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Confidence is a very tricky little thing. Feeling good about yourself is so easy to put at the will of others when it should only be up to you. The good news is that you're driving this self-assurance train and it's ready to depart from the station.

1. 1

   Look the part. If you know that you look like a confident, capable person, eventually you'll start to feel like a winner, too. You should dress how you feel best — not what you think confident is. Try these tricks:

   • Devote a little time each day to personal hygiene and making sure you're presenting yourself well. Shower daily, brush and floss your teeth, and groom your skin and hair.
   • Dress for confidence. You don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe to feel better in your clothes. As long as you're clean, comfortable, and feel good, you're set up for confidence! Remember, you look more confident when you are enjoying what you wear!
   • Be careful not to base your confidence on your outside appearance. Practice wearing clothes that make you feel unconfident for a whole day and try feeling confidence without basing it on appearance.
   • After all, you wouldn't wear a three-piece suit on a pizza delivery. If you think you look good, odds are you probably do.

2. 2

   Perfect your posture. How you carry yourself communicates a lot to other people, so make sure you're telling them that you're confident and in-charge. Keep your shoulders back, your spine straight, and your chin high. Walk with purpose instead of dragging your feet, and sit up straight. When you look like a confident person on the outside, you'll be approached as one by the world around you.

   • You won't only fool everyone else -- you'll fool yourself too. Recent research shows that the positioning of your body cues your mind to feel a certain way -- so positioning yourself confidently will make you genuinely feel in charge. And to top it off, having confident body language has been linked to lower levels of stress, too. ^[1]

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3. 3

   Smile. Keep your grin in easy reach -- you'd be surprised how even the smallest of smiles can disarm many a social situation and make everyone feel more comfortable. In fact, research shows that smiling reduces stress hormones in the brain. Can you imagine approaching someone who's scowling? No, thank you.

   • If you're worried your smile is fake, keep it small. A fake smile can be spotted from a mile away. On the other hand, if you're genuinely happy to see them -- or just happy for the chance to practice your new confidence skills -- flash those pearly white teeth.

4. 4

   Make eye contact. It's a subtle change, but it can work wonders on how other people perceive you. Don't be afraid to meet the gaze of someone else; it shows not only that you are a person worthy of communicating with, but it tells them you respect them, acknowledge their presence, and are interested in the conversation. You wouldn't want to be rude or disrespectful.

   • Our eyes are uniquely human. They are windows to the soul, if you will, and showcase our attention and feelings. By making eye contact, you will improve the quality of your interactions in addition to appearing more confident. In fact, you'll come off as more likeable and trustworthy and those who converse with you will feel more appreciated.^[2] If you can't do it for you, do it for them!

5. 5

   Have approachable body language. If you see a person huddled in the corner pretending to play games on their mobile phone, are you really going to come up and say hello? Probably not. If you want others to approach you, make sure you're approachable!

   • Keep your body open. If you have your arms and legs crossed, you're telling the world that you're not interested in welcoming them in. Same goes for your face and hands -- if it's clear you're preoccupied with something else (be it a thought or your iPhone), people will take the hint.
   • Don't be too self-conscious about your body language. When you start feeling confidence, you'll naturally start to improve your posture.^[3]

6. 6

   Hold your gaze. Now that you've got the eye contact thing down, it's time to put it into practice. Did you know that other people are just as shy about eye contact as you are? Try this out: make eye contact with someone and see who lasts longer. Do they avert their gaze before you? See?! They're uncomfortable too!

   • wikiHow isn't advocating staring someone down. Staring intensely at someone until they feel your gaze and shrink accordingly due to palpable awkwardness is not the goal. The goal is, however, to recognize that other people are just as nervous about you looking at them as you are about them looking at you. If you get caught, just smile. You're off the hook.

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1. 1

   Recognize your talents and good qualities and write them down. No matter how down you feel, try to pat yourself on the back a little and remember the things you excel at. Focusing on your better attributes will distract you from perceived flaws and boost your sense of worth. Think of your good qualities in looks, friendships, talents, and most of all, personality.

   • Think back on compliments from other people. What have they told you about you that you otherwise haven't noticed or acknowledged? Maybe they've remarked on your smile, or your ability to stay cool and collected in stressful situations.
   • Remember past accomplishments. It can be something other people recognized, like being at the top of your class, or something only you know about, like a quiet act of service to make life easier for someone else. Realize how great this was. You go!
   • Think about the qualities you try to cultivate. No one's perfect, but if you're actively trying to be an honorable, good person, give yourself some credit for effort. The fact that you think about bettering yourself at all says that you're humble and good-hearted, and those are positive attributes.
     • Now write down everything you can think of and refer back to it next time you're feeling down. Add to it as you remember more things you can take pride in doing.

2. 2

   Think of the obstacles that stand in the way of your confidence. ^[4] Take a piece of paper and write all the things that you think are keeping you from becoming confident, e.g., bad grades, introversion, not many friends, etc. Now ask yourself this: Is that valid or logical? Or are these just assumptions on my part? FYI, the answers are "no" and "yes," respectively. How in the world does it make sense that one thing determines your self-worth? It doesn't!

   • Here's an example: You didn't get good grades on your last math test, so as a result you're not confident when it comes to your next test. But ask yourself this: If you studied really hard, worked with the teacher, and prepared for the test, would you do better?! YES. That was just one event and has nothing to do with you. You have absolutely ZERO reasons not to be confident.

3. 3

   Remember that everyone struggles with confidence. Some people are good at hiding it, but nearly every person has struggled with his or her self-confidence at one point.^[5] You're not alone! And if you can think of someone who's confident, odds are there's a situation they're not confident in. Confidence is rarely universal.

   • Here's a true fact for you: Most people are too preoccupied with how they appear to be constantly judging you. Ever notice how people love talking and looking in things that are even just barely reflective? 99% of people are inwardly focused. Breathe a sigh of relief and recognize that you don't have to be perfect all the time.
   • Stop comparing yourself with everyone else. Not everything is a competition, and viewing life that way will wear you out. You don't have to be the smartest, prettiest, most popular person in order to be happy. If you have a strong competitive streak that you can't completely ignore, try competing with yourself instead and strive to keep getting better.

4. 4

   See confidence as a process, not a singular achievement. Having confidence isn't a finish line you cross once, and the process won't always move forward — there will be days when you feel like you're starting from square one. Take a deep breath, remember the self-confidence hurdles you've already cleared, and resolve to keep going. In the toughest of times, it is good to make it your duty to pat yourself on the back even if you didn't do anything.

   • Odds are you won't really realize you're confident until you already are. Was there a day you realized you were smart, funny, resourceful, or punctual? Probably not. So if you don't see immediate changes, know that it's just because you're too close to the painting. Can't see the forest through the trees, type of thing. You get it.

5. 5

   Remember you were born with it. No, it's not Maybelline. When you popped out of your mother's womb, you didn't really care who heard you crying or how soft your head was. You just were. It was society that pointed a finger at you and made you feel as if you had to measure up. It was learned. You know what they say about learned things? They can be unlearned.

   • Tap into that confidence that you were born with. It's there, it's just buried under years of exposure to praise, threats, and perceived judgments. Take everyone else out of the picture. They don't matter. They have nothing to do with you. "You" is good. "You" exists apart from any other judgment.

6. 6

   Get out of your head. A lack of confidence has nothing to do with the external world, so you have to get out of your head. If you catch yourself having an inner dialogue, just stop. The world is swirling around you -- swirl with it. The only moment that exists is now. Don't you want to be a part of it?^[6]

   • So much of the world exists outside your head (if we're going with the assumption that reality is as it seems). Constantly thinking about what you feel or look like takes you out of the moment. Practice not thinking about the past or the future. Concentrate on what's in front of you -- there's probably something exciting about it.

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1. 1

   Embrace your interests. If there's a sport or hobby you've always wanted to be good at, now's the time! Improving your skills will reinforce that you are talented, and subsequently boost your confidence. Learn a musical instrument or a foreign language, take up an art form like painting, start building projects—whatever it is that catches your interest.

   • Don't get discouraged if you're not immediately awesome. Remember that learning is a process, and you're in it for the small victories and the relaxing recreation time, not to be the best ever.
   • Take up a hobby you can do with a group. Finding like-minded people who share your interests can be an easy way to make friends and build confidence. Look around your community for groups you can join, or find kinship with fellow hobbyists.

2. 2

   Talk to strangers. Straight up, confidence is more than just a state of mind -- it's habit. That's all humans really are. So in order to be confident, you've gotta do confident things. One of those is making conversation with strangers. It's intimidating at first, but with each time you'll be more and more unfazed.

   • No, that won't creep strangers out unless you're a smelly, aggressive Quasimodo-looking KKK member. If someone says, "Hey!", smiles at you, and asks you whether they should go to Starbucks or Coffee Bean, how are you going to feel? Probably good. Everybody likes to be the hero, talk to other people, and be spontaneous.^[7] You're just brightening up their otherwise dull day.
   • You don't have opportunities, huh? How about the barista at your coffee shop? The girl at the check-out counter of your grocery store? Random strangers you pass on the street?

3. 3

   Don't over-apologize. Being able to say you're sorry is a good trait (and something too many people struggle with). However, be careful to say it only when necessary. Apologizing when you've slighted or inconvenienced someone is polite; apologizing when you haven't done anything wrong, though, can make you feel subordinate and like you should be sorry. Before it slips out of your mouth, take a second to make sure this is a situation that actually needs an apology from you.

   • Use workarounds. You can express your sympathy or regret without actually apologizing. For instance, if you're worried about inconveniencing someone, you could say "I hope this hasn't been too much trouble" instead of automatically reverting to "I'm sorry."
   • Apologizing needlessly makes you seem unsure of yourself. That doesn't make sense because you are inferior to no one. Why apologize if you didn't do anything wrong? After all, do you really mean it? And if you apologize all the time, it loses value. Being sorry for everything means you're sorry for nothing. Think of "I'm sorry" like "I love you." It should only be said with care.

4. 4

   Accept compliments gracefully. Don't just roll your eyes and shrug it off — own it! You deserved it! Make eye contact, smile, and say "thank you." Being nice about it when someone else wants to compliment you doesn't compromise your humility; it shows that you're polite and have a secure sense of self-worth.

   • Pay a compliment in return. If you're still uncomfortable taking compliments, try giving one back after you've accepted. This can help you feel like the score is "even" and you haven't been too prideful.

5. 5

   Build your confidence by helping others. Take time to pay someone else a compliment, or do an unannounced good deed. You'll brighten their day, and you'll feel better about yourself. When you become a source for positivity, others will seek to be around you, bolstering the good vibes.

   • Lots of people aren't good at receiving compliments. Odds are if you give someone one they'll respond with one in turn. Just make sure you mean it or they might respond skeptically -- "Hey, I really like that shirt you're wearing. Was it made in China?" might not get the best response.

6. 6

   Drop those who bring you down. It's hard to be confident in a group of people that you feel are constantly judging you. You could naturally be the most extroverted, loud, self-assured person, but with these people, you turn into a puppy dog that hasn't been cared for well enough. Those people need to be dropped like a bad habit. And now.

   • It's important that you surround yourself with others who you feel make you feel like you're the best version of you there could possibly be. It's only around these people that you'll be able to make the growth you want to (and can!) make.

7. 7

   Slow down. A lot of people don't do crowds. Even more people don't do public speaking. If you find yourself in one of these arenas, it's important to slow down. When we're nervous, we tend to speed up just to get everything over with. Don't do that. It's clue one that you're nervous. And you're cuing yourself that you're nervous too!

   • Point number one is breathe. When we take short, sharp breaths, we're cuing ourselves to fight or flight. Cut that out and you calm down a notch automatically. Humans aren't rocket science, luckily.
   • Point number two is to consciously slow down your actions. Think of a six-year-old on a sugar high -- that's you right now. Match your actions to your breathing. Bingo. Serenity.

8. 8

   Expect success. A lot of life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we think we'll fail, we don't really try as hard. When we think we're not good enough, we often act not good enough. If you expect success, you may just draw it out. Pessimism can actually undermine your abilities.^[8]

   • Right now you're probably saying, "I'm no accurate predictor of the future! Expecting success isn't logical -- weren't you just pushing logic a second ago?!" Well, yes, but think of it this way: you often expect failure, so why not expect success? They're both possible circumstances and in most, one is not more likely than the other.
   • Focus on what you want rather than what you don't want.

9. 9

   Take risks. Sometimes the only way out is through. In order to get good at life, you've gotta encounter experiences that force you to learn. You can't be awesome at it right off the bat. If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll never get better at...anything. You gotta take chances to grow.^[9]

   • Failure is inevitable. It always happens. And it doesn't matter. The only part that matters is that you get back up. Everyone experiences setbacks, but not everyone gets back up. It's the getting back up that builds confidence, and you've got to fail in the first place to do so.^[10]
   • Go out of your comfort zone to help you learn from experiences and grow more confident.

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Help Building Confidence

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• Question

  How can I boost my self esteem?

  

  Nicolette Tura is an Authentic Living Expert who operated her own wellness business for more than ten years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nicolette is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with a Psychology & Mindfulness Major, a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and is an expert in authentic living. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and got her master's degree in Sociology from SJSU. She constantly draws from her own wounds and challenges; with her training in the healing arts and sociology, she offers potent content, powerful meditations, and game-changing seminars on inspiring elevation on a personal and corporate level.

  

  Authentic Living Expert

  Expert Answer

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

  Don't compare yourself to others. Try to love your body and surround yourself with people that you can be real with and if they make you feel bad about yourself, I would really question the relationship or tell them how you feel. You can also incorporate activities that make you feel better about yourself into your schedule, such as watching TV shows, reading books, and joining clubs.

• Question

  How do you stick up for yourself?

  

  Nicolette Tura is an Authentic Living Expert who operated her own wellness business for more than ten years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nicolette is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with a Psychology & Mindfulness Major, a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and is an expert in authentic living. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and got her master's degree in Sociology from SJSU. She constantly draws from her own wounds and challenges; with her training in the healing arts and sociology, she offers potent content, powerful meditations, and game-changing seminars on inspiring elevation on a personal and corporate level.

  

  Authentic Living Expert

  Expert Answer

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

  When a situation arises in which a person is either pressuring you or making you do something that you're not comfortable with, take a few breaths and try not to take things personally. Ask yourself what you need in that moment and then advocate for yourself. That could look like asking for some space or letting that person know that you cannot help them in that moment.

• Question

  How can I improve my self image?

  

  Nicolette Tura is an Authentic Living Expert who operated her own wellness business for more than ten years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nicolette is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with a Psychology & Mindfulness Major, a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and is an expert in authentic living. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and got her master's degree in Sociology from SJSU. She constantly draws from her own wounds and challenges; with her training in the healing arts and sociology, she offers potent content, powerful meditations, and game-changing seminars on inspiring elevation on a personal and corporate level.

  

  Authentic Living Expert

  Expert Answer

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

  Try to really celebrate your uniqueness. Rather than looking for external validation, focus your attention inward on the qualities that you like about yourself. The more you know your worth, the more that confidence will begin to radiate outwards.

• Question

  How can I be confident with weight?

  

  Paul Chernyak is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Chicago. He graduated from the American School of Professional Psychology in 2011.

  

  Licensed Professional Counselor

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  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

  Try to accept your weight rather than neglect it. You cannot fool yourself. Instead, try writing down the things you like about yourself and focus on those while accepting your current weight.

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• Speak positively. When you hear yourself saying something negative about yourself, instantly replace it with a positive comment.

• When you walk, focus on where you're going. Make sure you sit up straight.

• Make goals for yourself, not expectations.

• Every day, make a list in your head of everything good about yourself. Say thank you silently in your head for each thing on your list.

• Remember to live every day like it's your last. Who knows when it might end? Who cares what other people think as long as you're thinking positive and feeling good?

• When you wake up in the morning, look into the mirror and tell yourself that you've made it this far in life and you're not going to let anything or anyone put you down.

• Consider attending leadership classes. Learn to take control of things. If you are in school, then consider running for a social position, such as a president of a club. The ability to lead others and respond to others' behavior under your leadership will help to bring you self-confidence.

• Be thankful for what you have. A lot of the times, at the root of insecurity and lack of confidence is a feeling of not having enough of something, whether it's emotional validation, good luck, money, etc. By acknowledging and appreciating what you do have, you can combat the feeling of being incomplete and unsatisfied. Finding that inner peace will do wonders for your confidence.

• Send positive text messages to yourself. Try to believe that someone else is sending you these texts; it will build your confidence level instantly.

• If you want to be confident, don't let anything bother you; drown out everything that gets under your skin and keep on walking.

• You can learn to be strong, to push on through failures. You can stand up tall, take deep breathes and remember that you are in charge of what you feel. Like, if you are struggling to lift something, you can slow down, take a few deep breaths, and remember that your struggles will soon all pass. Then, you focus, breath deep, and push and push and push and push over and over and over until you finally do it.

• When you're feeling bad about yourself, imagine one of your friends feeling the way you are. Take a piece of paper and write down what you would say to the person to help them feel better. Put that piece of paper in a safe spot, then when you're feeling down you can grab it and read it to yourself.

• Sometimes people will say mean things because they are jealous of you! Remember to smile and enjoy life.

• Every time you pass a mirror or a reflection of yourself, give yourself a compliment in your mind. Keep this up until you see the compliment as a fact about yourself.

• You are the only one who truly knows you. Love yourself and others may follow suit.

• Eye contact is very important, as it shows your confidence.

• Retrain your inner voice. In situations where you believe you lack confidence, realize that your inner voice is telling you negative things. You need to retrain that inner voice to be positive at those times.

• Try not to slouch, it makes you look closed off and very insecure. It also represents vulnerability. It makes you look very uninviting and unhappy and you don't want that if you want to show people that you're confident.

• Don't be afraid of being judged. Sometimes it can really hold you back.

• Talk to people you don't get to know much. This can help you make contact with the outside world more.

• Imagine yourself in various situations where you display confidence, wit, or leadership. By simply picturing yourself doing such things, being self-confident becomes less of a foreign concept and you begin to believe that you can.

• This one is often overrated, however it's really important. How could you be confident in things where you have nothing to be confident about? It's absolutely okay you're worrying of something you didn't try before (i.e. getting a promotion, marking boundaries or else), because your confidence would be false. Just admit to make mistakes. Being confident all the time is not the target.

• Think positive. Think about all of the good things about yourself and how lucky you are compared to others. Embrace your differences and learn to accept that you are different and that's what makes you unique.

• Treat yourself the way you wish to be treated by others. So you see, it pays to be positive about yourself so people will treat you in like manner.

• If you start thinking negative, turn the voice off and have a positive statement prepared to repeat in your head until you get out of it.

• If you ever hear your inner voice telling you something negative, pretend it's an old man telling you that.

• Stop being a perfectionist. Nothing and no one is perfect. High standards have their place, but your daily life is going to have pitfalls and flaws. Accept them as learning experiences and move on.

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• Being cocky and being confident are two very different things. Being cocky is not good; being confident is. Know the line.

• Do not devote your life's mission to being confident. You must do things that make you happy. In happiness, you will find confidence.

• Being confident is not being perfect. Perfectionists tend to be more self-critical rather than confident.^[11]

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About This Article

Article Summary X

To be confident, stand up straight and keep your chin up high, which will help you project confidence even if you are a little nervous. Keep in mind that a huge part of being confident is looking confident, and there is nothing wrong with faking it until you feel it for real. Avoid wearing clothing that makes you feel self-conscious. Instead, wear something comfortable, flattering, and appropriate. In social situations, show confidence by smiling and making eye contact with people, even if it feels intimidating at first. Finally, embrace your interests and hobbies and devote time to doing things that you like and are good at. To learn more from our Professional Counselor co-author, such as how to take risks and how having a positive mind can help you be confident, continue reading!

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