4 Simple Methods to Boost Your Self Confidence

What is ‘self-confidence’? There is probably no one particular definition of this. For one person, it may be about being confident while being in social settings and for another person; it may be having the courage to address a public gathering. Someone else may feel that being self-confident is to have the courage to go and speak up to someone that they like. Some people also tend to say that self-confidence centers on being assertive and is about standing up for oneself. In short, we may say that self-confidence is a person’s feeling of trust in his own abilities, self-assurance, or just not being nervous in certain situations.

Self-confidence plays an important role in our everyday life. It directly affects our behavior and our actions at home or in the public every day. People with high self-confidence are more in control of their lives. It also reflects in their general attitude towards life and your surroundings. Lack of self-confidence can create problems in your life as it can make you powerless. It has the potential to make you counterproductive by affecting your self-esteem. And most importantly, it can hamper your relationships with others.

So, how do you boost your self-confidence?

Here are several methods where you can boost your self-confidence within 7 minutes a day. Make it a daily ritual to use any of these methods so that you can shoot up your self-confidence before stepping out of the house.

Method 1: Visualizations

Visualization is a great way to increase your self-confidence. And it is an easy one. It helps you boost your self-esteem from the inside out which in turn, gives a boost to your self-confidence. Of course, you will have to be a bit creative in visualizing yourself and a situation. Here are the steps to boost your confidence through visualization.

1. Close your eyes and think of a time when you were confident in the past. It may be even a very small situation.

2. See every small detail associated with that incident. See, hear and feel all those details. Relive those feelings.

3. Once you have relived those feelings, magnify those feelings, until you feel that these feelings are taking over.

4. Now, gently press your index finger with your thumb. This step is called anchoring. You can reinforce this anchor multiple times.

This ‘anchoring’ plays a significant role in boosting your confidence and self-esteem. Whenever you are in a situation where you want your confidence to be at a maximum level, all you need to do is just apply this anchor.

Method 2: Incantations

What is an incantation? For a start, it is more than just an affirmation. It is a simple combination of posture, visualization exercises, focusing and saying something in a loud voice. Here is how you do it.

1. Visualize a scenario which involves yourself as a character with a belief you want to build up. For example, if you want to build up the trait of capability, visualize a future where you are successful.

2. Visualize the following in detail: Now that you are successful, where are you? What are you doing? How are you walking? How are you talking to others? What is your posture? And so on.

3. Emulate all these actions NOW, as if you are already successful and in that future position.

4. Once you have started emulating all those future actions in the present, you start chanting an affirmation, loud and clear.

5. Remember that an affirmation should be positive, assertive and in the present tense. Remember that you are already successful now.

Why do incantations? Incantations are known to be very powerful and helpful in creating powerful beliefs. Making it a daily routine for a few weeks will take your self-confidence to a whole new level.

Method 3: Change your body posture

Here is a very simple way to reduce stress anxiety and boost your confidence. All it takes is just 2 minutes a day and it works immediately.

Did you know that according to research by Harvard University, University of Oregon and the University of Texas, powerful leaders tend to have higher levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol? Did you also know that your body language affects your testosterone and cortisol levels? While a higher level of testosterone boosts confidence, lower levels of cortisol decrease anxiety and improve your ability to cope up with stress.

Hence in this method, you just need to change your posture, that’s all. And it is very simple. There are certain body positions called the ‘power poses’. According to Amy Cuddy of Harvard University, the power poses are classified into ‘high power’ and ‘low power’ poses. In general, low power poses are closed and guarded while high power poses are more open and relaxed. Some of the high power poses include hands on the hips while standing straight, planting your hands on the table while leaning forward, leaning back with your hands clasped behind your head or even stretching your arms over your head in a V shape.

Method 4: Use the right music

Did you know that the right kind of music can shoot up your self-confidence? There are certain artists and genres of music that can immediately lift your mood giving an instant boost to your confidence, while some genres can drag you down into depression. Listen to the former genres and avoid the latter ones. If you feel like it, crank up the music and dance to it. Before you know, you will be beaming with self-confidence.

Tip: The song ‘Eye of the tiger’ has always been my favorite song whenever I feel low. It gives me an instant boost of energy and confidence. You can listen to similar uplifting songs.

Bonus Method: Cherish your accomplishments

This may not seem much, but it really helps in giving a huge boost to your self-esteem and self-confidence. Note down all your past accomplishments and all the compliments you have received. You may feel that they are not much but in reality, they are important. Your past accomplishments and compliments you have received show that you are capable of achieving big feats. This automatically boosts your confidence in your future endeavors.

While these methods take less than a few minutes a day to practice, it is imperative that you make it a daily ritual to practice them until you feel more confident about yourself and your abilities.