subject: How Do You Build Self-confidence? [print this page] It is easier to build self-confidence if you had it once, but somehow lost it. For those of us who never had it or if what we had was low, the challenge will be tougher. Regardless of your situation, you can get it by focusing on these areas.
1. Start liking yourself. One of the biggest things that affect your self-confidence is how much you like yourself. If you cannot accept who you are, it is time to put things into perspective.
We all have something that we do not like about ourselves. It can be anything from the size of our nose to the way we think to the way we succeed. Review who you are and look for all the things that you do like about yourself. Focus on these instead of on the things that you do not like. As you focus on the positives, the negatives will become less important.
2. Get comfortable with yourself. This requires that you begin to accept who you are with all your negatives and positives. Consider them to be the things that make you unique.
Imagine if everyone were perfect. The world would be a horrible place. Life is not perfect and it is important to accept that fact, even in relation to yourself. Rather than wishing you could eliminate the negative in you, accept them and put them in their rightful place. It is who you are, and there is little you can do about it. The sooner you can do that, the quicker you will feel comfortable within yourself.
3. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Put more attention on developing your strengths instead of worrying about the weaknesses. Realize that who you are is a direct result of your strengths and weaknesses.
Know what makes you happy and use it to your advantage. You can achieve many things when you do. You will probably surprise yourself at what you can accomplish and how well you can succeed in all areas of your life once you know what makes you happy. Do not allow the things that displease you stand in your way.
4. Stretch beyond your comfort zone. Too often, we tend to stay where we feel the most comfortable. Many of us are reluctant to go beyond it, especially if we lack self-confidence. We will not push the boundaries.
Having the courage to extend yourself will have a drastic impact on how you live your life. You'll be amazed at how much better you will feel about yourself when you learn new things and accomplish goals that you never thought possible. The key is to reject failure as an option. Remember that even if you do not reach the goal that you had intended, you still succeeded in achieving several mini goals in the process.
Spend time on these 4 areas and you will soon see that you can in fact build self-confidence, regardless of where you were in the beginning.
