Do you want to get ahead in life? Do you want to take the risks that can help you achieve your dreams?
Of course you do.
And gaining confidence may allow you to do both.
Confidence may seem like a small thing, but it can have a huge impact on your life. It can help you get that promotion you’ve been after, or get a date with that person you’ve had your eye on.
A high self-confidence will impact your work life, your home life, and even your night life.
Here are just a few benefits of having high self-confidence.
The Benefits Of Self-Confidence
1. You’ll be less stressed out.
When you don’t have to worry about whether you did something right or not, you will be ridding yourself of a whole ton of stress.
Related: 10 Ways You Can Reduce Stress
2. You’ll perform better.
Whether you’re completing personal or job-related tasks, you will do a better job when you are confident in what you’re doing.
3. You won’t spend your life avoiding conflict.
When you believe in yourself, you’ll be able to tackle all problems and challenges head-on–something you wouldn’t even dare to attempt if you had low self-confidence.
4. You’ll have more free time.
Though it’s good to double check, you won’t be checking your work over and over and over again if you’re confident in what you can do.
5. People will like you more.
When you believe in yourself, it shows. And people love that. You’ll make a great impression because you’ll seem more competent, and people will be reassured in your presence.
Related: Know What People Really Think Of You With These 11 Body Language Signs
6. Your life will be more exciting.
You’ll take chances and risks instead of just sliding by. You’ll live life on the edge, because you know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
7. You’ll bounce back after failure.
You’ll deal with rejection better, and it won’t sting nearly as much. You’ll pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get right back into the game.
How To Be Confident In Yourself
Having a high self-confidence may have many benefits, but how can you make that happen? It’s not something you can just turn on and off.
That being said, there are several tips that can help you learn to believe in yourself, no matter what.
1. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
Write a list of strengths and weaknesses, and keep the same number of each. For every negative thing you can think of, there will be something positive to match it. This will get you in the habit of looking for a strength in yourself every time you find a weakness.
Related: 5 Ways To Play To Your Strengths
2. Set goals for yourself.
Set short term goals that you can achieve, and not just long term goals. By achieving your goals you will feel better about yourself, and in what you can accomplish in the future.
3. Live in the now.
Make sure when you think of yourself, you judge yourself based on who you are right now, not who you were. Do not lament not being able to do something you used to, and be happy about what you can do now that you could not before.
4. Stop measuring your success based on the success of others.
Do not compare yourself to others. Remember: for each thing they do great, they have a weakness to match. Each person is unique, and has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, including you.
5. Work on your happiness.
Ever feel extra down on yourself when you’re in a bad mood? It happens to everyone. When you are genuinely happy, you will feel better about your life and about yourself in general.
Related: 8 Reasons To Be Happy (Even On Your Hardest Days)
6. Determine what you want your future to look like.
Figure out what you want to do with your life. If you do not know what you want, you cannot figure out how to achieve it. You cannot be confident in your actions if you are not sure what they are serving to achieve.
7. Allow yourself to revel in your successes.
Create a list of things that you have accomplished. Add to the list whenever you accomplish something, and review it often. This will provide regular, positive reinforcement in your life.
The Takeaway
Self-confidence is essential if you want to live your best life. Life will be better in so many ways when you start believing in yourself. You can either be your own worst enemy, or your own biggest cheerleader. What’s it gonna be?
Photo by Timilis Oliveira
Originally posted in 2012 and updated in 2014.