The number one thing that people are struggling out here: is lack of self-confidence. The boomers, millenials, the zoomers – all of them are everywhere on the internet asking, “How can I build my confidence?”
Well, in my opinion, realizing that you should work on your self-confidence is the first step to building your confidence. Because…it shows that you are getting aware of yourself. And you are taking the step of becoming a player in your own-self, and not a victim.
There are however 3 things that I believe you can do to build, hone and strengthen your self-confidence.
1. Read
If you want to start building your confidence, the number one thing that should be on your checklist – is reading. Now, you might be asking, “Why should I read? I left college long time ago.”
Here is why you should read. Knowledge. When you read, explore and learn new things (or even expound on your existing knowledge) – you get to go beyond your space. Think of when you can hold a detailed and long conversation with someone (or a group of friends) about a specif topic you know. It subconsciously lets you realize that you are of value. And that’s where your self-confidence starts to level up.
And there are tons of places where you can read nowadays. There is the internet. I understand the internet has a lot of things (bad and good). If you however have the discipline to explore good things, you will be doing justice to yourself.
If you cannot take control of yourself over the internet, go to the public library. This is even a good option – because you can meet good people there. And you might just build lifetime relationships therein (romantic or business).
If you cannot read text, you can opt to listen or watch. There are good podcasts and tv shows nowadays that have tons of resources where you can learn from. The thing is – you got tons of options. No excuses. Go and feed your mind.
2. Build and Develop a Skill, Hobby or a Passion
The one confidence killer to 99% of people, is when they feel like nothing is going on in their life. They feel like they are of no value even to their immediate surrounding.
If you are in this situation, you got to wake up and change things. Can you recall something that you used to do when you were a kid? And probably neglected as you grew up? That could be your passion. You can do something to rekindle your old happy self. If you used to play a guitar, sign in for guitar classes in your area. Borrow a guitar from a friend – or even buy one if you can. Do whatever you can to start following your passion.
If you do not have an existing passion or skill or hobby, you can learn one. And this is even why you should focus on the first point above. Because reading and learning new things can give you tons of options to grow. Lucky for my generation today, we can learn from different available resources and platforms. If you cannot follow the traditional ways of learning (going to a physical class with a physical teacher), you can opt to take online classes. Go to Udemy, Coursera – buy a course. Start learning from home at your own preferred time, and build your passions and skills at your own pace.
The good thing about building and developing a passion – is that you might even turn it to a business. I will talk about that in a later article. For now…let’s get to my third point.
3. Hang Around with Positive People
It’s all about taking control of all aspects of your life. What you eat, what you read, and more importantly- who you hang out with.
Because I will tell you the truth – from a personal experience and from the knowledge in the public domain. Positive people will bring a positive vibe to your life. Negative people on the flip side, will bring a negative vibe to your life. Where do you want to be? You definitely want to be on the former – hanging out with positive, like-minded people.
When it comes to building a circle of positive friends, you want to be with people you can share your dreams, passions, hobbies and skills with. People you can grow together with.
Let’s say from example you play a guitar or do music. When you have a circle of other musicians you can hang out with, it always changes everything. There is the feeling of bonding, resonating and learning from each other.
I don’t do music but I have a friend who does. When I talk with him about his music – I always feel the excitement and happiness over everything he is saying. Even when things don’t look to be going well, talking about his passion alone brings everything back to live. That is the power of building positive friendships, and hanging out with positive people.
Ladies and gentlemen, putting these 3 points into practice – is in my opinion the key to building your self-confidence.