Leader of Wellbeing & Learning - Senior Campus
How To Build Self Confidence
A lack of self-confidence comes in many shapes and forms, and learning how to build confidence is an ongoing project for most of us – we are all a work in progress! Here’s some tips that you can use to learn how to build self-confidence.
How to be more confident:
- Make lists of your achievements, and things in your life that you are proud of.
- Acknowledge your personal strengths and talents, and remind yourself of them often.
- Set realistic goals for yourself.
- Practice positive self-talk.
- Make time for your hobbies, and try out some new things to find out what you are passionate about.
- Talk to a counsellor or mental health professional to learn self-management strategies that can help build confidence and self-esteem.
What is a confident person?
Not everyone is born with an inbuilt sense of self-confidence. Sometimes it can be hard to develop confidence, either because personal experiences have caused you to lose confidence or because you suffer from low self-esteem.
A confident person:
- does what they believe is right, even if it’s unpopular
- is willing to take risks
- admits their mistakes and learns from them
- is able to accept a compliment
- is optimistic.
Tips for building self-confidence
There are a number of things you can do to build your confidence. Some of them are just small changes to your frame of mind; others you’ll have to work on for a bit longer to make them familiar habits.
- Look at what you’ve already achieved
It’s easy to lose confidence if you believe you haven’t achieved anything. Make a list of all the things you’re proud of in your life, whether it’s getting a good mark on an exam or learning to surf. Keep the list close by and add to it whenever you do something you’re proud of. When you’re low in confidence, pull out the list and use it to remind yourself of all the awesome stuff you've done.
- Think of things you're good at
Everyone has strengths and talents. What are yours? Recognising what you’re good at, and trying to build on those things, will help you to build confidence in your own abilities.
- Set some goals
Set some goals and set out the steps you need to take to achieve them. They don’t have to be big goals; they can even be things like baking a cake or planning a day out with friends. Just aim for some small achievements that you can tick off a list to help you gain confidence in your ability to get stuff done.
- Talk yourself up
You’re never going to feel confident if you have negative commentary running through your mind telling you that you’re no good. Think about your self-talk and how that might be affecting your self-confidence. Treat yourself like you would your best friend and cheer yourself on.
- Get a hobby
Try to find something that you’re really passionate about. It could be photography, sport, knitting or anything else! When you’ve worked out your passion, commit yourself to giving it a go. Chances are, if you’re interested or passionate about a certain activity, you’re more likely to be motivated and you’ll build skills more quickly.
Mrs Andrea Utoikamanu
Leader of Wellbeing & Learning - Senior Campus
Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11