confidence exercises

9 Effective Confidence Exercises That Improve Self Esteem

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“Nobody is born with self-confidence”, says Denis Waitley, a famous U.S. motivational speaker, consultant, and writer.

If a person seems to have unbelievable self-confidence, it’s because they’ve worked on it for years. Self-confidence is something you build gradually. It’s an ongoing process that never ends.

A negative review online, a flat rejection by investors, or a refund request from a customer can all make our self-confidence plummet. Well-meaning but sometimes critical comments from our loved ones can also knock our self-belief.

What’s more, we have to confront our own inner critic that continually tells us we aren’t good enough. When overwhelmed by so many things that jeopardize our self-confidence, we must take responsibility for building it up ourselves.

Here are nine effective confidence exercises you can try in order to improve your self-esteem:

Accept Yourself

You’re one unique individual on this planet. It’s important to not blame yourself over things you can’t do well.

Instead of grumbling about your weaknesses, do some self confidence exercises to make your life better. Want to learn a new skill? Enroll at your community college.

Accept who you are.

Think about What’s Impacting Your Self-Esteem

We all have different things that affect our self-esteem.

Your confidence may have gone down after a series of bad life experiences or one particularly difficult experience, such as:

  • Being abused or bullied
  • Ongoing stress
  • Difficulty finding employment or losing your job
  • Mental health problems
  • Physical illness
  • A difficult divorce, separation, or relationship

Or you might have had self-esteem issues for as long as you can recall. If so, it can be difficult to know how exactly you feel and apply changes to tackle your low self-confidence.

Whatever the cause, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ve got the right to be happy about whom you really are. It can be hard to stop bad habits, but you can try confidence building exercises to feel good about yourself, one step at a time.

Learn How to Be Assertive

When you’re not your own biggest fan, it’s easy to think that other people hold the same view.

You may find yourself bending over backward to assist others because that’s the only way people will like you. If your gesture isn’t appreciated, it might make you feel even worse.

Good deeds are always welcome, but going out of your way to please people may leave you without enough energy to work on yourself, which can impact your mental health.

You can try these self esteem exercises to boost your confidence:

  • Learn to turn down requests: think twice before agreeing to do anything you’d rather not
  • Take responsibility for your own decisions
  • Set boundaries around what you do for others

You may find it hard to ditch these habits at first, but making some changes to become more assertive can be liberating. And it becomes easier the more times you do it.

Work Out

Apart from being beneficial to your overall health, working out improves focus, helps with memory retention, relieves stress, and keeps depression at bay.

It’s more difficult to be anxious if there’s no extra energy to expend. Aside from being difficult and sometimes uncomfortable, exercise improves every area of your life.

So get moving and find time to look after yourself.

Dress Sharp

“When you look great, you feel great”, goes a popular saying. This old saying has plenty of truth in it.

When you dress well, it has a good physiological effect, leading to improved interactions with others. You’ll also notice changes in how you conduct yourself, which boosts your comfort level in everyday situations.

Dressing sharp is a simple and instant way to up your confidence, according to various studies.

Talk to Others

It’s important to talk to other successful individuals to get a better take on your life. Listening to their achievements and challenges can make all the difference in helping you feel better about yourself.

You also can learn how to overcome the hurdles in your life.

Reflect on Your Future

Take your time to really think about what you want to achieve in life. Live your life for yourself, not for others.

Spend plenty of energy and time thinking about what you want out of life. After determining what you want to achieve, put it down on paper and use it as inspiration.

Focus on the Positives in Your Life

You may automatically believe you aren’t good at something. Well, did you know this can stop you from trying new things or doing things you love? This can make you feel even worse about yourself.

You should try to:

Accept compliments. Take note of them and refer to them when you start doubting yourself.

Celebrate your successes and don’t downplay them. Regardless of how minor they may appear to you, find time to pat yourself on the back and think about what you excelled in.

Write down what you admire about yourself. This might include aspects of your appearance, your personality, and what you love doing. If this is difficult for you, ask a family member or friend to help you out.

Fake It to Make It

You’ve heard this term before, haven’t you? Well, this mantra is very relevant when it comes to your own self-confidence.

If you get into a situation where you’re not very confident or you’re vulnerable, this is the best time to turn on your fake-it-till-you-make-it attitude. Use the traits of confident individuals and get through your immediate situation.

At that moment, find a role model you consider as confident and charismatic, be it a movie star, a character, or someone you’ve felt safe around before.

In time, these habits will become second nature to you and will certainly pay off.

Try These Confidence Exercises Today

Building your self-confidence and self-esteem requires time, patience, and trial-and-error on your part. Try to be more realistic and fair on yourself, and you’ll be amazed by the results. All the best!

For additional information about self confidence exercises, be sure to check out the useful posts on our blog!

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7 Simple Steps to Improve Confidence at Work

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Today’s corporate environment is a tough one. Amid generational differences (let’s face it, Boomers and Millennials don’t always see eye-to-eye), a recovering economy in which every dollar counts, and fancy new technology, it can seem almost impossible to keep up… much less get ahead.

If the tough workplace has dented your confidence, despair not: there are countless ways to strengthen your self-esteem and get noticed by superiors. To learn how to be more confident at work, read on for our 7 helpful tips.

Tip #1: Get Personal

It’s difficult to project confidence in a room full of strangers. So, make them not strangers. Each week, aim to chit-chat with one or two colleagues (or better yet, bosses.)

Keep it light, too: don’t waste precious time talking about project deadlines or fiscal year end budgets. Ask about hobbies, pets, how they like their coffee…anything to break down those walls.

As you reach a more intimate level with your colleagues, you’ll find it much easier to present in meetings and broach new ideas. You’ll find that others begin to look up to you, as you’re their new friend who showed interest in them.

Tip #2: How to Be More Confident at Work? Dress & Act the Part

No matter what you’re feeling inside, no one will take you seriously if your shoulders are slumped or your clothes look sloppy. You must dress and act the part in order to gain approval.

Consider investing in wardrobe enhancements; a black blazer is classic and professional. If your hair tends to look wild, by all means, pin it back. When speaking in meetings or with superiors, look them in the eye and project your voice.

The workplace is one place where outside appearances do make a difference. You’ll feel better about yourself, and that confidence will radiate outwards.

Tip #3: Humble-Brag About Your Accomplishments

Trust us: everyone else is bragging about themselves, so why shouldn’t you? The key is to be charming about it. Don’t stand around the break room and boast about the money you just saved the firm.

Instead, consider a weekly or monthly recap to the right people – your boss, for one – highlighting your biggest achievements in recent days. This will come in handy for year-end performance reviews, anyway, and it gives you a chance to ponder and record all the reasons you should feel accomplished (and confident!)

Tip #4: Chin Up, Dear

If you’re worried about how to be more confident at work, listen closely: the way you take, and implement, constructive criticism, is crucial to the way you’re perceived in the workplace.

Let’s say your boss pulls you into her office and says, “Great work on that marketing plan, but I think slide 3 leaves a lot to be desired. The data isn’t convincing. Let’s revamp it by end of today, okay?”

So you leave her office a bit wounded, and you have two options: the non-confident approach is to sit at your desk, shoulders slumped, stressed that you’re getting demoted, and stare at slide 3 for thirty minutes in a pit of despair.

The very confident approach? Take a deep breath, realize you’re not perfect, grab a cup of coffee, and fix slide 3. See the criticism from her point of view, and look at it with another set of eyes.

We can guarantee your superiors recognize this type of behavior, and it won’t go unnoticed when they think about your performance at year-end.

Tip #5: Build Your Skillset

To build confidence at work, build your skill toolkit, too! This means the active pursuit of certifications or academic degrees; conferences and CPE (continuing professional education); or even online skill-building classes, like a new data analytics tool.

Start by identifying both your weaknesses (public speaking, anyone?) and your future career interests. Outline those areas where you want or need development, and try to tackle a few.

The best part? Many companies reimburse employees for certifications and classes that relate to their daily job functions. That’s a benefit not to be overlooked!

Tip #6: And Then Put Those Skills on Display

What use is a toolkit of killer skills if you don’t demonstrate them? Remember, we encouraged you to humble brag, and this is the perfect time to do it.

Once you’ve taken that new data analytics course, take the initiative to set up a “lunch and learn” or other training opportunities for your colleagues. Stand tall, and proudly demonstrate all that you’ve learned.

The benefits are multi-faceted: not only will the company benefit by your sharing knowledge with others, but your confidence at work will skyrocket because suddenly, you’ll be a subject matter expert. Which is to say, a pro.

Tip #7: Lead Before You’re Asked

Don’t expect a confidence-building promotion to come at you by surprise. Many organizations expect employees to act like leaders before they get the official designation (and the pay raise!)

Ask your boss if there are training opportunities you can lead (for example, interns or new hires) or if there are additional projects that you can spearhead in your free time. This might be as simple as an Excel macro to automate a calculation, or a team outing so everyone can get to know the new joiner.

The extra leadership might require a bit of overtime here or there, but you’re working to build your future career, right? That takes hustle.

You Do Have the Power to Increase Your Confidence at Work

No matter your background or circumstances, you have the necessary resources to improve your self-esteem at work. Why? Because you are the only resource needed.

Take initiative, share your accomplishments, build your skill set, look the part: it’s all key to standing out (in a good way!) in the workplace.

For more tips on staying confident at work and home, check out the rest of our site. One day at a time, you can overcome the self-esteem and learn how to be more confident at work. We’re here to help!