5 ways to feel confident in your own skin
dress | jacket | heels | sunnies | similar bag | earrings
photos by Ban Avenue Photography
Confidence is so much more than putting on a minidress and feeling good in it. Confidence is something that radiates from within; that you should feel whether you’re wearing sweats or a ball gown. A feeling knowing that you are exactly who you’re meant to be, that no-one else is quite like you and that’s the beauty of YOU. Not what you’re wearing, not what designer bag is on your arm (or Walmart bag, in my case typically), but how you feel, how you love yourself, and how you love others. Doesn’t matter if you’re a size 2 or a size 22; confidence has nothing to do with sizes or shapes. When you’re at peace with who you are on a deeper level than what others see, that’s when your confidence really shines through.
I realize I’m no more of an expert to talk on this subject than any other. It’s not that I wake up every day feeling like the most confident person in the world. In fact I have plenty of days where I feel like the opposite. Some days I don’t like my hair, I think often about getting veneers because my teeth aren’t perfect, I’m self conscious about my bony knees, etc. But thankfully over the years I’ve learned some tips to pull myself out of a funk on the days where I’m feeling less than or not that great in my own skin. We all should feel beautiful all the time, and so these tips are just as much as reminder for myself as they are anyone else who needs to hear them.
5 ways to feel confident in your own skin:
1. Push through your own self-limiting beliefs. We are all our own toughest critic. Often the voices inside our heads are results of something someone else said or did to us in the past, and why should we keep listening to them? We are strong and capable of anything we really, deeply desire. Don’t let anything you’ve convinced yourself you can’t do stop you from doing what you want or being who you want to be. Today is the day you stop listening to those negative voices in your head and start seeing yourself as worthy of happiness, success, and love.
2. Get to know yourself. When going into battle, the wisest general learns to know his enemy very, very well. You can’t defeat the enemy without knowing him. And when you’re trying to overcome a negative self-image and replace it with self-confidence, your enemy is yourself. Start a journal with your thoughts. If nothing else, just listen to them. Think about the good things about yourself, your positive attributes, and focus on them rather than what you don’t like. With self-understanding comes appreciation and confidence.
3. Volunteer. So many times, we complain about how our cup feels empty or life seems meaningless, and we search in the wrong areas to fix that feeling. Think about what Jesus did. He helped others. He spent his life giving to people and expected nothing in return. I don’t know for sure but I imagine Jesus was a very confident though humble man, and he would’ve had to have been to do all the things he did. When we focus on others, our perception shifts and we instantly feel better about ourselves. Win/win.
4. Be grateful. Not just for the big things, but for the fact that you made it to work safely this morning. That you were able to get out of bed and drink your favorite coffee. Make a point to live with a greater sense of gratitude. Not only will that gratitude be humbling, but it can also be a very rewarding mentality that improves your self-image.
5. Think and act positive. Most of the time you’ll hear “think positive” phrased alone and while that’s very important, it’s equally if not more important to act positive. Start by ruling out negative thoughts and being more positive, then put those thoughts into fruition. We are what we do, and the more positivity we put into the universe, the better and more confident we’ll begin to feel.
xo, Britt