How To Boost Your Confidence

Bad days — they happen to everyone! You could say they are a part of life. Maybe you got held up and rushed into class late, which put your whole day off. Maybe you put on your favourite outfit and it just didn’t seem to sit right. Maybe you tripped on the treadmill and scuffed your knee up pretty bad (plus your pride took a hit).

7 ways to give your confidence a boost on a bad day

There’s lots of reasons why a bad day can get you down. The good news is, there’s lots of ways to give your confidence a little boost to improve your mood too. Read on to find out more! 

1. Stand up tall 

 When you stand up straight and open up your chest, you automatically look more self-assured. It’s like that feeling you get when you put on a pair of high heels and instantly feel more powerful. It's thought that good posture can help to lift both your mood and self-esteem, as well as helping to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone). Try standing up tall, pulling your chin up and shoulders back; it can make you feel more powerful! Check out my blog on the importance of good posture if you want to know more. 

2. Turn up the beats

You might feel a little silly dancing around at home, but I’ll bet you enjoy it! Music can be so helpful for improving your mood, particularly if you listen to something uplifting - plus, there's nothing like training with your favourite workout songs! There has also been research to suggest music can have a therapeutic effect similar to meditation, which may be why it appears to help reduce stress and ease symptoms of PMS. A good sing-along always helps!

3. Take a social media break 

As wonderful as social media is, it can have its downsides. Comparing yourself with other people (including complete strangers) is not the way to build up your confidence if you’re feeling a bit down on yourself. Remember that for most people, what you see on Instagram or Facebook is the good times, not the day-to-day. You’re only seeing a portion of someone’s life, and it is not really fair (to either of you) to compare. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is yourself!

4. Do something you’re good at

If you don’t think you’re doing something well, it can be hard to feel confident. When you break down what confidence actually means, it relates to knowing what you are good at and how much value you feel that this provides. Talking about, or actively doing, something you feel knowledgeable in can send your ‘value’ stocks soaring. Basically, doing something you KNOW you are good at can give you the internal reassurance you need to feel more confident about yourself, especially after a bad day.  

5. Get grooming!

Taking care of yourself is a good way to boost your confidence. It might be something small like giving yourself an at-home manicure or chilling out with a face mask on. Without getting too scientific, grooming is behaviour that is important for humans (and other social animals) as it is nurturing, which means it can make a big difference in how we are feeling. Who doesn’t feel better after a nice shower and doing their skincare routine, after all?

6. Sweat it out

On a bad day, you might feel like just curling up under the covers. But as I’ve written previously, getting active can stimulate blood flow and help kick-off a rush of endorphins (feel-good hormones). Exercise can be very empowering, especially as you find your strength increasing. When you’ve had a bad day, just think how much more powerful you’ll feel if you crush your workout!

7. Smile! 

Positive body language can do wonders for your confidence! Making eye contact and flashing your smile can make you appear more confident, even if you’re not really feeling that way. Getting a smile back also makes you feel good. Smiling can help to reduce feelings of stress, so it’s an all-around win! 
 
Keep in mind that these tips are intended to help boost your confidence in the short term, and we should all strive to build deeper confidence in ourselves. Try not to let negative thoughts or a bad mood convince you that you don’t have value to offer people — be good to yourself because YOU are amazing.