Many of us would like to feel a bit more confident and have a healthier levels of self esteem, wether that means having a greater trust in our capabilities or simply just feeling confident and secure in our own skin.

What ever the reason, real confidence can make anyone shine from the inside out and show your real beauty and nature to the outside world.

So how exactly do we start building more confidence and why do we sometimes loose confidence in the first place.

Lest take a look at those questions.

Happy reading to you :)

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CONFIDENCE?

Based on Psychology today, they have defined confidence as “a belief in oneself, the conviction that one has the ability to meet life's challenges and to succeed—and the willingness to act accordingly”.

Many of us would like to be more confident in our everyday lives, and find more trust in our own capabilities and knowledge about a given situation.

Being confident has many benefits to it, additionally to being seen as an attractive trait, as it allows other people to be more at ease if we are the more confident one there.

Additionally, confidence is crucial in the first impression that we form in others while dictating our ability to deal with pressure and various challenges in our life.

The point is not to be over confident in our selves, as that can leave the impression on people that we are too self centered and portray ourselves as being the perfect individual. On the contrary, we should strive to be confident and have a good level of self esteem, just enough so that we feel in control fo what we are doing and in that way make more progress in both our personal and professional lives.

**WHAT CAUSES LOW LEVELS OF CONFIDENCE?**

We were raised by people who were often too overly critical or reprimanding on us
Our caregivers limited our expression and exploration as a child
Feeling rejected by our peers or friends
Having difficulties transitioning into the societies constructed idea of "adulthood"
Representation of the “ideal standard” in modern media (For example, our appearance)

10 STEPS TO BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Figure out the origin: Where does your lack of confidence come from? Why is is there? When did you first start feeling unconfident?
Start with getting (small) things done: Making progress allows you to see that you are capable doing whatever you set your mind to. These tasks do not have to be large or highly demanding, start small and build your way up. You are more capable than you think.
Track your progress: This will allows you to both measure your success and also feel a greater sense of proudness for how far you have come.
Write down a list of your past achievements: This can be a fun way to look back and be proud of how much you have improved and grown as an individual.
Write down your personal strengths: Analyzing your strengths is in general a great thing to do and identify in yourself, but doing this will allows you to see all the ways in which you are unique and all of the beautiful contributions you can make to the world with your abilities.
Do what you promise yourself to do: Don't let yourself down. Consistency is key to anything, especially when it comes to building your confidence.
Surround yourself with positivity: This can come in the form of people or media, but either way it is useful to do this, as it keeps you motivated, uplifted and makes you feel good about yourself.
Don't compare yourself to others: This is something we all do at some points, but it is important to only compare ourselves to past self, as comparing ourselves to others makes no sense if each of us is unique, has had a different way of growing up and has different personalities and talents. We are all unique, so focusing on ourselves will really let that shine through.
Embrace your true self: Embrace your hobbies, interest passions and what makes you, you. Take advantage that you are unique and don't be shy to express your true self. Learn as much as you can about yourself and the world around you and use it to better the world.
Reward yourself: In order to keep the process of building confidence sustainable, make sure to reward yourself every so often with something you appreciate, as all of your efforts will surely pay off in the end.