5 Quick Ways To Boost Your Confidence

A lack of confidence usually shows up in the exact characteristics and personality traits that are used to camouflage it, like:

1. Perfectionism

2. Self depreciation jokes

3. Arrogance

4. Flamboyance and/or cockiness

5. Nonchalance/Unbothered

If you have any of the above traits, it’s highly likely that your confidence needs a pick-me-up.

...and since you’re here, you’ve probably already accepted the fact that this is an area of your life that you need to work on.

Well. Join the club. Because everyone has some areas in their lives where their belief in themselves needs some improvement. It’s pretty common.

So, here are 5 simple ways to kick start a confidence boost:

• Take care of your body. Focus on eating healthier and/or exercising. Not only does this help you feel good about your outer appearance aesthetically; more importantly, it shows you that YOU value your health and physical wellness. It shows you that YOU take pride in taking care of YOU. It reinforces to you that YOU are worthy of nourishing your body with the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that will assist in strengthening your bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. How you treat yourself sets a standard for how others perceive and engage with you. If you have low standards for how you treat your body, low standards for what you put into your body, and low standards for how your body looks - then you will continue to feel… well, you’ll continue to feel low (hence low self esteem). So, set a higher standard for how you care for yourself physically. Take pride in your physical health. Not only can you look better, but more importantly, you’ll feel better.

• Write affirmations about yourself and read them daily. This will get you in the habit of speaking positively about yourself. Additionally, it will allow you to make yourself consciously aware of your good qualities while simultaneously changing the tone and the way you speak over yourself about your areas of needed improvement. Remember, a big part of being confident is based on the conversations that you are having with yourself about yourself. You must learn to believe, feel, think, and speak positively about who you are, what you do, and the direction in which you are going.

• Stop labeling yourself. The expectations (familial, social, and cultural) that we and others place on us are putting us in boxes that make us attempt to live up to certain standards, behaviors, thoughts, ideas, and attitudes… and when we fail to meet those expectations, it causes us to feel inadequate, uneducated, less than, and unworthy. All of this starts with the label that we are placing on ourselves. Some common labels that perpetuate a lack of confidence are savage, impatient, high maintenance, rebellious, etc. And, don’t be fooled, positive labels can also place you in a box. I believe that positive labels are just as detrimental as negative labels as they create more pressure to live up to someone else’s definition of said label (yeah, I know that may be a little confusing, but I’ll get into it in another blog post). There are 2 positive labels that I have observed perpetuate a lack of confidence and they are independent and boss chick. While the latter are empowering labels and often used as terms of endearment, for some women, they set an expectation that begets self doubt when/if one does not succeed at achieving societies’, families’, or friends’ perception of ‘independent’ or ‘boss chick’ status.

• Get cute. Queens, we have to admit that we get really comfortable being comfortable. Now, I’m not suggesting that you wear something or do something that you’re uncomfortable in or with just to feel good and look cute. What I am suggesting is that you not get comfortable with consistently not putting in the effort to look good. You can be comfortable AND cute. Intentionally plan to go somewhere that you can get dressed in a nice outfit. Do something different with your hair. Try a new lippie color, treat yourself to a good ole face beat, go get waxed, or swap the tennis shoes for a heel (or any other cute shoe that is NOT your go-to errand running footgear). Try to commit to this at least once a week, and if you’re really feeling froggy, get someone to take some pics of you when you’re looking good. Make the effort to look good more often and you’ll start to feel like a Queen and exude the confidence like one too!

• Read a self improvement book. I literally could not wait to get to this tip. If y’all know me, you know that reading is my jam! Why? Because what you put into yourself is what comes out. If you read, watch, and listen to positive and uplifting things then inevitably you’ll feel positive. It’s similar to the first tip I shared which was eating healthy and exercise because what you feed yourself says a lot about your level of value for YOURSELF… and reading is feeding your mind, strengthening your mental muscle so that you are equipped to handle all of life’s negativity, and reprogramming your brain for success and positivity. So, grab a book and read 10-15 pages a day - major life and confidence hack!

So, there you have it! Try one (or all) of these tips and I guarantee, if you do them with the consistency that I’ve suggested above, you’ll notice that the pep in your step will get a little more swaggy day by day. Before you know it, you’ll be exuding Kanye levels of confidence (minus the twitter fingers, of course lol).