How to Build Self Confidence

Although it may seem like a far off and unreachable goal, building self confidence can be achieved with several small steps that eventually build on one another.

Set Your Goals

Building confidence will be a lot easier if you set specific goals. Whether you want to be confident enough to be president of an organization or simply give a presentation at the next department meeting, you can then create an action plan for achieving this goal.

One Step at a Time

Going along with the idea of setting goals, if you are not feeling confident, you will be much more likely to achieve your desired level of confidence by taking small steps. Tell yourself that you will smile and shake hands with everyone you meet today or promise that you will offer your opinion on an issue at the next board meeting. This is much more likely to lead to success and start you on the path to confidence than jumping straight to a more daunting task like giving the keynote speech at a national conference.

Conversational Skills

Improving your conversational skills can help you feel more comfortable and confident in any social situation which will lead to larger confidence overall. If you practice maintaining eye contact and being a good listener, you will also give off a more confident aura and you can enjoy the benefits of being treated as a confident person. 

Get Involved

When you become involved in an organization, project or committee, the new experiences, improved skills and chances for leadership and personal development can help improve confidence. Think about joining a professional organization, signing up for a committee at work or volunteering your time at a worthwhile organization. 

The Power of Positive Imagery

The road to self-confidence is primarily a mental exercise. Visualizing yourself as a confident person is one way to create a confident mentality. Positive affirmations are another way of building confidence. Tell yourself that you are a confident person and do not give negative thoughts room to grow. 

Gain Confidence by Appearing Confident

You may have heard this sentiment expressed as, “fake it ’til you make it.” The truth is that you can gain confidence by acting like a confident person. Nobody needs to know that you are cringing underneath your confident facade. Ultimately you will no longer need to pretend. The success you experience from acting confident and the confident habits you have developed will lead to true confidence.

Find a Confident Role Model

Whether you turn to co-workers, friends, family members or celebrities for inspiration, finding confident role models can help you become more confident yourself. It is best if you have real-life contact with the person you are looking to emulate, but you can still get an idea of a celebrity’s personality and confidence-building strategies through interviews and books.

Try Something New

New experiences can give you confidence by helping you grow as a person. You do not have to take up skydiving or anything drastic like that. Starting a new hobby or taking a class is more likely to help you develop lasting skills anyway.

Choose to be Happy

Having an essentially positive attitude toward you is key to gaining confidence. You must be happy with the person you are, from your personality to your appearance, before you can truly be confident. 

If You Need Help

Motivational speakers make their living from helping people make the most of their lives, which often involves helping their listeners build confidence. If you cannot attend a seminar in person, many speakers also offer DVDs and CDs of their motivational performances. Numerous self-help books are also available that can lead you to helpful strategies for building confidence. Life coaches provide one-on-one help to assist clients in reaching their full potential.

If there are more deep-seated issues getting in the way of feeling confident, you may wish to look into counseling or psychiatric help. Depression and other illnesses can decimate your self-confidence, and simply thinking positive thoughts or attending a motivational talk are not enough to feel better.

Gaining confidence requires hard work and dedication but it does not have to be impossible if you take it one step at a time.