This post may contain affiliate links.
Self-Confidence is this magical thing that can change your life. It can make you feel better about yourself, influence the way others see you, give you a sense of peace and happiness, and good luck and good fortune. Well, maybe not the last couple. You have to do all the work, but trust me, confidence gets you halfway there! People tend to put confidence on a high pedestal, but the truth is, you have everything you need to build confidence inside of your right now!
Confident people are this beautiful combination of INDEPENDENT and know when to ask for help. They know their strengths, utilize them and view weaknesses as things they just aren’t as strong in. I don’t care who you are, how confident you are, or whether you are shy or outgoing, introverted or extroverted – we could ALL use a boost to our self-confidence. But remember, self-confidence MUST be paired with humility, or you just become cocky, and no one needs that.
Doctor Ariana’s (LOL) orders are to do one of the items from this list EVERY SINGLE DAY until you see improvement in your self-confidence. And then every day after to keep it up! Okay, I might not be an actual doctor. But these activities are easy, FREE and ultimately hold the possibility of being life-changing, so what do you have to lose? I recommend closing your eyes, scrolling and choose one activity to build confidence at random to get started!
Oh, and in case you lose this page, I have a handy printable you can download, print, and attach to your mirror to look at every day! All you have to do is sign up for my mailing list and not only do you receive this printable, but you also receive 365 days of affirmations as well!
17 Ways to Build Confidence in 5 Minutes a Day!
- Make a list of your strengths. Set a timer for 5 minutes and keep writing until it goes off, or choose a number goal (10, 20, 50!) and don’t stop until you hit it!
- Reevaluate who you spend your time with. You absorb the energy and adopt the personality traits of the THREE people you spend the most time with, so choose wisely!
- SMILE. Seriously! Smiling relieves stress and tension. Fake it until you BECOME it! Smile, and suddenly you’ll find reasons to smile!
- If it sounds fun, do it! No really. Humans have a tendency to overthink. What about the cost? The time investment? What if I suck? Would people think I’m weird? Who cares! Is there something that always sounded fun but you’ve always hesitated? Do it anyway. Crossing something off your bucket list is a powerful way to build confidence!
- A little vanity is okay. If you don’t feel like you look like a million bucks, you aren’t going to feel like a million bucks. A new haircut, a new outfit, a great pair of shoes, etc. can kick up your confidence a ton. It’s not about buying new things, it’s about looking how you want to feel. Dress the part. Wear your fancy ball gown to work, if you feel like a million bucks that’s the only important part! (Well, maybe not if you work in a hospital or elsewhere that could be a safety hazard, but you get the idea)!
- Accept a compliment. I know it sounds scary and cocky, but it’s not! Someone compliments your eyes, dress, singing, etc. Simply make eye contact, smile, and say thank you. That’s it! You know why? Because you deserve it, so accept it!
- Look people in the eye. It’s easy to watch mouths, look into the distance, staring at your phone when someone is talking. But confident people give others their full attention and look directly into their eyes while they are talking. It’s powerful, and even better, it makes THEM feel important. Imagine that, you can increase confidence in someone else as you increase it yourself! If eye contact freaks you out, try staring at their forehead until you feel more comfortable!
- Try a daily affirmation. This is always more effective if you write them yourself because those are the affirmations you need to hear. But you can also download my guide and get 365 to tell yourself DAILY!
- Leave your comfort zone. Short of doing something dangerous, try something you wouldn’t normally try. If you always get the same food at the restaurant, try a new item on the menu! Little things can go a long way!
- Be kind…to yourself. I know its easy to blame, feel guilt and put yourself down. You should have known better right? Wrong. You didn’t, so you learned. End of story. So be kind. You don’t have to compliment yourself overdoing something silly, but you don’t have to make yourself feel worse either. Accept the lesson however it came, acknowledge it and move on!
- Advocate change. Change is ultimately a good thing, it makes things go smoother, faster, more effectively. Without change, we wouldn’t have the internet or even the light bulb. Advocate for it, don’t be scared. BE the change you want to see in the world.
- Add a positive spin. Bad weather unexpectedly? At least we aren’t in a drought! Flat tire? Maybe that was the universe trying to save you from a bad accident! Go out of your way to find the silver lining in situations. It can be tough, but the more you do it, the easier it is!
- Say yes! Of course, if something is dangerous, illegal, or hurtful DO NOT SAY YES. But to random things, like trying something new, doing something when you’re tired, hanging out with an acquaintance, etc. DO IT! It may change your life! New hobbies, new friends, new careers have been found just by saying YES when you didn’t feel like it!
- Understand your limitations. You don’t have to be a superwoman. You don’t have to be 10 feet tall. You are perfect the way you are. Take a moment to understand what your limitations are and how EASY they are to overcome. It’s not time to dwell on what you can’t do, its time to focus on admitting you have a weakness can make you stronger and more effective because you can spend your time on things you CAN do, and not waste time on things you can’t!
- Celebrate a win! Think small. A win doesn’t have to be something big and award publishing. It can be a small goal achieved. I didn’t eat a fifth slice of pizza -whoo hoo! I overcame my fear of the dentist and went – YES! Every win deserves respect because those small wins lead us to the big ones!
- Read! Such a big one. Read daily. Read often and read everything you find. You want to be known for something? Read about it! Pro tip: you can have google send you alerts for keywords so when a new article pops up related to your area of expertise, you can be the first to read and learn about it! Looking for a suggestion? Check out my Bookshelf for my favorites!
- Break a habit! If you have a bad habit (I’m looking at you nail-biting), break it! Not sure which to start with? Check out this list of bad habits holding you back from your full potential! It can be time-consuming and tedious, but if its something you feel strongly about, its time to rid the stress from your life!
This list could seriously go on for days, but here are 17 ideas to get you started to build confidence. So stop procrastinating, and try implementing them into your daily life and start seeing improvements faster than you think! Drop a comment if you have more to add to this list!
[RELATED: 8 Steps to Understanding Behaviors and Changing Bad Habits + Free Worksheet!]
