Nothing boosts your self-confidence quite like success. Succeeding at something gives you a massive confidence lift. The more confident you are before you do something, the more likely you are to succeed in the first place, and going on to succeed at it gives you more confidence, which can create a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
But what do you do if you’re having trouble with self-confidence in the first place? Well, the first thing you need to do is get some successes under your belt, and the best way to do that is to set yourself up to succeed.
You’re probably wondering how to do that. Start by looking at the things you’re already good at. What are your skills? What can you do well? What do you like doing that you’re good at and would like to do more often? Don’t just make this list in your head; write it down or type it out.
Don’t stop until you’ve got at least five things on the list. Preferably more. Look back over the list once you’ve finished. These should all be things you like doing, are good at, and want to do more of, remember. Which ones would be good challenges right now?
Go through the list one by one. Circle things that strike you as especially promising. Mark off anything that wouldn’t be practical at the moment, is too expensive, etc.
Now you should have a shortlist of things you’re good at doing that would make good challenges you could succeed at. They could be hobbies like woodworking, a physical activity you like doing, something you use for work, or anything else that you like and are good at.
Pick one of these items and set yourself a challenge that you know you can succeed at. If your chosen skill is running, maybe you enter your first 5k. Pick a good challenge that isn’t something you’ve done before but that is simple, and you can do.
Don’t sign up for a full marathon if you’ve never raced before! And don’t expect to win the 5k, either -your goal should be to finish it, full stop.
Succeeding at this goal -no matter how simple it may seem -will boost your confidence. Then pick another challenge, then another one, and keep going. Leaning into your strengths in this way is the best way to succeed, and success will build your self-confidence.