unusual for you to retreat in your shell and beat yourself up. Such situations do a lot of damage to your confidence and you may find yourself shying away from important things while blaming yourself for your mistakes.
The truth is, if you want to get back to winning ways, blaming yourself is the last thing you should be doing. Don’t join others in belittling yourself. In a world where everyone’s first priority is themselves, you’re all that you’ve got. So, tell yourself you can always do better. Even if you had failed, at least you had the guts to do something. That’s a lot more than the vast majority of people can say!
What’s more, if you’re yet to experience failure, the fear of it may be keeping you from taking action. It is important that you stop underestimating your capabilities. Take action even if you’re nervous about the outcome, you might be surprised by how good you’ll do.
Another strategy you can adopt to give your confidence and self-esteem a boost is actively working on yourself. Read a lot of good books or learn a skill that appeals to you, anything like this will give you an edge in the domain you’ve chosen and allow you to command more respect in that aspect.
Hypnosis is steadily becoming more popular in the treatment of several mental and physical ailments such as anxiety, obesity, addictions, pain, low self-esteem, phobias, among others.
Furthermore, with the introduction of self-hypnosis, you can reap the full benefits of the classic hypnotherapy without the physical presence of an expert. Self-hypnosis works by creating a state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility, during which positive, modifying thoughts are planted into your subconscious. This recalibrates your mind, allowing your body to follow the trail of positive energy you’ll develop, speeding up your healing process, and improving your overall wellbeing.
Here’s a compilation of self-hypnosis downloads to help boost your self-confidence.
Fear eats up your self-confidence like a cankerworm. In fact, fear is often the reason why we refuse to take important actions most times. However, the only crucial thing you should do to your fear is face them. Easier said than done, right?
The fact remains that this technique has proven quite effective even in medical practice, and is known as “Exposure Therapy.” If you have trouble speaking to a large group, you can start by making contributions during a meeting, or even volunteering to give a speech. Whatever it is that you’re not confident about doing, do not hide from it. Instead, start challenging them.
This takes time to accomplish but with persistence, you will be able to conquer your fears and find your confidence and self-esteem hitting a new high. If you’re having trouble taking the first few steps, this is actually another area where self-hypnosis can help.
Without principles, life is lived without direction. Setting principles involves cultivating a level of discipline for yourself, working on your integrity, sticking to time, keeping promises, etc.
This makes people see you as a reliable person, and it triggers them to give you some respect. Needless to say, when people respect you, it helps your confidence and self-esteem.
This is all about making you feel good about yourself. Good dressing habits will make people address you more formally, allowing you to set the tone of your relationship in your response. You do not have to break the bank to look good, but you can polish up what you already have, or you can roll out a decent amount on your wardrobe if need be.
With a great dress sense, your first impression will be massively improved. This makes it easier for people to respect you, paving the way for your confidence to shine through.
Along with your dress sense, this is about personal grooming—making you feel better about yourself. Getting fit helps you stay healthy and relaxed all the time while keeping you sharp and confident.
In a nutshell, exercise triggers the release of endorphins, which are responsible for keeping you calm and motivated. A regular exercise routine will not only tone your body but also boost your confidence and self-esteem.
This is particularly important if you’re the type that lets people take you for granted. Yes, it is necessary to be humble, but do not let people trample all over you. Before you go out there, every day, remind yourself that you will stand for what is fair, not just for you, but also for everyone around you.
While it is great to have others act nicely towards you, it’s also important to treat others fairly. Help people when you can. Don’t be rude. Try to make people smile from time to time. This will earn you some loyal friends who will support you in the long run.
With such people around you, it gets easier to be your best charismatic self.
If you really want to get your self-esteem to a new high, you have to pay more attention to your small successes. No matter how small your achievements are, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate them.
This gives you confidence and prepares you for the bigger achievements ahead of you.
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Whether you want to command respect in your workplace, own a business, or even start a relationship, the importance of self-confidence cannot be overestimated. If you’ve been suffering from low self-esteem for a while, these tips are sure-fire ways of supercharging your self-esteem and ensuring that you take complete control of your life.
Good luck!