10 Ways to Becoming Self-Confident Enough to Achieve Your Goals
Article by Dean Burgess
10 Ways to Becoming Self-Confident Enough to Achieve Your Goals
When you’re self-confident, you believe in your own power and can move mountains – or, at the very least, make the attempt. Self-confidence is a quality all successful people have in spades. They believe in themselves enough to dream big and achieve their goals. Their self-confidence is a ceaseless fuel that helps them wake up in the morning, soldier on in the face of challenges, and live their life to the fullest.
Of course, being self-confident isn’t easy. Society often imposes impracticable standards of success on people, which are hard to live up to. People – naturally – often fall short, begin doubting themselves, and end up developing self-esteem issues. The lack of a positive support structure, role models, and guidance can make matters worse. It can push people into a rut in their way of thinking and make the basics – like getting a job or being in a relationship – a struggle.
Regardless of how lucky you got in life (or didn’t), you always have the power to choose differently and create – or recreate – the life of your dreams. All it takes is – you guessed it – self-confidence. And, fortunately, it’s not rocket science! You can and will succeed.
In this mini-guide, Bring Me 2 Life looks at 10 ways you can find (and build up) the self-confidence you need to achieve your goals:
Build up a strong body
Your body is a foundational element of your existence. It’s important to acknowledge this fact: Your body is important, and you need it. Take care of your body, so that it becomes your biggest asset. Having a strong body will help you feel good all day and boost your self-esteem. It’ll give you the energy you need to strive toward your goals. Some recommendations:
Follow a fitness routine. Your body needs exercise to stay functional.
Eat healthily. Your body will support you better if you give it the nutrition it needs.
Listen to your body – don’t ignore its signals, and troubleshoot problems quickly.
Complement it with a strong mind
Your mind is another foundational pillar of your life. Your thoughts help mold your beliefs, which guide your actions and create your life. Your mind, just like your body, requires care and maintenance. Build it up so it becomes strong and feeds into your self-esteem. Some suggestions:
Practice affirmations or mantras that reinforce qualities that you desire. Think of it as an exercise for the mind.
Be honest with yourself. The truth, although hard to accept, is positive nutrition.
Listen to your fears – they have a message to share. But know when to counter them.
Pay attention to your looks
Looking good matters and can open many doors in life. Your looks influence how other people treat you, not to mention how you feel about yourself. The more you like how you look, the better you’ll feel about yourself. Groom yourself and dress well. Look for clothes that help you to feel fantastic – like suits, dresses, or what-have-you. Pair up your favorite outfit with complementary accessories to complete the look. For instance, a gemstone jewelry piece like a tiger’s eye necklace helps you make a powerful statement. The alternating bands of color appear to reverse when light falls on the stone, which is simply stunning. Besides looks, gemstones like the tiger’s eye are supposed to have healing properties.
Be with people who make you feel good about yourself
The people you interact with have a massive influence on your self-confidence levels. If they support you and believe in you, it helps you to believe in yourself. If they’re unhelpful, judgmental, and harsh, it’s going to hurt your self-confidence. That’s why you must choose your friends carefully and support each other in life.
Do work that feeds your self-esteem
You’re going to be spending a significant portion of your life working. The work that you do should, ideally, be meaningful to you. Your work has an impact on the world and the people around you. When it’s a positive impact, it’s going to come back to you and feed into your self-esteem. Make it meaningful and self-validating.
Figure out what matters to you
Meaning brings us to the next point – it’s important you figure out what matters to you in life. Everyone sees success differently, which makes everyone’s goals different. For instance, some people define success as becoming a doctor and healing people. Others see it as making a lot of money or becoming famous. Find out what matters to you, honor it, and live it – convictions are intrinsic to self-confidence.
Accept mistakes and failures
Life isn’t perfect, and success isn’t effortless. There will be many missteps along the way. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who achieved their goals in their first go, but the ones who didn’t give up despite all the missteps. Failures and mistakes are lessons – or course corrections – on your way to success. Edison failed 2,774 times before he was successfully able to help design the light bulb.
Create and maintain an achievements journal
Achievements journals are a great way to feel good about everything you’ve accomplished in life. Your achievements, big and small, deserve recognition and respect. The people around you may or may not offer all this, but you can (and should) do it for yourself. Make it a habit of noting everything you did that day, which can help you do more of the same the next day.
Work on your social skills
Arguably, you can’t succeed on your own. You are a part of society and live with other people. Working on your social skills – like being friendly, being a good listener, and just being a good friend – can help you win people over and gain their support. You can create a good support structure with solid social skills, not to mention achieve more success in your career of choice.
Choose to believe in yourself
Last, but not least, you should consciously and actively choose to believe in yourself. Your other option is not to, which is also a choice you may consciously or not-so-consciously be making. Needless to say, not believing in yourself will hold you back. Self-belief is a process where you learn to trust yourself and learn to back yourself. Attempt, and see where it takes you.
Conclusion
Becoming self-confident – like becoming successful – won’t happen overnight. It takes effort and persistence. It’s an investment – you need to do some work now to have it pay off down the road. Work hard, keep at it, and you will get there!
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