After a devastating failure or embarrassment, or after years of not feeling good about yourself, the notion of rebuilding your confidence may seem impossible. However, with the right strategies, you can rebuild your confidence from the ground up.
Physical Changes
We’ll start by looking at some of the physical changes and improvements you can make to build your confidence.
· Start exercising. If you’re not currently exercising every day, start a new exercise regimen. You don’t need to become a bodybuilder or a marathon runner; even small amounts of exercise on a regular enough basis can lead to meaningful changes in your body and mind. Try to go for a walk for at least 20 minutes per day to start, and develop your exercise routine from there.
· Eat healthier. Similarly, you should strive to eat healthier. Cutting out junk food and adding in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and lean meats will immediately make you feel better. Over the long term, your diet and exercise habits will help you build and maintain a physically fit body, which in turn, will make you feel confident.
· Get dental implants. Missing or broken teeth can certainly impact your confidence and dental implants can be a permanent and natural-feeling solution to get that confidence back. You can find centers that can perform this procedure all over the country from dental implants in the Woodlands to New York City. Dental implants procedure includes a dentist drilling a hole into your jawbone, inserting a post, and eventually, your jaw bone will grow around it, securing it in place. Attached to the post will be a crown that looks and feels just like a real tooth. If you’ve been feeling low confidence because of a broken smile, you can finally move on.
· Get a haircut. It’s a less drastic change than getting fit or replacing a lost tooth, but it’s a quick and easy way to feel more confident. Drop some money on a new haircut that you truly like, and you’ll instantly feel better about yourself.
· Upgrade your fashion. You may also consider upgrading your fashion. Shopping for a new outfit or investing in a new accessory could be exactly what you need to feel good.
Behavioral Changes
There are also some significant behavioral changes you can make.
· Stop procrastinating. It’s easier said than done, but make it a point to stop procrastinating. We often feel bad about ourselves when we delay important tasks or when we feel unproductive. Resisting the temptation to procrastinate and accomplishing things head-on can boost your self-esteem.
· Avoid negative people and environments. Negative people and environments can bring you down, so consider avoiding them. That doesn’t mean you have to cut off all contact, and you may not be able to, even if it’s what you want, but you should be more conscious of how you spend your time and who you spend it with.
· Hold better posture. Did you know that your posture can affect your thoughts and feelings? Make it a point to stand or sit straight up, with your shoulders back. Occasionally stretching to make yourself feel bigger can also trick your mind into feeling more confident.
· Lean into your fears instead of avoiding them. We all have fears, apprehensions, and anxieties. Most of us make an effort to avoid them however possible. But if you want to develop more confidence in the long term, you need to lean into those fears and face them.
· Start journaling. Not only will journaling help you contextualize and make more sense of your thoughts and feelings throughout the day, but it’s also a great way to determine if you’re making confidence progress. You can look back at previous entries to definitively see if you’ve gotten to a better headspace.
Mental and Emotional Changes
What about mental and emotional changes?
These typically take more patience and more time to develop, but they can lead to some of the best outcomes.
· Meditate. Practice mindfulness meditation. This routine practice, though relatively simple and easy to grasp, can lead to substantial and permanent changes in how you see the world. It forces you to live in the present moment and let go of negativity in the past or future.
· Find the positive. Even when you’re dealing with hard situations, try to find the positive. There’s almost always a silver lining you can acknowledge if you look for it.
· Be kinder to yourself. Negative self-talk is a leading cause of low self-esteem. Whenever you notice your internal thoughts being harsh or down on yourself, find a more positive substitute and treat yourself the way you would treat a friend.
· Attend therapy. If you’ve tried all of these options and you’re still not feeling great about yourself, consider talking to a professional therapist.
There are little tips and tricks you can use to boost your confidence in the moment, but these effects are slight and temporary. If you want lasting change and higher confidence on a regular basis, you need to invest in bigger, more permanent changes in yourself.
