Regardless of where you are in your journey, you can work on your confidence with these seven tips.
Use positive self-talk.
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Who is the one person that is going to be in your head in every situation for the rest of your life? You are. You can support, encourage, challenge and push yourself. Or you can doubt and limit yourself. We suggest you go with the first option.
Start monitoring your inner thoughts, and if you hear yourself say something negative, restructure the message to be hopeful, strong and positive. Work on building yourself up everyday with your self-talk.
Take care of yourself.
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The first step to feeling better about yourself might be one of the most obvious, but we can't stress it enough—you need to take exceptional care of yourself.
Figure out which healthy habits help you feel your best. We suggest your start by improving your sleep, consuming quality nutrition (think less processed foods), committing to a regular workout schedule and cutting back on any unnecessary stress in your life. Even little things like taking a long shower or doing your hair your favorite way can give you the extra confidence to tackle the day when you're feeling low.
Practice gratitude.
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Being thankful changes your attitude. Plain and simple. No matter what is going on, or what is wrong, there is always something to be grateful and thankful for. If your job is getting you down, try and focus on the fact that you're blessed to be working and to have a steady paycheck. If you feel bad about your body, try to appreciate that it's healthy and free of major disease.
You simply must train yourself to start thinking about the good, instead of the bad. You'll feel much more confident if you can consistently practice thankfulness no matter what's going on.
Use strong body language.
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Starting paying attention to how you walk, the expressions on your face and where your eyes are focused. What is your body language suggesting about you? Often times we can use strong body language to help ourselves snap out of unhelpful thought patterns.
If you're going into a situation where you want to feel incredibly confident, then act confident, regardless of what you feel, and you'll improve your chances. Practice keeping your shoulders back and down, your eyes forward, your face relaxed and your breathing calm.
Challenge yourself.
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The more regularly you face things that are "uncomfortable," the more confident you'll feel in those scenarios. Seek out challenges and try to regulary face things that you feel unsure about, scared of or nervous to do. Embrace the opportunity to learn about yourself and try new things.
Again, the more regularly you can face discomfort, the more confidence you'll have when you are feeling anxious, fearful or timid during important events, meetings and even workouts.
Spend time with people who lift you up.
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Positive, supportive relationships can help you feel like you're more able to accomplish what you want in the gym and in life. Surround yourself only with people that help you stay motivated and remind you of your strengths. These should be people that always build you up when you're feeling down.
Prepare.
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In situations where you don't feel confident, set yourself up to win. Prepare your mind before you start. Remind yourself why you're doing it, what you want out of it and what you need to do to perform well and enjoy yourself. This way your attention is on the variables that matter to you. If you don't take the time to do this, you'll find yourself feeling unfocused and unprepared, which will probably affect your confidence.
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