Okay, I know what you're thinking. What are ways to improve your self-confidence and confidence hacks? Read, the word "hacks" has been so overused lately that it's practically meaningless. The problem is that people think that hacks are things that are gonna give them instant results without them having to do any work at all.
These confidence, hacks are different because they do require some effort on your part. But each one is a highly targeted action that you can take to get an almost immediate boost to your mood and your self-esteem. Without any further ado, here are ten ways you can legitimately increase your confidence when you need it most.
What are 17 ways to improve your self-confidence?
1. Get out of your head and into your body.
So one of the biggest enemies of confidence on a daily basis is your own mind--yes your own mind. So some people speculate that the human mind has up to 70 thousand thoughts per day.
Because humans have evolved to be on constant alert for danger and threats to their survival, many of those thoughts are negative. The constant "what if?" What if I'm not good enough?
What if I fail?
Sometimes we get so caught up in our negative thoughts that we go down a rabbit hole. And if you've ever been stuck in a negative headspace, you know that trying to think your way out of that is nearly impossible. And that's why the quickest way to actually change your mood and your confidence is actually by changing your physiology--by moving your body.
Not only does exercise distract you from your negative thoughts, but it's actually been proven to physiologically increase your sense of well-being by providing feel-good endorphins that help reduce anxiety and boost your confidence.
Even if you can't exercise.
Deliberately adjusting your posture can have an almost immediate impact on your mood. According to Harvard professor Amy Cuddy, just doing two minutes of these simple"power poses" like standing with your hands on your hips is enough to decrease cortisol (a stress hormone) and an increased testosterone. And the combination of that can make you feel more relaxed and more confident.
Number two, harness the power of scent.
Now, scent has a very powerful effect on us. Have you ever noticed how a single smell can transport you back to a very specific memory in a way that no other sense can really? And it shouldn't be a surprise that smiling better can increase our sense of feeling more put-together and well-groomed.
However, a 2009 study actually showed that wearing fragrances can increase how confident we appear to other people.
During the double-blind study.
Women were asked to watch videotapes of men who were either wearing cologne or not wearing cologne. And surprisingly, the women were more attracted to the men who were wearing cologne, even though they couldn't smell them. So in a nutshell, when you smell good, you feel more confident, so you act more confident. And People notice.
that's why wearing cologne can often be that x-factor in our grooming routine that can take us from having a ho-hum day to feeling like we're on top of the world. I haven't worn a lot of cologne in the past, and so I'm just starting to kind of dip my toe into the world of fragrance.
About a year and a half ago, I discovered a company called Scentbird, which is essentially for fragrances. There are a lot of things that are great about this for people who either don't wear a lot of cologne regularly or who are just kind of starting out with fragrance.
First, fragrances come in a small spray size, so you're not stuck with a big bottle of something that you absolutely hate, and that kind of allows you to "date" different fragrances without having to commit to one so soon.
Secondly, the experience of shopping for a fragrance with Scentbird is much more comfortable, especially if you're like me and you don't like the department store perfume counter atmosphere, with bright lights and the cacophony of smells.
I mean, sometimes it's really hard to actually know what you're smelling when you're there. It's totally overwhelming. So Scentbird partners with designer brands--everything from, like Tom Ford to Gucci to Prada to Guerlain. And so their selection.
Number 3, do a small act of kindness for someone else.
So another great way to boost your confidence is to just stop thinking about yourself and your own problems for just a second and focus on someone else for a change.
We get so caught up in our own drama and baggage that sometimes we forget a very simple truth: we have the ability to make other people happy. You'd be surprised, but knowing that you've actually brightened someone's day can often help neutralize all the petty concerns that you've had about your own day. And guess what? Helping other people actually has a physiological effect that can boost your mood as well.
In the book, The Healing Power of Doing Good,
Allan Luks and Peggy Payne talk about how helping others can actually trigger what they call a"helper high." Similar to the runner's high that athletes experience, helping other people can trigger a release of endorphins, and then after that initial rush you experience a longer period of calm and emotional well-being.
Go out and do something nice for a stranger.
I mean you can go so far as volunteering at a local shelter for half a day. And I've got to say that nothing puts, your petty concerns in perspective like being around a bunch of people who don't have regular access to a warm meal or a warm bed. But it could also be as simple as just paying for a stranger's coffee in line at Starbucks. You're going to be surprised at how good you feel afterward.
Number four, take a calculated risk.
Another thing that can skyrocket your confidence almost instantaneously is stepping outside of your comfort zone. We spent so much of our lives living in such a confined sphere: work, home, friends, family. And in that familiar environment, all of our self-criticisms and problems seem much bigger and much more difficult to solve.
We forget how invigorating can be to get a different perspective. Challenge ourselves. To take a risk. And I'm not talking about doing anything physically dangerous.
I mean, there are plenty of social risks that could be just as scary. Single? Grow a pair and finally approach that girl you've been meaning to talk to. Ask your boss for a raise. Try a new haircut. Take a class and learn a new skill. Attend a conference or plan a trip to a place where you don't know anyone else.
So many of these things initially seem like risks.
but then once you actually work up the courage to take the leap, a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders. And you think to yourself, "I was afraid to do this?" The best thing is even if you don't reach your intended target the first time.
Even if you fail,
you still feel better about yourself because you had the cojones to put yourself out there and try. And after a while, this sensation of wanting to look fear in the face, and go for it really becomes addictive, because you feel this positive momentum in your life, and it really gives you a lot of confidence.
Number five, reconnect with play.
So another thing that sometimes zaps our confidence is this constant drive to achieve more. Technology has made it so that we're always on when it comes to work, and the rat race is more of a grind than ever.
We feel like we have to constantly push ourselves to work harder, to achieve more, but it's never quite enough. So maybe sometimes the solution isn't working harder, it's allowing ourselves to rediscover play.
As Charlie Hoehn writes in Play it Away,
sometimes the simple joys of reconnecting with play can do wonders for our confidence and our stress level.
No longer are we beating ourselves up for not pushing and achieving more, we're just simply allowing ourselves to be? Rather than trying to be productive, for once maybe, you should just let yourself enjoy playing a game, doing a puzzle, shooting hoops, playing catch, and being a kid again.
Charlie says "Play is a state where we are truly ourselves once we let go of our egos and fear of looking stupid."Ironically, allowing yourself periods of play can actually increase your productivity. So that release that comes with letting, go of that stress for only a few hours perhaps, can help improve your focus, improve your creativity, improve your confidence, and satisfaction with work and life in general.
Number six, talk to yourself.
Now, whether you realize it or not, you already talk to yourself all the time. The thing that we sometimes forget is that we have the power to decide whether that's positive or negative. Think positive self-talk is too woo-woo for you?
Do you know who else gets motivated by talking to themselves?
(Navy SEALs. Oh yeah, andOlympic athletes.) Even with their elite training and extreme levels of physical fitness, Navy SEALs and Olympic athletes, have realized that psyching themselves up mentally and squashing negative, self-talk is key for achieving peak performance. But it turns out there's a right way and a wrong way to talk to yourself.
Personal development guru Gary John Bishop believes
positive affirmations don't work because we're trying to convince ourselves of something that, we fundamentally don't believe. "I'm a killer on the dance floor.
Ladies can't resist my super sexy moves!
That's a great aspiration, but when you're trying to tell yourself that you've attained something that you actually haven't, that becomes disconnected in your mind. So rather than use positive affirmations, Bishop recommends using positive assertions.
The difference is that assertions are things that you can legitimately summon on your own. And one of the big assertions that Bishop mentions is the phrase "I am willing." "I am willing to put in the work to be a good dancer. And I'm willing to get out there on the dance floor and make a fool of myself to impress, the ladies."Assertions work because they don't conflict with reality. You can make them true. And no one can take that away from you.
Number seven, create an "awesome log.
Now, a final way to boost your confidence is just to remind yourself of past successes. Now, we all have little wins, I mean almost every day. The problem is that we forget about them. So at best, we allow ourselves a few moments to kind of like bask in the afterglow. But then very quickly we're on to the next stressor next challenge. It helps to sit down and try to think of all the times when you've had little wins and when things have gone well, etc.
But it also helps to have a system to capture those things going forward. That's why you should create an "awesome log" and use it to keep track of things like little personal wins, great compliments that you've received, small victories at work, meaningful conversations you don't want to forget, and things that made you proud.
So, you could go analog with this,
and simply just record this stuff in a notebook, or you could use an app like Evernote. Or you could have a little bit of fun that makes it a little more interactive by putting Post-it notes in a mason jar. And that way you can sort of watch your awesome log grow right before your eyes. If you're having trouble thinking of past victories, ask for help. Ask your friends or ask your co-workers.
You know, a lot of times they'll be able to remember positive experiences that you've had that maybe you've forgotten about. By capturing those thoughts going forward you can refer back to your awesome log whenever you need a little pick-me-up, and you need to remember that, "Oh yeah, that's right: I am awesome! And here are a few reasons why..."Alright, gentlemen.
8. Befriend Yourself: Ditch the Inner Critic
The first step to building confidence is to recognize your inner soul voice. Is it a Professional, or your worst critic? We all have that Worried inner voice, that loves to point out Deficiencies.
Reduces our strength. But here's the thing: you control that voice. Instead of letting it dictate, your every move, challenge its negativity. When that voice whispers, (You'll never be good enough,) counter it with a resounding, ("I am capable and worthy!")
Here's a trick: Imagine a friend going through the same situation. Would you tear them down? ( Absolutely not!) So, treat yourself with the same kindness and encouragement you'd offer a loved one.
9. Visualize yourself as you want to.
be our self-image means so much to us often more than we realize we have a mental picture of ourselves and it determines how confident we feel when we struggle with low self-confidence we have a poor perception of ourselves that often inaccurate visualization is the technique of seeing an image of yourself that you are proud of in your own mind so practice visualizing the best version of yourself
10. Embrace Your Achievements (Big and Small)
We often get caught up in the daily routine that our accomplishments fade into the background.
Take some time to celebrate yourself. Write down a list of things you're proud of, big or small. Did you finally master that tricky yoga pose? Have you achieved, that presentation? Don't downplay these wins. Accredit your achievements, no matter how seemingly Unimportant, builds a foundation of self-belief.
This (achievements win) list will be your personal confidence booster shot. Whenever you suspect yourself, revisit this list and remind yourself of all you've overcome and achieved.
Feeling overwhelmed by lofty, unreal goals is a recipe for discouragement. Instead, set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
These bite-sized goals will give, you a better path to success, allowing you to experience the joy of accomplishment along the way.
Let's say you want to, become a more confident public speaker. Start with a smaller goal, like joining a local Toastmasters. As you achieve smaller goals, your confidence will grow, naturally propelling you towards, bigger challenges.
12. put in the work it's hard to be confident.
when you don't think you'll do well at something eat that feeling by preparing yourself as much as possible whether it's public speaking a road test, or something else entirely you need to know what you're doing and how to do it to be confident in something you need to practice it no one ever felt confident doing something for the first time the tenth time or even the hundredth time
13. Redefine fear and failure in your relationship.
with fear and failure can hold you back and cause your self-confidence to plummet to help prevent this from happening you need to change the way you think about fear and failure and try to see fear as the opportunity to progress and failure as the chance to gather valuable feedback on what you need to work on by doing this fear of failure become tools for progression instead of reasons not to do something.
14. Empower yourself with knowledge empowering.
yourself in general is one of the best strategies to build self-confidence you can do this in many ways but one of the best ways to empower yourself is through knowledge by becoming more knowledgeable you'll be more confident and you become more knowledgeable by doing research and studying you can find information on the internet read books and magazines or take courses you can also learn from people around you who have done what you want to achieve.
15. Shift to an equality mentality people with.
low self-confidence sees others as better or more deserving than themselves instead of carrying this perception, see themselves as being equal to everyone they are no better make a mental shift to an equality mentality, and you will automatically, see improvement in your confidence.
16. Embodied confidence whenever you find yourself
out of your comfort zone whether by chance or choice stop for a moment close your eyes and think of a time when you felt confident and self-assured Use all of your senses to bring yourself back to that moment by doing this you'll be more able to cultivate that feeling in the present moment or just think about how a confident person would act in that situation, and do what they would do you'll be amazed at, how soon you'll find yourself feeling confident and capable.
17 smile Yeah:
you probably heard this one a thousand times it really does work you see we are social beings and we thrive on social interaction specifically positive social interaction, it can make us feel happy confident and content think about, how your mood changes when someone smiles back at you or even how it changes when you just crack a smile to yourself next time, If you feel low in confidence try smiling it will make you feel a lot better.
Conclusion:
I hope you enjoyed that article. Now I want to hear from you guys: what other confidence hacks have you guys used to boost your confidence?
It affects almost everything you do from what you think to what you say and even how you look by using the tips in this article you can learn how to be confident in almost any situation and start going after the things you want most in life what do you think do you know any other tips that can help boost confidence let us know in the comments below if you enjoyed.
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