How To Increase Self Confidence

By John W. Barker


How to improve self-esteem quickly, easily and effectively is now achievable. What do you suppose you can do that within minutes will raise your-self esteem? The answer may surprise you.Exercise is great way to lose weight and get fit, but did you know that exercise can also make you happier, help you handle stress better, reduce anxiety and raise your self-esteem? When you exercise, your pituitary gland releases endorphins, the hormones that make you feel good. Research has been done on the effectiveness of endorphins, and the results show that endorphins are just as effective as anti-depressants when it comes to making you feel good.

Think about it for a moment: after a good workout, whether it's in a gym or out jogging, how do you feel? Are you happier? Do you feel good? Do you feel less stressed? Hours later, do you find that you sleep better and deeper? And the great thing is when you feel happier, when you feel good and less stressed your level of self-esteem increases.Can you now see that how to improve self-esteem is easy? Exercise can dramatically affect your attitude in a positive way. Studies have shown that by jogging, brisk-walking or even gardening outside you can change your attitude, even if you jogged slowly for five minutes.Many of us are aware of the numerous benefits we gain from exercising, yet few take action in the long-term and stick to an exercise routine. The simplest way to get started is to find an exercise that you enjoy or may enjoy doing.

Focus on Your Success.It is a great way of gaining some confidence if you look fondly at some things you have achieved in life. It is easy to focus on what you have not achieved in life and lose confidence. But if you focus on things that you have done over the years, can help you rediscover your talents and abilities and help improve self confidence consequently.Write Down a List of All the Things You are Proud of.You need to believe in yourself and to do so you need to look at things you have done in the past or achieved that makes you feel proud of. Recognizing your own good qualities and all the good things you have done will remind you of your abilities and inspire you to achieve more. Making a list of all the good things you have done in life and using the list when you are in low self confidence can be very therapeutic.

Stick to Your Principles.A person of dignity and principles can always believe in him or herself. In times of low self confidence he or she can take great encouragements for following and maintaining principles. You need to hold on to something and it cannot be better than sticking to principles. You can tell yourself when it comes to how to improve self confidence that you have followed your principles at all times in life and that it is a very great virtue you have.Set Some Goals.You need to have an aim in life. Life goes on and you need to move on with it. You can and should always set some goals and try to achieve them using your abilities and qualities. These goals can be anything such as planning to go out with friends for a picnic, spending an evening out with friends, planning a night out etc. So setting goals and trying to achieve them can increase your self confidence gradually but steadily.

You should not feel ashamed of or insecure because of your past or current circumstances when it comes to improve self confidence. Be positive, get a good hobby, and talk yourself up to feel confident. Always try to stay focused on your positives to get rid of low self confidence and esteem.One of the questions psychologists and counselors of all kinds find themselves having to deal with rather frequently nowadays is the question on how to improve self esteem. Majority of the people who pose this question tend to be those who have come to the conclusion that most of the unhappiness in their lives is attributable to low self esteem. They therefore seek to know how they can improve their self-esteem, and hence overcome the unhappiness in their lives brought about by low self esteem -- conversely increasing the happiness in their lives.The relationship between low self esteem and unhappiness.The presumption that at least some unhappiness is brought about by low self esteem is one we have to deal with, before proceeding with this discussion on how to improve self esteem and increase one's happiness. We first of all need to deal with the question as to whether, indeed, it is true that some unhappiness is brought about by low self esteem. Whilst most people have already accepted it (that some unhappiness is brought about by low self esteem) as a statement of fact, there are those who opt to contest it. But given the fact that this is not really a discussion on the relationship between low self esteem and unhappiness, we won't dwell too much on that question.

For a person to succeed in almost anything that they do, there is a need for them to increase their self-confidence. It is critical that you trust yourself to do something before setting out to try it. That is a weapon for success. To a good number of people, this self-confidence is naturally within them while many others have found it hard to achieve the required level for success. All is not lost though, as there is a way forward on what to do in order to be confident enough for a successful mission. Here are a few tips that you can trust to increase self confidence:

Of course, there are many other mechanisms through which improved self esteem results in enhanced happiness (not just the one where high self esteem helps you stop worrying too much about what others think of you). It is also worth remembering that people with high self esteem tend to have more friends, and to have better relationships with their friends -- which results in more happiness. Further, people with high self esteem tend to have better relationships with themselves. They are less prone to unfair/intense self-criticism when they fail. They are generally kinder to themselves. And that translates into higher levels of happiness.Self esteem and success.In fact, attempts have also been made to correlate high self esteem to success in various endeavors - and it would seem as if high self esteem doesn't just result in higher levels of happiness, but also in greater levels of success. That is especially the case in things like business, where success depends on networking: an undertaking in which people with high self esteem tend to be very good at.

Be in a social circle of people who makes you feel significant and happy. If you form friendships with people who are pessimistic and controlling, you are likely going to feel bad about yourself most of the time. On the other hand, being in the company of people who listens to you, encourages and accepts you, you are sure to be on your way to a healthier level of self esteem.Know which things actually trigger low self-esteem. Take note of what your triggers are and try to avoid them or better yet, learn ways to better cope with them. If your appearance is causing you to feel bad about yourself, then work on improving it--exercise, eat well and dress sharply.

Self affirmation as a way to improve self esteem.One of the ways in which you can treat yourself as a dear friend, and hence improve your self esteem would be by affirming yourself. Friends affirm each other (not necessarily through the use of the so-called 'affirmations' but also through their moment to moment dialogs). Thus, if your moment to moment dialog with yourself is self-affirming, rather than self-depreciating, you are likely to ultimately end up with high self esteem. Of course, to change yourself in this way, you'd have to change your long-held thinking habits - which can be a challenging piece of work -- but the benefits are worth the effort.Keeping promises to oneself as a way to improve self esteem.Another way in which you can treat yourself as a dear friend and hence improve your self esteem would be by keeping promises you make to yourself. Friends keep the promises they make to each other. In this context, this mostly means acting on your plans (rather than chronically messing up with your plans). If you plan to do something, and you don't do it, your self-esteem actually takes a beating.

Re-read that statement. Of course, this assertion that to improve self esteem you need to respect your plans and make an effort towards implementing them also means, by extension, that to improve yourself, you need to develop discipline. No, not the harsh discipline of perpetually beating yourself up, but rather, the nice variety of self-discipline: where you make an effort at implementing your plans, knowing that doing so will result in improved self respect (which, by another name, is 'improved self esteem').There are some authorities who argue that you can improve your self esteem significantly by simply making reasonable plans and implementing them (and not chronically breaking your promises to yourself).

Learn to forgive yourself when you don't accomplish all that you set out to. All of us falls short sometimes, but rather than focusing on the negative aspects, learn to adjust your goals so that you have a better chance of meeting them. Almost any negative experience can be turned into a positive experience with the right mindset.Most people do not see just how potentially damaging low self esteem can be. Thankfully, our self esteem is not permanent--we can always work on improving it for the better. I hope these simple suggestions on how to improve self esteem has helped you in some way.




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