Empowerment

6 Easy Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence

How to make yourself feel like you can conquer the world in six easy steps. No, Really!

By 

Everyone has times when they don’t feel like their best, most attractive or confident selves. Working through difficult times like these can actually make you stronger and more confident in the long run. When you’re in the middle of one of these stretches, it can be difficult to know how to work your way out of it. If this sounds familiar to you, try some of these tips to boost your confidence:

 

Change Your Appearance

Looking good can greatly increase your confidence. While you don’t need to drastically alter your appearance, simply taking a shower, shaving, putting on makeup and dressing nicely can help you feel ready to start that day. Again, this doesn’t mean you need to buy designer or expensive clothing, it just means dress for the situation (or even overdress a little) to help you feel special.

6 Easy Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence

Dye your hair red! Try blue eye shadow! Wear a sexy dress!

Another idea is to change up your style. If you’ve had the same hair color for ages, try changing it (you can do it yourself at home). Try some new up-do’s. Even just changing your makeup routine (hello, red lipstick!) or your shoe choice can give you a little boost.

 

Stop Reading Print Magazines

Studies show that women feel crummy about themselves, and their long-term self-esteem suffers, when they read print magazines. Looking at Photoshopped photos of models gets even models feeling less attractive, because even though we may consciously know that the images are fantasy, our subconscious brain still picks up on the harmful messaging; that we must look flawless, skinny and sultry if we expect to be loveable and sexy. And it’s all in an effort to sell us more products we really don’t need.

6 Easy Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence

Looking at these can be toxic for your self-esteem

So don’t listen. Better yet — don’t expose your brain to that messaging at all; read online blogs or indie magazines, like Urbanette, instead.

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Avatar of Hilary Rowland

A writer, artist, and designer since she was young enough to put pencil to paper, Hilary taught herself code and created Urbanette when she was a teenager. Currently, she lives in Monte Carlo, but spent the past decade living in NYC, still considers herself a New Yorker, and visits regularly. She's always traveling, looking for hot new topics, destinations, and life hacks to bring to Urbanette readers.

Reader Discussion: 179 Comments

  1. Avatar of Diana Scott

    Diana Scott

    For people with low self-esteem, or a history of disappointments, men as well as women, failure is easier to accept than success. They’re used to it.

  2. Avatar of Rachel Ward

    Rachel Ward

    Work on the issues that are making you feel low in self-confidence. For me this is the more practical approach to increasing self-confidence.?

  3. Avatar of Felicia Blake

    Felicia Blake

    When you’re confident, you stop worrying about what everyone else thinks, and stop second-guessing your decisions.

    • Avatar of Charles Adams

      Charles Adams

      I find girls with really strict fathers tens to be easy to control since they’re used to getting told what to do and deep down inside begin to like being bossed around because obviously they have low self-esteem.

  4. Avatar of Kristina Ramsey

    Kristina Ramsey

    Confident people inspire confidence in others, and gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success.

    • Avatar of Mona Conner

      Mona Conner

      Right! Because confidence is contagious.

  5. Avatar of Lucia Labruna

    I agree to this. Try learning a new skill, or perhaps do something that you are scared of, if you made it then it’ll raise your self-confidence.

  6. Avatar of Lana Carlson

    Know yourself by leaving your comfort zone. Not enough can be said about the power of self-awareness. ?

    • Avatar of Judy Robertson

      Judy Robertson

      Many people lack confidence because they feel that they lack a certain competency. But I think competency can be developed through reading and practice.

  7. Avatar of Cassie Johnston

    Think of a fear you have overcome. When we lack self-confidence and self-belief, we become fearful that we are not good enough or worthy enough. Inorder to counteract this fear, think of the times when you were scared of doing something but did it anyway and were successful.

  8. Avatar of Lucia Lopez

    Personally, when I was overweight and out of shape many years ago, I had the limiting belief that I did not have the willpower to get fit and I believed that I had a certain body type that prevented me from being fit and strong. I challenged those beliefs, and this opened door for me to develop confidence in my ability to get in shape.

  9. Avatar of Brooke Carlson

    List your past successes and accomplishments. Most of us are hard on ourselves. We tend to recall our mistakes and failures more than our successes. You will be surprised how many things yo have accomplished, read it often and you are more capable than you realize.

  10. Avatar of Rosemarie Gibbs

    Rosemarie Gibbs

    If you want to be successful, self-belief is more important than intelligence , talent, background, or just about anything else. And people who have self-confidence and believe in themselves are healthier, happier , have better relationships and are more motivated and resilient. ?

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