Four Practical Steps You Can Take to Boost Your Confidence

Confidence is one of those things that we all desperately want, but that can often seem deeply mysterious, and maybe even impossible to develop if you do not just automatically have a good supply of it by default.

Confident people are typically happier, may do better in their careers, are more likely to take the risks that lead to great reward, and generally, will tend not to let life pass them by or get the upper hand over them.

Keeping that in mind, it is not hard to see why there are all sorts of different techniques, courses, strategies, and books out there that focus specifically on helping people to develop a greater sense of confidence and to be more proud, positive, and optimistic about who they are.

Ultimately, though, boosting your confidence is likely to have a lot more to do with your actions than with your thoughts – whether that means getting your make up game on point, or finally asking for a raise at work.

So, here are a handful of practical steps you can take in order to boost your confidence:

• Take some pride in your appearance and spend some time working to look your best.

Whether you are out shopping at a small bathing suit store or running errands at a supermarket, you should at least make the effort to look presentable. You don’t have to wear full makeup or wear a super stylish outfit every time you go out. Just sport decent and appropriate clothes, clean up your appearance, and you’re good to go.

Here is an instant confidence trick that you almost definitely already know about — just take some time to dress and style yourself to the nines, so that you cannot help but say “wow” when you look at yourself in the mirror.

Everyone basically knows that spending some extra time and effort on their appearance is going to make them feel more confident, at least for a certain amount of time. But it is not exactly like you are going to put in maximum effort every day when it comes to your style, beauty routine, and presentation.

All the same, you should definitely avoid the temptation to be sloppy in your personal presentation, even if you are just sitting around at home all day. Sitting around in your pajamas just does not make you feel as good about yourself as actually being dressed up like someone with worthwhile things to do, and places to be. And going to the store in your old tracksuit probably will not leave you feeling very confident when you make eye contact with the other shoppers.

You do not have to go all out all the time, but you should definitely have a beauty and self-care routine that covers the basics, and that you take seriously on an everyday basis. At the very least, pay attention to your skin care, and get dressed each morning in clothes that make you feel pretty good about yourself.

When it comes to things like fixing cracked teeth, or dealing with skin conditions, do not let yourself be complacent and give in to despair and apathy. You will feel worlds better and more confident the sooner you take real steps to address those conditions and issues, so get to it as soon as you possibly can.

• Do something challenging, but positive that falls well outside of your normal comfort zone.

A lot of what passes for poor confidence and low self esteem is really just a lack of self-belief in our ability to do the things we want to do, overcome the challenges that life throws at us, and be in control of our own destinies.

If you look at the people who seem to achieve the most in life, they are almost always pretty comfortable with doing the challenging, tough, and tiring things that generally lead to a happy ending, or some kind of success down the line. But it is one thing to know that you should deal with the household chores and put in the extra effort at work — and it is another thing altogether to actually step forward and get it done when you really do not feel like it.

To boost your confidence, one of the best things you can do is to challenge your own sense of helplessness, by doing tough, but positive things that fall well outside of your normal comfort zone.

For some people, that might mean going to the gym every day like clockwork, in spite of insecurity or what other people might think. For others, it could be finally sending out job applications and moving towards a better and more uplifting career.

Whatever the situation is for you, specifically, there are definitely going to be some things that you know you properly should be doing, but that you are insecure and uncomfortable about. The more you can challenge those insecurities and get yourself used to doing those difficult things anyway, the more your sense of confidence and belief in your own abilities is likely to rise.

• Seize control of your immediate surroundings and get your home well organized.

It is difficult to feel very confident or in control of your life in general, if your home and immediate surroundings are in a state of complete, chaotic mess, that causes a sense of anxiety even when you are just sitting on the sofa.

A good way to start boosting your confidence and your self belief is to start taking control of your life in the small everyday ways that do not necessarily take a huge amount of planning and insight, but that might still take a bit of time and leave you grumbling.

Having a well-organized home is just a really positive feeling however you want to slice it and when you have finally conquered that insane mess that lurks in the corner of your bedroom or living room, you will have more mental space and energy available to then dedicate to other things.

You are definitely likely to feel like less of a mess, personally, when your home environment is less of a mess.

• Take a bit of time to simply enjoy silence and stillness.

Life in the 21st Century is often extremely complex and frustrating in all kinds of ways. There is always something to pay attention to, and it is difficult to actually get a moment alone with your own thoughts, in order to figure things out, when you are being constantly bombarded by TV, radio, and updates from 10 different social media platforms.

If you want to feel a bit better about yourself, not to mention more focused in general, it might be a really good idea to find the space to enjoy a bit of silence and stillness from time to time, and to turn off the constant background noise.

With stories of doom and gloom in the news, thousands of different beauty and lifestyle tips from every angle, and more, you just need to unplug and take a moment to process it all, every now and then.