Unlock Your Inner Confidence: 8 Essential Habits I Swear By Daily
Unlock Your Inner Confidence: 8 Essential Habits I Swear By Daily
Building confidence is like baking a cake. It takes the right ingredients, a bit of practice, and the occasional messy kitchen. Luckily, the recipe for confidence is simpler (and less caloric!) than you might think. Let’s dive into a list of daily habits that can help boost your self-confidence over time.
A Harvard Business Review study found that engaging in daily routines that promote self-confidence, such as positive self-talk and goal-setting, can increase overall productivity by up to 25%.
Surround Yourself with Positive Vibes
Remember that friend who always has something nice to say? Keep them close! Surrounding yourself with positive people is like bathing in a pool of sunshine. It not only makes your day brighter but also helps you see the best in yourself.
Practice Tip: Make a point to spend time with people who uplift you. Whether it's a quick coffee break or a video call, make space for positivity in your life. And being social matters.
John B. Arden in his book "Rewire your Brain" talks about how our mirror neuron with mirror these confident and positive vibes from our friends. He calls this "social medicine."
If you find that you are really having a hard time and don't feel like going out and socializing, then that's the perfect time to do it with that friend!
Success Journaling
Ever had one of those days when you can’t remember a single productive thing you did? Enter the success journal—a magical book where you jot down your daily victories, big or small. Spelling “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” backwards counts!
Practice Tip: Dedicate 5 minutes at the end of each day to write down 3 things you are proud of. Over time, you’ll have a tangible record of your awesomeness.
Step Out of Your Comfort Zone—One Awkward Moment at a Time
Growth happens outside of the comfort zone, and sometimes, that zone is comically tiny. Embrace the awkward moments, because they pave the way to confidence.
Practice Tip: Try something new and uncomfortable every day, once a week, or even once a month! Whether it’s speaking up in a meeting or test-running a new hobby, remember, awkward is the new awesome!
Small steps lead to big results overtime!
Practice Positive Self-Talk
Ever dropped a bowl of cereal and mentally called yourself a “clumsy oaf”? Time to flip the script! Positive self-talk is like your personal cheerleading squad on-the-go.
Practice Tip: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Instead of "I’m terrible at this," try "I’m learning and improving every day."
The book that helped me transform and reframe my own self-talk is by a psychologist named Ethan Kross called "Chatter." This book completely helped me understand the power I had in controlling my own thoughts and how to build the muscles to be my own friend.
"With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world." – Dalai Lama
Embrace Your Quirks
Those quirks you think are weird? They’re actually what make you wonderfully unique. Embracing your quirks is a sign of self-acceptance, and guess what? Confidence loves company.
Practice Tip: Write down your quirks and find ways to celebrate them. Your love for 80s rock ballads? Crank it up, baby!
Set Small Goals and Celebrate Enthusiastically
You don’t have to climb Everest to feel accomplished. Setting small, achievable goals and celebrating them can build a mountain of confidence without the frostbite.
Practice Tip: Break down larger tasks into bite-sized steps and reward yourself for completing each one. Treat celebrations like a mini-party!
A book that helped me create my own goal setting process is by Brian P. Moran called "The 12 Week Year."
It simply breaks down their goal setting process and how to break it down into smaller and smaller chunks so it feels like you're making progress every single day.
Embrace Continuous Learning
Knowledge is potential power. The more you learn, the more confident you become in your abilities. So pledge to be a lifelong learner—embrace the geek within! But it's only potential power because knowledge without action renders that knowledge useless. The action with the new knowledge is where real confidence grows.
Practice Tip: Dedicate time daily to learn something new. Whether it’s a podcast during your commute, an online course, book or a TED Talk before bed, keep expanding your mind and then create a plan on how you're going to apply the information you learned.
Using Incantations
Tony Robbins swears by incantations, a technique where you speak positive beliefs out loud with conviction. Think of it as positive self-talk on steroids.
Practice Tip: Develop a personal incantation, like “I am capable, I am strong, and I can achieve anything!” Repeat it daily, especially during challenging moments.
How I Incorporate These Habits
To keep myself on track, I have a daily routine that feels more like a fun mix of a self-help seminar and a party. Here's how I do it:
Morning Vibes: I start my day with breath work, then a big stretch, journaling for 30 minutes, and meditating for 20. I call this "conditioning myself for success."
Daily Wins: At the end of my day, I write down my achievements, no matter how small. What I'm doing is called "stacking." Most people stack their losses, well, I stack my wins baby!
Comfort Zone Ventures: I make a habit of trying something new each day, like sharing on social media, starting a new adventure, or more recently putting myself back in the dating scene...
Positive Pep Talks: I catch and correct negative self-talk on the spot the best I can. Replacing “I" with "Eddy". Changing your self-talk to the third person has shown to not only help you look at your thoughts more objectively, but also like you were talking to a friend. That being said, I'm not perfect. So don't expect yourself to be either.
Quirk Celebration: I make a list of my quirks and give myself permission to enjoy them unapologetically. Who else rocks out to air guitar solos midday?
Micro-Goals: I set small, actionable goals and celebrate with little joys—like treating myself to Dairy Queen with my sister when I hit a milestone.
Learning Sessions: I carve out time for daily learning. It might be through online courses, podcasts, or even a chapter from a motivational book. But every morning I set aside 1 hour for 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of working on a online course.
Loud and Proud Incantations: Before I do my work or anything that makes me feel unsure or small, I chant incantations for 3 minutes with full insensitive, either pounding my chest or clapping my hands. My go to is "I will find the way, and if I can't find the way, I will make the way because there is always a way when you are committed."
Confidence is built one habit at a time.
Conclusion
What habits do you have that help build your confidence? Which habits from this blog post resonated with you the most? I’d love to hear your feedback and experiences! I'm always looking to get better and add more value to you!
Also, don’t forget to check out my confidence workbook! It's packed with practical exercises and tips to help you boost your self-confidence. Download the PDF now!
