Boost Your Self Confidence With These 5 Tips And Create The Life You Really Want

Title:
Boost Your Self-Confidence with These 5 Tips (and create the life you really want!)

Word Count:
860

Summary:
How you feel about yourself plays an important role in your ability to live your best life. With a healthy self-confidence (aka, self-image, self-esteem, self-respect) you’ll take more chances and overcome obstacles -- faster.


Keywords:
boost self-confidence


Article Body:
Copyright 2006 Cari Vollmer

Imagine this day: You wake up in the morning, feeling well-rested and at peace because you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what you need to do to live the life you most want. You have a clear vision of what you want your life to look and feel like and a sound strategy that will get you there. In fact, not only does the future look promising; TODAY feels great. You are proud of yourself. You feel confident in your ability to create and live the life you most want, today and well into the future.

How you feel about yourself plays an important role in your ability to live your best life. With a healthy self-confidence (aka, self-image, self-esteem, self-respect) you’ll take more chances and overcome obstacles -- faster. You’ll set your SELF in motion which will set the world around you in motion. You’ll get what you want and each time you do your confidence will soar and the belief you have in yourself will grow stronger. You’ll see life through the eyes of a person who not only BELIEVES they can do it – you WILL do it!

How do you BOOST your self-confidence? Here are 5 easy-to-try-out tips.

1. Speak well of yourself. In the Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz writes, “Through the word you express your creative power. It is through the word you manifest everything. … your intent manifests through your word. Depending on how it is used, the word can set you free, or it can enslave you even more than you know.”

We become what we think about most of the time. We become what we say about ourselves. If you continually tell yourself you “can’t do something”, or that you “don’t have what it takes”, you’re sure to create that reality for yourself, because that is how you see yourself. On the other hand, if you repeatedly say and think to yourself something like, “I am capable of creating a life I love”, soon you will begin creating a life you love.

Speak well of yourself and you’ll begin believing you do have what it takes to create and live the life you most want.

2. Surround yourself with self-confident people and positive environments. Sounds a bit obvious, but if you have friends that lack confidence, you probably do too. That’s because your environment, what and who you surround yourself with, plays a big role in how you see and treat yourself.

Negative environments are hard to break free from but break free is what you must do. If you’re surrounded by people who criticize others (and you) and speak poorly of themselves – get out! Remove yourself from their company. In fact, no company is better than toxic company. Seek out friends who are confident and you’ll feel your confidence increasing.

3. Take action on what you say you’re going to take action on or don’t say it! Don’t say you’re going to do something unless you really intend to do it. We’ve all experienced the “big talker” – the person who talks about their big plans but never does anything to make them happen. The “big talker” loses face because no one believes they’ll do what they say they’re going to do.

Don't lose face with yourself. ONLY talk about things you intend to take action on or don’t talk about them. Walk your talk. Keep your promises. Be impeccable with your words and you’ll become a person of integrity. Integrity breeds confidence.

4. Accept fear and obstacles as a natural part of life – and growth. Don’t beat yourself up when you find yourself gripped by fear and other emotions. Don’t judge yourself for having these feelings. And don’t feel like you’re inadequate or don’t have what it takes. From time to time, everyone feels afraid, confused and out of sorts. Be aware when these feelings are present but don’t let them stop you. Keep moving forward by telling yourself you’re much more than the obstacles you face and failures you experience.

5. Take time out to focus on all that you have done well. Once a month, take a few moments to write down all that you have done well – it’s probably more than you think. Acknowledge the work you do, your strengths and accomplishments on a regular basis. In doing so, you’ll begin seeing yourself as a person who does things right and gets things done. You’ll begin seeing and appreciating all the good you do.

Practice just one of these tips and you’ll start feeling better about yourself. Practice more than one on a consistent basis and your life will change - guaranteed!

You deserve to live a life you feel great about. Don’t settle for less because you lack the confidence to go after what you want. BOOST your confidence and you’ll wake up each morning feeling like anything’s possible!

“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything…” JOAN DIDION

BONUS : Title:
Boost Your Self-Confidence: 9 Easy Hints

Word Count:
897

Summary:
Whether you are looking for a new job or going on a first date, one of the most important characteristics that will stand you in good stead is your self-confidence. Increase your self-confidence with these tactics to help you through interviews, meetings, and more.

1. Stop saying “should”

Don’t make yourself feel guilty by thinking about the things that you should have done: if something is in the past, let it pass. Fretting over it will not improve your situation. Try ...


Keywords:
self-confidence,confidence,improve,increase,help,self,job,find,new,resume


Article Body:
Whether you are looking for a new job or going on a first date, one of the most important characteristics that will stand you in good stead is your self-confidence. Increase your self-confidence with these tactics to help you through interviews, meetings, and more.

1. Stop saying “should”

Don’t make yourself feel guilty by thinking about the things that you should have done: if something is in the past, let it pass. Fretting over it will not improve your situation. Try using the word “could” instead of “should” for everything. This way, your actions become your choices, and you are empowered to make decisions. For instance, “I should mow the lawn,” becomes “I could mow the lawn,” which is a much more positive statement. Instead of allowing your tasks to hold power over you, take power for yourself by actively choosing how to spend your time.

2. Don’t focus on yourself

If you are stressed out in a public situation, consider how the other person must feel. Go out of your way to make the other person feel comfortable, or introduce two people who haven’t met. Set yourself small tasks. Just having a task to do will make you feel better.

If you are alone and feeling anxious, take a few deep breaths. You can try various techniques, from meditation to distraction to take your mind off of you.

3. Set realistic goals

Setting goals will help boost your self-confidence. You want to set goals that are attainable. Choose something that you can measure, rather than something that is hard to measure so this way you will have a way to chart your progress. For instance, rather than saying “I will become an expert on the Victorian period,” you could set yourself the task of reading the complete works of Jane Austen, or you could sign up for a course at the local university. Chart your progress. Keeping track of how you are doing will allow you to feel positive about yourself.

4. Surround yourself with positives

If there are things or places in your life that are bringing you down, avoid them. If there are people in your life who are constantly negative, it might be time to reconsider your friendship with these people. You want to surround yourself with people who are optimistic and caring, people who respect you and value you for who you are. It is easier to be self-confident when you know you have a network of supportive people around you.

5. Stop being critical

Stop comparing yourself to others with self-criticism. You will always find something that someone else is better at. You are an individual, and unlike anyone else, so comparisons are moot. Constant self-criticism can also turn into cattiness: to make yourself feel better you might point out flaws in other people. Choosing to focus on your positive traits and on other people’s positive traits will help you gain self-confidence.

6. Take the time you need

Take some time for yourself. Perhaps painting your nails or polishing your shoes will make you feel that much more empowered. Take the time to do small things that are often overlooked. This time you spend will help you gain confidence.

It is important to learn that you are worth making time for. You will never be able to adequately care for another person until you care for yourself, so take time to unwind and relax.

7. Think positively

If you find yourself thinking negative or critical thoughts, think “cancel” or “delete.” Your mind is like a computer, and you will be able to erase those negative thought patterns with practice. Then, once you have pointedly erased that negative thought, replace it with a positive one. If you were thinking “My thighs are too fat,” say, “cancel” and then, “My thighs are growing thinner every day” or “I love my body just the way I am.” Try saying these nice things to yourself in front of a mirror.

Write down your best traits, abilities, and skills on a piece of paper. Then when you are feeling down you can come back to this piece of paper to remember how wonderful you are. You can also write down five or ten things that you are grateful for each day. Remember how fortunate we are helps boost confidence because it helps surround us with the positivity that is required for true self-confidence.

Try visualization to help you with achieving your goals, and to help you think positively towards a sense of self-confidence.

8. Reprogram yourself

You might hold some beliefs which are limiting to you. It is time to take these negative thoughts and replace them with positives, as outlined in the previous point. Here are some thoughts you might need to re-think (literally!): “I can’t do that,” “I get scared easily,” “They don’t like me.”

Remember that even confident people get bummed out sometimes. Having occasional periods of anxiety is completely natural.

9. Fake it…and Smile!

If you don’t know how to truly be self-confident, then just pretend to be self-confident! Smile, too. Just the act of smiling will release endorphins to the brain, which will eventually make you happy. Acting confident will help build your confidence for when you truly are confident.

Remember: you are going to be fine. Start building your self-confidence today so that you can begin leading the lifestyle you deserve.