“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
For a lot of us, building self-confidence can be a struggle. At first, it seems like an endless circle: you need self-confidence to build self-confidence. Luckily for us, that’s not the case. Self-confidence can be built and worked on like any other skill, and the benefits make the effort worth your while.
Set Small & Manageable Goals
Big and sudden changes to our routine aren’t always the most effective, especially early on in our journey to build self-confidence. This is the time to show yourself that you can set and achieve small goals and recognize the impact small changes can have on your mindset. Instead of jumping feet first into a marathon training program, choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator at your office.
Keep up your small change for several weeks, more than a month if you can. This way, you start forming habits. Self-confidence thrives on these small achievements, and you’ll be amazed by the difference a single habit can make in your life.
Spend Time In Reflection
To work on ourselves, we must know ourselves. Spending time in reflection, even just for a few minutes each day, helps us to gain insight into who we are and what we feel. Building self-confidence means we must face the fear and doubt we have in our minds about our capabilities and our self-worth.
Self-doubt can be channeled from something negative into a positive learning tool. Focus in on that self-doubt and question it: how is it stopping you from achieving your goals, and what can you do to overcome it? If we constantly ignore the negative emotions we have, they’re going to harm us in the long run.
Don’t Stop Learning
After reflection, you might find out that a lot of self-doubt stems from feeling unprepared for new activities and self-improvement. By understanding what you need to improve and where your fears are rooted, you can change your learning experience for the better. Learning turns those difficult hobbies and experiences into something that’s understandable and manageable.
Never be afraid to do your research! Say you’re taking up singing as a new hobby, and you’re not fully confident just yet. Build up your confidence with extra learning, use the internet to learn breath control techniques, intonation training, and fill in all the gaps in your knowledge with new information. Self-confidence builds easier with effort and learning giving you an extra step up.
The Importance Of Positivity
Even though we must address the negative thoughts we have, we mustn’t let them overpower us. Positivity is what will keep self-confidence building in the long run, and it’s essential to stay positive when trying new things or working on yourself. You’re capable of much more than you’d expect and focusing your efforts onwards and upwards will bolster your self-confidence with every day you put in the work.
Go And Do It
I know, this is advice you see everywhere. Sometimes, just getting yourself to do new things can be difficult. Some things are definitely easier said than done, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not worth doing. The greatest hurdle you might have to overcome is just to go out and get it done!
Then by all means paint. We shouldn’t dwell on the self-doubt and negativity so much that we never take that first step out of the door. Seeing yourself through that first activity or that first day at a new job opens up the doors to you being able to do it all again.
Growing Self-Confidence With P.S. Love Yourself
There’s an endless list of reasons why self-confidence is so important. However, building self-confidence is no instant task, and it’s not always the easiest to do alone. That’s why I created P.S. Love Yourself: to help you learn your true worth and embrace each new day with confidence, passion, and positivity. If you need a helping hand, don’t be afraid to reach out.