Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is precious and necessary in order to become the person you want to be. Without it, you’ll slowly fade out and accept less than what you’re worth. There are two different types of confidence – Short term and long term confidence.

You can gain short term confidence by dressing well, spraying on a bit of perfume and downing a few shots at the club.

However, what you want to achieve is long term confidence. Fortunately, there are many ways that you can improve your self confidence in the long run. Here are 10 of the best ways you can do it.

1) Be True to Yourself

The first step to true self confidence is knowing yourself and in order to do that, you have to be true to yourself. Everyone who has achieved greatness acknowledges their strengths and weaknesses, then sets out to make the necessary adjustments to become who they want to be.

You need to ask yourself these vital questions: “Why am I not where I deserve to be” and “what do I need to change about myself to get there?”. Don’t hold back with your answers. The sooner that you acknowledge your flaws, the sooner you can work on them.

2) Start Eating Healthy

It’s a fact that if you eat healthy food such as fruit and vegetables, you’ll feel a lot better. Why do you think professional athletes are required to eat healthy? To perform to the best of their abilities and they can only do that by having extreme confidence.

You might not want to become a professional athlete but if you’re eating junk food all the time, then this will affect the way you feel and perform in daily tasks.

You don’t have to give it up completely, but you can certainly make a start by replacing some of the junk you eat with healthier options.

Instead of Pepsi, drink fresh orange juice or water. Instead of chocolate bars, eat dried apricots. Just remember the famous saying, “you are what you eat”.

If you want to learn how to lose weight effectively, then I highly recommend the 30 Day Fighter’s Diet, an effective periodized dieting program used by competing amateur and professional boxers and martial artists.

3) Feel Great by Doing Exercise

“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Doing exercise goes hand in hand with eating healthy. It’s one of the best ways that you can look good but more importantly feel good. If you ever feel stressed out and need to get away, then exercise releases all the tension and it also stimulates the mind. It’s no wonder why the fittest people are often the most confident.

The best forms of exercise for improving confidence and self-esteem are usually aerobic exercises such as running and swimming. You’ll immediately see what difference it makes when you come back from a long run.

4) Take up a Combat Sport

Normal exercise is great, but taking up a combat sport is even better. Contrary to what you might believe, many people who join a fighting sport such as boxing are generally humble and willing to help out one another.

Many of them have also had issues with their self-confidence in the past, which is why they joined in the first place.

You don’t have to compete if you don’t want to, but taking up a combat sport is a great all round exercise which allows you to channel your frustrations in a safe and controlled environment.

It teaches discipline and builds character. Plus, you’ll be well prepared to defend yourself if there ever comes a time to.

5) Lend a Helping Hand

A lot of people constantly take without giving back. That doesn’t have to be you. A little bit of giving now and then will boost your self-confidence knowing that you’ve helped someone else.

It could be anything positive from giving advice to doing something nice for someone. You never know that the person that you help may just save your life someday.

6) Stay Positive & Take Positive Actions

This is easier said than done. It’s hard to stay positive when your circumstances can be so bad. However, it doesn’t matter where or who you are, all that matters is where you’re going to be.

Building self-confidence is about staying positive and taking positive steps to reach your goals. You’ll take comfort knowing that each action you take is a step closer. It’s not a matter of IF you’ll get there but WHEN.

7) Stay Loyal to Your Closest Friends and Family

There’s nothing worse than turning your back on those who have helped you out in the past. This will likely destroy your self-confidence because of the guilt you’ll have.

Staying loyal means that you’ll have to help them where possible and have unconditional love for them. You will build your self-confidence by taking pride in your own loyalty.

8) Never Stray From Your Core Principles

People often make irrational decisions when they’re put under pressure. At the end of the day, we’re all human and these things can happen. You should by now already be familiar with your core principles. It’s important that you’re firm with what you will and will never do, so when the time comes to make a crucial choice, you won’t make a decision you’ll live to regret.

This can be anything from not taking drugs to not committing any criminal activities. Your core principles come from knowing yourself. Follow your own rules religiously and your self-confidence cannot be broken.

9) Knowledge Is Power – Read Books

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

The more you know, the more powerful you can become. The more that you read, the wiser and more intelligent you become. Intelligent people are not born with a special mind, they work for it like an athlete who works to achieve their fitness peak.

If your primary goal is to become rich, then read biographies of those who have become rich through hard work and dedication. If you want to become a body builder, read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biography.

You’ll find that most biographies of famous people have gone through hardships and had bouts of low self-confidence at some point in their lives. How they coped will inspire you.

10) Don’t Ever Quit

At the toughest of times, it’s easy just to throw in the towel and quit. You might not realize that you’re so close to your goal. The fighter’s mentality is to never stop. You have to overcome whatever fears you have and endure any pain inflicted, whether physically or emotionally.

Getting through tough obstacles will only make you stronger and build your self-confidence to the next level. If you ever come close to packing it in, then just think of the words of one of the greatest fighters ever.

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali