Lasting, deep, real, and true confidence cannot be attained by anything outside yourself. In reality, confidence is the ultimate inside job. Thankfully, though, there are ways to build or cultivate your inner self-image to boost your confidence and, in essence, build deeply rooted, positive self-confidence. Read on to learn more about how to create a radiant self-image through confidence:
What is a Confidence Level or Self Image?
Before looking deeper into tips on how to build a self-image, it’s first important to define what it means. Self-image relates to the inner picture you have of yourself. It can include feelings about both the internal and external self. It is how you fit into the world and how you interact with others. This impacts interactions throughout life and can significantly affect your success due to your willingness to trust yourself in various situations. Therefore, having a good self-image or positive confidence level is immensely important in living a life of wellness.
Set Smart Goals
One way to cultivate confidence is by working towards and reaching goals, even small ones. These should be SMART goals, meaning they are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It should be a specific goal. For example, suppose you want to become more assertive. In that case, your goal should be to become better at expressing your opinions at work, as opposed to a goal of “being more assertive” in general, which cannot be evaluated.
Make sure your goals are measurable so you can tell if you are making progress, and also be realistic so that they are achievable. Do you have the skills necessary to achieve your goal? Does it line up with your overall goal to improve your confidence, etc.? Lastly, set a time limit on your goal. It is difficult to evaluate your progress on a goal if there is no time limit set. Therefore, set a time frame, such as a few months, for you to reevaluate and consider if you are making progress towards your goals. Once you see that you are progressing or even achieving some of what you set out to accomplish, your confidence will improve.
Look For and Replace Negative Habits
Another aspect of cultivating confidence and improving your self-image includes identifying negative habits that might be undermining your progress. Habits, of course, are actions that you have done so often that they have become virtually automatic. When these habits are healthy and productive, that’s great. When they aren’t, it can really throw a wrench in the works in terms of your confidence-building goal.
A good example of a bad habit to work on is tending to mumble greetings or avoid making eye contact when you enter a room full of people you don’t know. This behavior can become ingrained so much that you no longer even realize you are doing it. However, you are setting yourself up for failure when entering a room in that manner. Therefore, this would be a good example of a negative habit you can identify and then replace with a more positive one, such as making eye contact with at least three people and introducing yourself to someone when in this situation.
Develop New Skills, Keep Learning
Confidence is closely tied to our skill set, what we feel confident doing, or what we feel we understand well. Therefore, another way to expand your confidence and self-image is by embracing a new skill or continuing to learn more about a current one. This can include signing up for a cooking class and purchasing some amazing cookware to implement your skills, joining a class at the gym, or taking a night class on a topic of interest at your local college. You can even combine an area of particular vulnerability with learning a new skill. For example, if you struggle to speak in front of a crowd, you can take a class on public speaking. It’s baptism by fire to be sure, but you will come out of it knowing you can do something you thought you couldn’t do before.
Practice whatever skill you learn in real-world situations (if possible). However, even if you don’t practice it in your social circles or when at work, simply knowing a new skill and getting good at something can be very beneficial when building confidence in all aspects of life. Consider the skill of karate, for example. The idea is to never have to actually use it, but the confidence it will build in you, knowing that you can defend yourself physically, is immense. Not to mention the fact that getting in better shape (as you would when taking karate, a class in the gym, or a self-defense class) can help you boost your confidence as well and even give you an excuse to buy some new clothes.
Learn to Manage Emotions
Your emotional intelligence involves your ability or inability to manage stress, build relationships, empathize with others, and overcome challenges. If you struggle with your emotions, it can be difficult to trust yourself to do the right thing, say the right thing, or handle a situation correctly when taking action. Therefore, if you tend to lose control of your emotions by flying off the handle or getting emotionally overwhelmed with stress, you need to learn how to manage your emotions better to build confidence and trust yourself more.
Improving your emotional intelligence will allow you to handle your emotions and alter the impact your emotions have on your behavior and thoughts. It can even help you control impulsive feelings and manage those strong emotions instead of becoming overwhelmed. There are many ways to go about building better emotional intelligence, from journaling and counseling to relaxation methods and learning how to self-soothe. You should find what works for you to address your emotional intelligence level and improve it, if need be, to further cultivate confidence.
Take Care of Yourself & Reach Out
Last but certainly not least, in order to cultivate confidence through a radiant self-image, you must make sure you are taking care of yourself. This means eating properly, resting the ideal amount, and exercising. All these can impact your self-confidence, and improving your self-care can boost your mood, energy, and overall confidence. Therefore, make an appointment for a massage, get into a new fitness routine, get a new hairstyle, and take the time that you need to reconnect with yourself. Reach out to others if you feel lost in knowing what you need. Get involved in a religious group or volunteer your time to help your community. It’s amazing how helping others will not only make you feel better but will create confidence as well in that you are making a difference and you matter. It gives you a purpose.
Megan Isola
Megan Isola holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and a minor in Business Marketing from Cal State University Chico. She enjoys going to concerts, trying new restaurants, and hanging out with friends.