We’re all dreaming of the day when we wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and are happy with what we see. Until that day arrives, we can work on our self-esteem and confidence, so we can learn to appreciate the beauty on the inside and the outside, and become more aware of our flaws and best features. Confidence can help you find the best ways of creating your own style, achieving your goals, and becoming more successful. From learning to appreciate your skills and knowledge to working on your limitations, there are plenty of ways that you can boost your confidence to look and feel better every day. Here are a few tips for you to consider:

1.   Positive Affirmations

To build your confidence, you might want to find some positive affirmations that you can repeat to yourself every day. When you don’t feel like meeting people, or you feel like you look ten years older than you are, you have to acknowledge the thoughts and focus on the positives. Some people call this the “fake it till you become it” attitude, but you shouldn’t try to pretend to be someone else. Instead, find positive things about yourself and focus on what you have achieved instead of what you failed at.

2.   Self-Compassion

If you fear rejection or failure, you are likely to have inner frustrations and anger to deal with. The best approach is to learn self-compassion through meditation and mindfulness training. You will find that you have to love yourself and recognize your value before others would. Self-compassion is an approach that helps you become the best you can by looking after number one, and focusing on your self-image instead of what other people think about you. Chances are that you are not happy with plenty of things in your life, but if you focus on what you are doing right, you can find a helpful solution.

3.   Goals and Achievements

Once you have learned self-compassion, you have to list your goals and achievements. Think about what you have done well in your life and acknowledge your personal strengths. To develop yourself further, you could set yourself SMART goals. They are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-relevant. This will help you stay focused on your long term goals, whether they are related to your career, personal life, or your appearance.

4.   Congratulate Yourself

Once you have achieved a goal, you need to congratulate yourself. You can set yourself a reward for completing each task or achieving the goal, depending on what works the best for you. If you happen to be a maximalist, you need to learn to settle for “good enough” instead of perfect all of the time. Even if other people don’t acknowledge your achievements, you have to look after your confidence and emotional balance, by congratulating yourself. You might even print off some motivational certificates and display them on your wall whenever you achieve a new goal.

5.   Changing What You Can

Sometimes we have problems with our behavior, emotions, or appearance that impacts our whole life. If this is the case, you should seek professional help. Counseling can aid your self-discovery, and help you find the reasons why you have low confidence. If you can fix the issue, you should. Some women benefit from breast augmentation and feel better and more confident in their skin, while others opt for exercise or skin treatments. Find what you want to change and start actively seeking the solution.

6.   Managing Your Frustrations

It is important to deal with your frustrations. If you don’t feel good about how the dress looks on you or would like to improve your mental health by learning to accept yourself, you can change how you feel. While it is important to better yourself, sometimes you are too critical with yourself. Ask for feedback from your friends and family members to find out whether or not your assumptions are founded on facts or your imagination. You might feel like you are not looking your best, while most of your friends will be jealous of your style.

7.   Focusing Less on Impressing Others

It is important that you learn to realistically assess your looks and behavior, and not try to impress others with everything you do. Simply put, you should do what makes you happy, instead of what impresses others. Likewise, wear what you feel good and confident in. If you’re not checking the feedback from others every minute, you can focus on developing yourself. There are several methods to help you achieve a higher confidence level and doing your own thing instead of fearing criticism. Tell yourself that if someone doesn’t like you it is their problem, and don’t try to be friends with everyone.

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8.   Daring Not to Fit In

If you feel better having tattoos and piercings, do so. In some lines of work this is a taboo, but if it fits in with your career choices, nobody should tell you what not to do. Some people wear purple or blue hair with confidence and are happy that they can express themselves. If you talk a different way than others, have a unique humor, or are a “new type of weird”, don’t be ashamed; be proud of who you are. Whatever makes you feel good in your skin is allowed. If you can express who you are by how you speak, act, and dress, take the opportunity, and you’ll find that many people will find you unique and interesting.

Being confident and feeling good in your skin is an ultimate way of becoming a happy person. You should ignore the negative inner voices and criticism. Dare to be yourself, and express your personality. Use positive affirmations and learn self-compassion. Accept your limitations, but make changes that increases your confidence and well-being. People who have a good relationship with themselves are more likely to have true friends and meaningful relationships with others.

Featured Image By: George Bohunicky