At a certain point in my life I understood that I can no longer take myself as I am. He smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, and generally led a low-quality lifestyle. No, no, don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t a hopeless human being or anything like that. He had a place to study, a family and a place to live. I just didn’t see any progress in life and I didn’t have a final destination. My life had little meaning, which made me live day after day that vicious circle from which I saw no light. My self-confidence was almost invisible, and depression was slowly taking over me.
Despite having that long dark time in my life, from time to time I experienced a strong desire to change. I knew there was something in life I would love to do, I knew I could do it, but I felt like it was too far from me to bother trying.
However, one day I woke up with the feeling that this was the end. I knew my life was about to change. I had a thousand ideas running through my mind on how to be happy, successful, determined, inspired, etc. There was only one problem: lack of self-confidence. In fact, that was the reason why I was too scared to start my transformation in the first place. This time, however, fear and anger got the better of me, and I knew I needed to boost my self-confidence, for real.
I won’t bore you with everything that didn’t work for me in the process of building my self-confidence, but I will tell you about the things that did. The things I will describe have changed me to the core. Today I no longer feel that I am missing something, or that I am not strong enough. I feel like I can succeed at a lot of the things I choose, and the things I fail at (if I do), I just use as a valuable lesson to try even harder next time. As the saying goes, everything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
Self Confidence Approach 1: Observe and Imitate
One of the causes of a lack of self-confidence stems from the fact that we don’t have enough confident people around us. If you’re reading this post, you’re probably like me: you didn’t grow up sure of yourself.
One of the most important habits you can develop on the road to self-confidence is the habit of imitating very confident people. In this case I mean imitating people in real life, people you know, but also random people on the street, people you hear or read about in the news, or whoever. And I don’t mean the imitation of a single trait of their character, like the way they speak publicly, or the way they talk about money, but all the traits! You must learn to see the best in people and absorb all the best qualities. Look at it as a process of rebuilding your mind, but from the best parts you can find.
When I started imitating confident people, I watched the way they talked to others, the way they handled problems, acted at work, drove their cars, and even the way they walked. Trust me, minor things like confident walking and upright posture can drastically change the way you think.
Remember, imitation is the first step in becoming confident. The fact that we’re lacking in the first place means we’re lacking that kind of mindset. Copying it from someone else is key.
Self-confidence approach 2 – physical exercise
Those who think that physical exercise can be avoided, do not be fooled! To have self-confidence, it is absolutely necessary to exercise, and the more the better.
Physical exercise not only reduces the amount of stress in us, but also increases the amount of testosterone and therefore self-confidence. So guys, especially you guys, don’t take this for granted. The bottom line is that playing sports is healthy and sexy.
Self Confidence Approach 3: Educate Yourself
Stop wasting time on things that take you further from your dreams. If you want to become self-confident, you must do things that make you more aware and knowledgeable. The more useful content you consume, the more likely you are to make use of it.
Let me tell you this, when I started my quest for self-confidence, I watched so many motivational videos, listened to so many audiobooks, and read so many internet posts (like the one you’re reading right now haha) on the subject, that I began to feel like being confident in yourself is the only path to success. That idea grew its roots in me.
So, minimize useless contributions, like those from social media, and maximize contributions that make you stronger and wiser.
Self-confidence approach 4 – don’t be afraid
The last thing I want to tell you is don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to change your life. Don’t be like me, don’t think it’s “too late”. He was extremely blinded by limiting beliefs. How can a 23-year-old think it’s too late? Now I think it was silly, to say the least.
Life is like a pendulum that will never stop turning. You will always have your ups and downs, and as long as you are alive, there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can do is become fearless and learn from your mistakes. No successful person is without fear, and no successful person does not make mistakes. Everybody does. The only difference between them and people who lack self-confidence is that they never give up. Adversity is just a part of life, and the faster we understand and accept it, the faster we can start to improve.
As a closing of this text, I would like to share a quote that really motivates me and raises my self-confidence. I hope it does the same for you. “At any given moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing” – Theodore Roosevelt. Now go ahead, make yourself better!