First Published: 7th October 2021, written by Olivia Doonan | Last Updated on 6th April 2024 | Reviewed and Edited by Chloe Safilo
If you are lacking in self-confidence, then it can feel impossible to claw any self-esteem back into your life. Fortunately, there are little things you can do each day to help bring your confidence back and find love in yourself.
Be Kinder To Yourself
Firstly, to help boost your confidence, you need to learn more about yourself. This means identifying what makes you happy, and knowing what you want in life. It may help to visualise this, so write it down in a journal or a piece of paper.
You need to let your feelings be valid, and not suppress any feelings of sadness or anger. Self-esteem may mean different things for individuals, so think about what works for you.
Look After Yourself
You must look after yourself at all times. This means making sure you get enough sleep and be kind to your body. A balanced amount of sleep is important, as too much or too little can have a big impact on how you feel.
If you pump your body full of things such as recreational drugs or alcohol, then you should know that they will just make you feel worse in the long term. It may also benefit you to spend more time outside, as the natural sun and fresh air, as well as being in green space, can help boost your wellbeing.
Notice The Good Things In Life
With your confidence low, it’s easy to miss the good things in life. That’s why you should take the time to celebrate your success, no matter how small it may seem. If you take the time to celebrate these small wins and notice what you’ve done, then it will make you feel competent and positive.
For a similar reason, it’s why you should be accepting compliments from people. This will be especially helpful for you if you’re feeling low and doubting yourself. You should remember these compliments for times that you’re ever feeling low, or you could ask people directly what they like about you. You may find that they see you differently from how you see yourself.
Speak To A Therapist
A therapist can do wonders for your mental health and self-esteem in general, through various sessions. They will get to know you and find the roots to any problem that you may have, and let you talk through any confidence issues.
They may also work with you to give you suggestions to bring to each session, almost like homework. Although in most cases, this simply refers to thinking about certain topics so that your therapist will have something to work on when you return.
Look Into Your Health
Your self-confidence can be boosted massively by you looking into your health and finding ways to improve this. For example, if you were self-conscious about your weight, then regular exercising and dieting would be one of the best ways to improve this aspect of your life. And wearing the right clothing can do wonders for your self-confidence.
Some self-confidence issues can be lived with, but everyone is different in the way that they perceive themselves and manage themselves. Some people may be self-conscious about their teeth or mouth area in general. That’s why people will go to dentists and get braces in to help straighten out their teeth, to help improve their smile.
There will likely be other health issues in your life that are having an impact on your self-confidence in some way. Consider identifying these health issues as early as possible so that you know what you need to do to feel better about them.
Set Goals
It may help you to set yourself goals when it comes to boosting your self-confidence. It could be that you want to lose some weight before a certain time, or it could be that you want yourself to feel better about an issue for a time. Once you’ve set a goal time, you can start planning on how you will make it there.
Goals help people prioritise what they need to be doing, as well as help visualise what it is that they need to be doing. It will work in all aspects of life, so you can use plans whenever you like for whatever you want.
Build A Support Network
No matter what you’re struggling with, you shouldn’t be going through it alone. That’s why you should have some sort of support network around you. This could be with friends or family that you’re honest with, or it could be that you need professional help.
As self-confidence issues often stem from mental health problems, it may be that you need to look for ways to help your mental health. There will be charities you can work with to talk over your issues, often open for contact 24 hours a day. If you don’t feel up for a call, then there are also text services or even email.
Peer support is otherwise the way to go in terms of building your support network. If you can make connections with those who have similar issues and interests, such as yourself, then you may be able to learn from each other’s experience and find ways to manage. There will be online communities and in-person communities; you will find something that works for you and your needs at that time.
Accept Flaws You Can’t Control
Of course, not everything will be in your control to change. This could be for several reasons, but you should learn to accept who you are when it comes to what you identify as flaws. This could be your height, for example. This won’t be something that you can change, so learn to live with it.
The first thing you should do is identify which flaw is troubling you. Once you’ve worked out that it can’t be changed, you will need to change the way you think about it. Identify it as a part of your body and your uniqueness that allows you to start loving it once more, and more importantly, loving yourself.
If it helps, try to look at your flaws from a different perspective. For example, doing this may help you see that these flaws are not as horrible as your first thought. Taking the time to step back and relax will pay off. You could try to sport flaws in someone else to see that it doesn’t matter.
Do Things That Make You Happy
Ending on a positive note, you should try and do things that make you happy. Happiness is important for the mind, as it releases natural chemicals that boost your mood and motivate you to do other things in life. You will have options with what you do. If you can’t think of anything to do that makes you happy, then It may be time to look for a new hobby.