You should not feel bad if self-confidence doesn't just ooze out of your pores. Lots of people have experiences that lead them to become self-conscious and to think less of themselves than they should. We are all influenced by different things, but we can all feel down sometimes and somehow it's always easier to be more critical of ourselves than we are of others. Comparison, however, are a bad idea. They lead to feelings of inadequacy, leaving us feeling like we should be something we never can.
These seven tips are written to help you see that you have worth just how you are. What needs to change is your attitude and your self-perception.
1. Practice looking confident. Get away from those pessimistic thoughts just long enough to work on displaying yourself in a way that looks confident—whether you feel like it or not. Hold your shoulders back and your head up. Look up with your head held high; don't stare at the ground or ponder your shoelaces. Sometimes all it takes is acting confident to be confident.
2. Stop subscribing to Cosmo and all of those fashion magazines unless you are willing to accept that those models and celebrities are totally airbrushed. Not even the models look like that. Fancy lighting and heavy makeup can make anyone look good. Your friends and family don't love you because you look like a model. So you don't have to hate yourself for not looking like one.
3. Devote your spare time to a new hoppy. Get involved with something that interests you and has the potential to make you feel better about yourself. Learn military self defense at a self defense training course. Or, if it's easier start training with a Self Defense DVD. Take a cooking class, enroll in a pottery or photography class. Learn a new language or learn to play a new instrument. But do something to expand your horizons.
4. Set new goals and track your progress. Start small if you need to or plan big. Save money for that vacation you always wanted to take or write that play you've had bouncing around in your brain for the past 5 years.
5. Challenge yourself to do something good for yourself every day. Meditate, take a walk, read a new book, cook yourself a healthy meal—do whatever you need to relax.
6. Look for ways to change your perspective and be the kind of person you admire. Journal your thoughts and write down what you like about yourself. Then write down things that you want to be able to say about yourself and look for ways to be more patient, funny, bold, free, honest, and loyal. Imitate the characteristics you admire in the people you love. And be brave enough to say out loud what you like about yourself.
7. Take time to think about the really big, important things. Believe in something bigger you are and realize that the world doesn't depend on you being America's Next Top Model to get something of value from your life.
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