5 easy steps to build confidence.
How do I build my confidence?
This is a question many therapists get asked on a regular basis and it's completely understandable that people want answers.
Feeling low in confidence can have a huge impact on people's lives, their relationships, their career prospects and how they function day to day.
It's that little voice in our heads telling us were not good enough or we will make a fool out of ourselves.
Here are a 5 things that have worked for other people when trying to improve their confidence:
1) Introduce self compassion into your life
Be kinder and more understanding of yourself.
If you can, try to challenge that critical inner voice that is saying unkind things to you with evidence of positive things about you or times when you were proud of yourself.
2) STOP comparing yourself to other people in a negative way
Limit the amount of time you spend on social media looking at how well other people seem to be doing life.
Be careful about the information you are consuming because as we all know, people rarely post about that day they dropped the ball at work or that terrible argument they had with their partner that week.
Remember social media rarely shows the full picture and therefore any comparisons you make to others is unfair.
3) Keep a gratitude diary
Use a gratitude diary to celebrate your successes and acknowledge the things you are grateful for or pleased to have in your life.
Keeping a gratitude journal can help you to start thinking in a more balanced way by drawing your attention to the good things happening in your life as well as the not so good things.
This helps if you have a tendency to catastrophise and feel overwhelmed as a result.
4) Build a support network... and use it!
Think carefully about who you spend time with and the impact they have on your confidence.
If you notice that whenever you see a certain person you come away feeling bad about yourself or they make you uncomfortable, then limit the time that you spend with them.
Reach out to those people in your life who leave you feeling good about yourself and give your confidence a boost.
5) Contact a Counsellor
Talking with a counsellor can really help build confidence and self esteem.
You can talk to them about how you have been feeling in a safe and confidential space at your own pace and they can help you to find ways to cope.
Counsellors can also support you in identifying past experiences that may have impacted on how you see your self in the present moment, if this is something you would like to do.
If Counselling feels like the right step for you, then get in touch with us at SP Counselling Service and start working on your confidence today.