At Moonshot Pirates, we always say #thinkbig, #daretolearn, and #takeaction, but that might seem a little impossible to do if you don’t trust in yourself. It takes a certain level of believe in oneself to believe in one’s ideas and in one’s chances of success. So working on your confidence is a great place to start if you feel a little overwhelmed by life and its possibilities.
How to Gain Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is a quality consisting of self-esteem and trust in one’s own abilities. It is knowing that you’re worthy simply because you are who you are, and you know what you’re capable of.
To develop self-confidence, you need to internalize those beliefs. That might mean faking it till you make it, but in this context, that’s perfectly acceptable. Our beliefs are strongly influenced by our behavior. If we behave as if we are confident and as if we believe in ourselves, we’ll slowly start developing confidence.
What does confident behavior look like? Here are a couple of examples you can try out:
Signs of Confident Behavior
- Speaking loudly and clearly: It’s often a sign of nerves and lack of self-esteem, if you mumble or barely raise your voice above a whisper. See what your talking patterns are and if you can make any improvements to come across more self-assured than you might feel.
- Listening as much as you speak: It’s not confident to be arrogant or a know-it-all, nor it is confident to hide yourself and become a wall flower. Instead, it shows confident to give others room to share their thoughts and to respond to them on eye-level. Confident communication is an equal back-and-forth.
- Moving with ease: Nothing expresses confidence like a laidback, relaxed attitude. Whatever situation you’re in, try to release tension in your body by breathing deeply and relaxing your muscles. It will immediately ease your mind and radiate more confidence.
- Minding your body language: How we move and position ourselves has a big influence on how others perceive us and how we feel and think about ourselves. Although doing a full-on power pose might not be the best idea, perhaps keep them in mind when you move.
- Taking care of your well-being: You’ll feel a stronger sense of worth if you treat yourself as if you were valuable. If you always put others’ needs before your own and allow others to treat you disrespectfully, you’re not going to feel as worthy as you should.
These are all small things you can practice on a daily basis. You might not feel the effects of such a practice immediately, but over time it adds up and you’ll start to feel more at home in your own skin.
Exercises for Boosting Your Confidence
If you want to tackle this matter a bit more heads-on, here are some exercises you can try out to boost your confidence and make you feel better about yourself.
- Pursue a hobby you love and practice it as often as possible. Feeling confident in one thing will positively impact your overall confidence.
- Create a list of 3-5 things you are grateful or like about yourself every single day. You’ll start to appreciate yourself more and find qualities and strengths you might not otherwise have been aware of.
- Write a love letter to yourself where you list all your qualities and give yourself lots of appreciation. Write it in third person and don’t hold back. This is a great exercise for times when you feel down.
- Spend time on your own. The more comfortable you are being alone with yourself, the more comfortable you will be being yourself around others.
- Challenge yourself. Expanding your comfort zone will also increase your confidence as it makes you more aware of your capabilities and strengthens your courage. You don’t have to exaggerate. Start with small challenges and then build your confidence and comfort zone from there.
At Moonshot Pirates we are in daily contact with so many people from all over the world, and as of yet, we haven’t met anyone who isn’t great just because of who they are. Still, many struggle with feeling like they’re not enough. We can only say: YOU ARE ENOUGH! Just the way you are. #believeinyourself.
Do you like to work on your confidence and are you between 15 and 19 years old? Then check out our Global Peer MentorSHIP program designed to help you set your goals high, overcome any obstacles, build a confidence and find your purpose in life. All of that in an international peer group of other young people and with the guidance of a kickass mentor.
