Tools for Building Self Confidence

Self-confidence is an important element of a healthy personality. Having confidence in yourself empowers you to set new goals, take risks, and challenge yourself to accomplish things you may have never attempted. Keeping your self-confidence strong is an ongoing battle, but there are habits and tools you can include in daily life to stay on the winning side of this fight. Staying confident can often be the difference between success and failure.

Positive Thinking

• One of the simplest ways to keep your confidence up is letting go of negative and pessimistic thoughts. Instead of fretting about all the ways something can go wrong, or stressing about what might happen if you fail, focus your energy on the positive outcome of your efforts. Even a failed effort is a learning experience, so do what you can to keep yourself in a positive mindset. Remind yourself of your good qualities and the strengths that can help you pull through a tough challenge.

Exercise and Diet

• Your physical appearance can have a large impact on your self-confidence. Join a gym or pick up some workout DVDs and make a habit of exercising each week and monitoring your diet. You will find that eating better and getting physical improve the way you feel about yourself and over time will have a positive effect on your physical appearance. If you are out of shape, start small and work your way up -- even a quick walk around the block can clear your head and help you burn some calories.

Goal Setting

• If you want to change your life for the better, you will need to start setting goals. Create short-term and long-term goals, and make sure they are attainable and realistic. For example, if you want to lose 50 pounds this year, you will need to lose about 4 pounds per month. When you break that down to 1 pound per week, the goal is easier to track. Every little success pushes you closer to your big goal and increases your confidence in yourself. Use the SMART system: Set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.

Mantras

• The idea of a mantra may seem silly, but mantras can go a long way toward improving your confidence on a daily basis. A simple mantra helps put your mind in the right place for a day of productive work. Avoid mantras that seek specific outcomes and find one that you can say each morning and then follow through on. For example, "Today I will make $100" cannot be guaranteed, but "Today I will work as hard as I can" is something you can back up with your actions.