Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in your abilities, qualities, and judgment. Research suggests that confidence is important to health and psychological well-being.1 Learn how to be more confident, and reap the benefits of increasing your trust and belief in yourself.
What Is Confidence?
Confidence can refer to a general sense of belief and trust in your own ability to control your life, or it might be more situation-specific. For example, you might have high self-confidence in an area of particular expertise but feel less confident in other areas.
Having a healthy level of self-confidence can help you become more successful in your personal and professional life. Research has found, for example, that people who are more confident tend to achieve more academically.2
Confidence can also play a role in the motivation to pursue your goals, with studies linking higher levels of self-confidence in athletes with increased motivation to practice their sport of choice.3 Your level of confidence even affects how you present yourself to others.
How to Be More Confident
Fortunately, there are several ways you can increase your self-confidence. Whether you lack confidence in one specific area or struggle to feel confident about anything, these confidence boosters can help.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Do you compare how you look to people you follow on Instagram? Or maybe you compare your salary to what your friend earns. Social comparison theory explains that making comparisons is natural. But it isn’t likely to help boost your self-confidence. It may even have the opposite effect.
A 2018 study published in Personality and Individual Differences found a direct link between envy and the way you feel about yourself.4 Specifically, researchers noted that when people compared themselves to others, they experienced envy. The more envy they had, the worse they felt about themselves.
How do you build confidence when you notice that you are drawing comparisons? First, remind yourself that doing so isn’t helpful. Everyone is running their own race and life isn’t a competition.
If you’re feeling envious of someone else’s life, it’s also helpful to remind yourself of your own strengths and successes. Keep a gratitude journal to help you recall the areas in life where you are blessed. This can help you focus on your own life versus the lives of others.
How to Stop Constantly Comparing Yourself With Others
Surround Yourself With Positive People
Take a moment and think about how your friends make you feel. Do they lift you up, or do they bring you down? Are they constantly judging you, or do they accept you for who you are?
The people you spend time with can influence your thoughts and attitudes about yourself, perhaps more than you realize. So, pay attention to how others make you feel. If you feel bad about yourself after hanging out with a particular person, it may be time to say goodbye.
Instead, surround yourself with people who love you and want the best for you. Seek out others who are positive and can help build your confidence. Self-confidence and a positive attitude go hand-in-hand.5
How to Create Truly Supportive Friendships
Take Care of Your Body
It’s hard to feel good about yourself if you’re abusing your body. If you practice self-care, you know you’re doing something positive for your mind, body, and spirit—and you’ll naturally feel more confident as a result.
Here are a few self-care practices linked to higher levels of self-confidence:6
- Diet: Healthy eating comes with many benefits, including higher levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. When you fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods, you feel healthier, stronger, and more energized, which can result in feeling better about yourself.
- Exercise: Studies consistently show that physical exercise boosts confidence. For instance, a 2016 study found that regular physical activity improved participants’ body image. And when their body image improved, they felt more confident.7
- Meditation: More than just a relaxation practice, meditation can help boost self-confidence in several ways. For one, it helps you to recognize and accept yourself. Meditation also teaches you to stop negative self-talk and disconnect from unhelpful mental chatter interfering with your confidence.
- Sleep: Skimping on sleep can take a toll on your emotions. Conversely, good-quality sleep has been linked with positive personality traits, including optimism and self-esteem.8
Caring for yourself is an important part of feeling confident. Make sure you are getting what you need to feel good about yourself and your abilities.
Be Kind to Yourself
Self-compassion involves treating yourself with kindness when you make a mistake, fail, or experience a setback. It allows you to become more emotionally flexible and helps you better navigate challenging emotions, enhancing your connection to yourself and others.
A 2015 study connects self-compassion with self-confidence.9 So the next time you’re in a challenging situation, recognize that being imperfect or falling short at times is a part of being human. Do your best to navigate these experiences with compassion toward yourself.
