If you are one of the few and far between lucky ones who are born with confidence...hooray! But the reality is that the vast majority of the human population is not born with self-confidence. And if you ask those people in your life who have self-confidence about their confidence, I bet they will tell you that they have worked on it over time to build it up. Confidence is a skill that can be self-taught with a little bit of determination and intention.

I personally feel that I am a much more confident person today than what I was five years ago but I also know that I have a long way to go in terms of feeling like a fully confident person. Below I share my point of view on a few topics surrounding confidence and actions I have incorporated into my life that have helped me build my confidence.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Having clear knowledge on your strengths and weaknesses is part of being fully aware of who you are and being fully aware of who you are goes hand in hand with confidence. Learning what your strengths and weaknesses are takes time, attention and patience. Once you know your strengths work on nurturing them – if writing is one of your strengths then start a blog and work on perfecting your strength. If public speaking is one of your weaknesses but you would like to turn that into a strength then spend time working on your public speaking but do not spend more time on improving your weaknesses than on nurturing your strengths. Remember, always play to your strengths.

Thoughts

People have thousands of thoughts each day and unfortunately most of them are not positive. This is where awareness comes into play again, you need to be aware of your thoughts and keep those negative thoughts in check. I know we cannot completely get rid of negative thoughts because they are part of our nature, however, once we become aware of our thoughts we can shift those negative thoughts into positive ones. This may be hard at first but this is a skill that takes practice and I promise you that this exercise will become easier over time.

Gratitude

Showing gratitude every single day will instantly boost your confidence because it will ground you and make you think about the great things you have going on in your life. Many of these great things are easily overlooked because most of the time we think it is normal. For example, the coffee (or tea) you drink in the morning this is a simple action we take every day, but the truth is that we have to be grateful for that simple action since there are millions or even billion of people on this earth who do not have that privilege day in and day out.

Knowledge

Read, watch and listen! I am a firm believer that knowledge and confidence go hand in hand. Read books, watch videos and listen to podcasts. Like mentioned earlier, confidence is a skill that is built over time and gaining knowledge about your interests or learning about techniques to strengthen your weaknesses or listening to people who have overcome their fears will inject so much positive energy into your mind that it will overtime build your confidence and make you see life in a newer and more positive light.

Health

Keeping yourself healthy both physically and mentally is a foundational element in boosting your confidence. So, in short, exercise regularly, eat healthy, drink lots of water, get a good night’s sleep and laugh every single day!

How have you boosted you confidence and what tips can you share with those who are working on theirs?