We always hear people talking about “being confident”. It can be a tricky thing to master as a teenager as you may not want to necessarily stand out from the crowd. Confidence can get lost along the way either through personal experiences that have caused you to lose confidence or because you struggle from low self-esteem. And if you’re not dealing with that, then the flip-side is that confidence sometimes gets a bad rap as people may translate it as being conceited or self-centered. However, it’s not about that at all – in fact far from it.
This is what confidence actually means:
1. Confidence is sticking with what you believe despite what others think / say.
2. Confidence is the ability to accept a compliment.
3. Confidence is believing in your abilities.
4. Confidence is being optimistic, friendly and kind.
When you lose confidence (which will happen when that annoying thing called life gets in the way) it’s just a matter of finding it again.
In the moment that may seem like a tricky thing to do, so when you find yourself in that headspace, we want you to come back to these steps so you can get back on track to living your best life.
So here it is – your cheat sheet to walk you back to confidence:
How you can get more confidence
1. Find the things in life you enjoy and do them on a regular basis. If you love soccer, play more of it. If you are a talented artist, make time to sit down with your creativity and let it run wild.
2. Look at what you have already achieved and the areas you are proud of in your life. We often forget our milestones and amazing accomplishments from the past, so flick through your journal or take a walk down memory lane to rediscover all the amazing things you’ve done already. (Spoiler alert: There will probably be a correlation between those amazing moments and a boost in your confidence!)
3. Silence the ‘inner bully’. You are never going to feel confident if you have negative commentary running through your mind. Treat yourself as you would your family member or best friend – so be kind and caring and as supportive to yourself as you can be!
4. Make the first move. You never know, that girl who sits two rows behind you in Math class could use a new friend too. The success of a new friendship outweighs the fear it takes to get there and building new relationships with amazing people will fill you with pride and confidence that you’re great a picking out brilliant people!
5. Don’t be afraid to share your opinion, you never know – someone may be feeling the exact same way.
…And if you’re ever unable to actually do any of the above, then you can always use the “fake it ’til you make it” approach. To help you along with that, write the following quote on a post-it note and place it on your bathroom mirror so that when you’re getting ready in the morning you can remind yourself to:
“Act confident and no-one will question you”
This blog post is brought to you by the genius team at Beautiful Minds. Beautiful Minds tackles the tough topics, bringing them to light so our youth feel empowered, educated and supported throughout their often-challenging journey of being a teenager. Today, the Beautiful Minds founder, Marina Passalaris, and her team of 85 expert educators, deliver workshops and education to over 2 million young people a year.
You can find out more about Beautiful Minds through their wonderful website and social channels, which you can explore here:
Website: www.beautifulminds.com.au
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