Building Self-Confidence
Self confidence is something that a lot of us struggle with but having faith in yourself can make such a difference in the way that you are perceived by others and indeed in the way that you perceive yourself. This is also incredibly important in a time where many of you will be appearing for university interviews, so being confident can really set you apart from everyone else. But how do you work on your self confidence?
This is not something that you can master in a day, but there are certain things you can do to help develop confidence. Some of these ideas are very short term, and some are more long-term lifestyle changes.
Power poses
One common trait between all powerful leaders are high levels of the hormone testosterone and low levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This means they are more confident and are less affected by stress, therefore able to manage themselves in stressful situations. Both of these hormones, however, respond to body language which is where power posing comes in. Power poses are poses that help build your confidence and actually release these hormones in your body. Some high power poses are standing with your hands on your hips, or leaning back on your chair with an open body language and feet planted firmly on the floor - essentially body language you would associate with confidence. It has been proven that even standing in these poses for even two minutes reduces cortisol and increases testosterone by 20%! This is something that you can do right before a stressful situation or even something you could incorporate in your daily life - try meditating each morning for two minutes in a power pose!
Positive thoughts
This may sound obvious, but it is so important. When we are stressed or nervous, our brains have a tendency to spiral into even worse ‘what if?’ scenarios. If you are anxious about something, take some time to address that fully in your head. Why is it that this particular thing is causing you anxiety? Even simple things to put you in a more positive mood can help, such as wearing something you love or eating your favourite breakfast. Keeping a positive mindset can also help tackle some of the physiological symptoms of stress. When you are in a pressured situation, your fight-or-flight response kicks in, causing a burst of adrenaline to be released. This hormone is what makes your heart beat faster, you sweat more and essentially all those symptoms that tell you that you’re nervous. However, adrenaline is also released when we get excited, so instead of thinking about how nervous you are, try and convert that into excitement and happiness - your body doesn’t know the difference!
Learn how to fail
This may sound very counterproductive, but I promise it has a point. We as humans, love to win; we are a competitive species. This means that many of us have developed this fear of failure or a fear of trying something new because we might not be good at it. Learning how to fail and overcome that is so important in boosting your self-esteem. Nobody is good at everything, so why do we hold ourselves to these impossible standards? Setting yourself hard challenges can be one way of defeating this fear of failure that holds us back, and if you achieve these challenges, it will be a huge confidence boost!
Take care of yourself
This is something that I talk about very often in my blog posts, and if you are an avid reader, I am sure that you will probably be bored of reading this! Taking care of yourself has such a positive impact on all aspects of your mental health including self esteem. Eating well, getting enough sleep and exercising regularly are all really simple ways to better your lifestyle. If you are healthy physically, it automatically affects your mental health, and also means that you are much better equipped to deal with stressful situations - a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast puts you at a much better chance of acing a job interview than being tired and hungry.
Fake it till you make it!
Self confidence is all about believing in yourself even when you have doubts, and being in your own corner in taxing situations. Even if you aren’t feeling that great, faking it can create a positive feedback loop that actually increases your confidence. For example, faking confidence and giving a talk in front of many people will show you that this wasn’t something you should have been worried about. Simple things like smiling or standing tall consciously will make such a difference even if inside you are terrified. Your body and mind are capable of incredible things, it is simply about overcoming all those doubts and fears in your head.
I hope that this has been informative, and that you have learnt some easy to improve your self confidence, even if it is standing in a power pose for 30 seconds before an important exam. Every little helps and even the smallest things can make a huge difference. Good luck!