How you treat yourself is how others will treat you. That also means how you carry yourself is how others will perceive you. It brings the question to the table – how can you be and appear the best version of yourself, equipped with all the confidence you need to achieve your full potential? We have got a few tips for you. There are two parts to the question- how to ‘be’ and how to ‘appear.’
How to Be Your Best Confident Self?
Not everyone is naturally confident or has developed that sense and outward appearance of self worth overtime. It can often be a challenge to develop it. Sometimes, past experiences can shatter one’s confidence and lead to persistent low self-esteem. But what does confidence actually entail?
To start with, as a confident person, you may not just subscribe to popular opinion but on things that seem right to you. You are willing to take on challenges and stand up to backlash, admitting your mistakes and learning from them as you go along. It is also about acknowledging success, staying positive and taking in compliments. However, these may not be innate characteristics. There are several ways to work towards building self-confidence.
#1. Be Compassionate Towards Yourself
Remember that no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes as they work to achieve their goals and grow as individuals. It is ridiculous to believe that you must always be “perfect.” If you feel this way, you are setting yourself up for failure by holding yourself to an unreasonable high standard.
Instead of constantly striving for perfection, be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that you are a human being trying your best in your current circumstances. As the adage goes, “the finest love is self-love.” First and foremost, you must be able to love and appreciate yourself!
#2. Appreciate What You Have Achieved
One might often feel an urge to overlook optimism they do not take a clear look at everything they’ve achieved. You can maintain an achievement list for yourself to keep an account of everything you are proud of in your life. Keep this list with you, and whenever you feel your confidence wavering, pull out the list and remind yourself of all the things you have managed to achieve.
#3. Know What You’re Good at
You need to have a good grasp of what your strengths and talents are. You need to acknowledge what you can do best and keep working towards it. At the sametime, know which areas of your personality and skill set could need some work. Constantly work to round out those edges.
#4. Maintain a List of Goals
When you set goals and have a clear plan about the steps you need to take towards achieving them, you are more likely to achieve them. These do not have to be big goals. A small list of to-dos can also help you stay focussed and on track towards accomplishing them.
#5. Say Good Things to Yourself
Always say good things to yourself. Your thoughts are responsible for how you feel and come across to others. Think uplifting thoughts and compliment yourself. It can be something as simple as celebrating your little achievements.
You need to be your loudest cheerleader and your best friend. When you make a mistake or fail to achieve something, realize that everyone can make mistakes and encourage yourself to learn from them instead of feeling bad.
#6. Surround Yourself with People Who Support You
They say, “You are the sum of the five people closest to you.” When you surround yourself with people who appreciate you and you enjoy being around them, you’re likely to feel positive and confident too. Negative people can bring you down and their lack of empathy leads to a superficial connection, and ultimately can be mentally draining. Avoid being in places where you’re not surrounded by positivity.
How to Appear Your Best Confident Self?
Now that we have taken a look at the different options to build self-confidence, it is also essential to know how to appear the best confident version of yourself. We’ve got some tips to help you out.
#1. Pay Attention to Body Language and Posture
How you carry yourself is often how people perceive you, without you having uttered a word to them. When you do not pay enough attention to how you communicate through your body language and posture, you are likely to be lost from being seen.
Sitting up straight, standing tall, keeping your chin up, shoulders back, making eye contact, slightly leaning into a conversation, taking up the space around you, and firm handshakes etc. are just some ways to appear your best confident self.
#2. Bring Interesting Content
Content is still king. Make sure to bring interesting ideas, thoughts and narratives to the topic of conversation. Use your own unique background and experience in crafting your view of the world. Doing this can never make you wrong, only different and authentic. Knowing this and being confident in your statements and views can be a part of your everyday aura.
#3. Maintain Good Health
You need to ensure that you take care of yourself and maintain good health. That means getting your exercise, eating right, taking steps to reduce stress and maintain good mental health. Also, pay attention to hygiene, and dress smart, with well-made hair, polished shoes, and general cleanliness. Maintaining good health is essential to appearing confident.
#4. Strong Relationships
Keep in mind that the vibe people will have about you largely depends on the relationship you establish with them. Respect and genuine interest shown in others tends to be reciprocated and draws others to you. Having the support of your colleagues, friends, family etc. can build a sense of self-worth and confidence unlike anything else.
Now that you know some of the easy ways to build on your best confident self, you must start practicing so that you can put your best self forward.