7 Great Daily Habits to Improve Your Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is something that we all have to work at.  Realize that no one is born with perfect confidence.  Now, if you had parents who happened to be good at child-rearing, you may naturally be more confident than other folks.  But even the most confident people struggle with their self-confidence from time to time.  The good news is that certain daily habits can improve your self-confidence.

When you have self-confidence, you believe in your abilities, qualities and judgment.  You believe that you are capable.   And likeable! 

Understandably, many people lack self-confidence.  After all, we live in a world in which people are quick to criticize and slow compliment.  For instance, in some families, folks only will comment on the flaws of their relatives.  They refuse to acknowledge their family members’ gifts and talents.  And in some workplaces, supervisors readily will point out their employees’ mistakes but will never offer praise.  Sadly, it often takes a retirement party for people to say, “Hey, Sue did a really great job these past 20 years!” 

The bottom line is that we live in a world that isn’t always going to boost our self-confidence.  That is why when it comes to self-confidence, the buck stops with you.  So, you need to work at your self-confidence every single day.

Below are daily habits that you can implement to improve your self-confidence.  Use them on a daily basis, and see how much more confident you can be!

Be Diligent with Your Personal Grooming

The difficult truth about life is that anytime we go out into the world, we first are being evaluated based on our outward appearance.  I’ll concede that is unfair.  I would love to live in a world in which people are solely evaluated based on their kindness and generosity.

But, unfortunately, your kindness and generosity aren’t visible.  So, when people encounter you, they evaluate you based on what they can see.  So, every day, you want to be sure to be neat and well-groomed.  That way you can be confident that you will be well-received when entering any social situation.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you need to look like a model.  You just need to be neat and tidy in your appearance.  That way your appearance doesn’t distract people from getting to know how wonderful you are on the inside.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but if your hair is messy, and you smell odd because you don’t use deodorant, other folks won’t be able to get past that.  And you’ll be poorly received in society simply because you aren’t doing the bare minimum to be presentable.

So, if you want to walk into any social situation with confidence, you have to pay attention to your personal grooming.  To do so, get regular haircuts and style your hair in a pleasing fashion before you leave the house.  You also want to bathe daily, and use deodorant and lotions so that you smell nice and your skin is smooth.  And for the ladies, wear some makeup every day so that your face looks a little bit fresher.

I don’t say any of this as a way of indicating that our appearance is what actually matters about us.  What actually matters is whether we are kind, gentle, honest and decent.  But if you want to be confident when going out into the world, you have to present yourself visually in the best manner possible.

Note that none of what I am suggesting costs a lot of money.  You don’t have to get a high-priced haircut or buy expensive products to be well-groomed.  Quite the contrary.  A simple haircut and inexpensive soaps, lotions, deodorants and makeup will get the job done.

So, if you want to be self-confident when you go out into the world, you need to get in the habit of being diligent about your personal grooming every day.  Remember that being well-groomed will help you to be received positively when you interact with others.  By simply having good grooming habits, you can be confident in your ability to make a great first impression on others.

Dress As Well As Possible

In the same way that we need to pay attention to our personal grooming, we also need to be mindful of our attire.  When we are well-groomed and well-dressed, we can go into the world with confidence.  As I mentioned above, you are judged by society first based on your outward appearance.  Your outward appearance is your first impression.  And first impressions count!

While clothing is important, don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a lot of money.  You don’t have to wear trendy, expensive outfits to look good in public.  You simply have to buy simple clothing in pleasing colors that fit well.

And you don’t need a lot of outfits!  You just need to own clothing that is simple and flattering.  For example, when I was in my teens, my parents didn’t have enough money to buy clothes for me.  So, I worked odd jobs to buy my own clothes.  Of course, I didn’t make a lot of money, so I couldn’t buy a lot of outfits. As a result, I was careful to only buy things that fit well and were good quality so that they would last a while! 

I carried that approach to clothes buying into my adulthood.  These days, I have enough money to buy as many clothes as I would like.  However, I still maintain a very simple, small wardrobe of nice fitting outfits.  And when I wear simple things that fit well, I feel confident in any social situation.

So, to improve your self-confidence, dress well.  You don’t have to break the bank to do so.  Just create a wardrobe of clothes in nice colors that fit well and are flattering.  That way, you can go out into the world with confidence!

Improve Your Self-Confidence by Exercising Every Day

It’s hard to feel confident if your body isn’t in good shape.  Again, this isn’t about looking like a model or being a certain weight.  After all, there are lots of thin people who aren’t in good physical shape.  Rather, it’s about having a healthy body. 

We feel good about our bodies when our bodies are healthy.  When you can move with relative ease and feel strong, you feel confident!  But being limber and strong doesn’t come naturally.  Rather, we have to work to achieve that through daily exercise.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t exercise because we fail to set aside time for exercise each day.  However, realize that you do have the time!  If you work 8-10 hours a day, you are left with 14 hours to spend as you please.  Of course, 8 of those 14 hours should be devoted to sleep.  So, as a practical matter, you have at least 6 hours a day to fit in some exercise.

The problem is that those precious 6 hours a day often can be consumed with other stuff.  For instance, you may spend a lot of time doing housework because your spouse (or your kids) can’t figure out how to wash dishes, vacuum or do a load of laundry.  Or you may choose to relax for two hours every night in front of the television. 

But if you want to have a healthy body and feel fully confident, you need to make your health your #1 priority.  That may mean impressing upon your spouse and your kids that they need take on adult tasks, like cleaning and laundry, so that you have the time to go for a long walk every evening.  Or it may mean giving up your television habit so that you can spend some of your evenings at the gym. 

So, make exercise a daily habit. If you exercise every day, your body will become agile and strong, and you’ll be able to go into the world brimming with confidence!

Speak Clearly, Use a Firm Handshake and Look People in the Eye

Sometimes, when we lack confidence, we struggle to interact with others.  Instead, we want to shrink into a tiny speck of dust on the floor and hope that no one notices us.  But if you want to get to a place of true self-confidence, initially, you have to interact with others as if you have confidence.

To put on an air of confidence, realize that you can’t mumble when you speak.  Nor should you offer others a limp handshake.  And you should never avoid eye contact.  Confident people just don’t do those things. 

I will concede that when we are low on self-esteem, it’s hard to put on an air of confidence.  So, it takes practice.  Daily practice.  But if you practice appearing to be confident when interacting with others, pretty soon you’ll actually possess true confidence. 

When we are confident, we go out into the world showing that we believe in ourselves and our abilities.  When you believe in yourself, you don’t shrink when you meet people.  Instead, you speak clearly, use firm handshake and look people in the eye.  Those are the hallmarks of someone who is confident.  Commit to acting like someone who is confident every day, and I promise that by doing so, your actual confidence will increase!

Keep Your Cool at All Times

One of the signs that someone is insecure is that they fall apart under stress.  They start crying, yelling or telling people off at the smallest sign of a problem.  That is because they lack confidence.  They don’t believe that they can handle the issues that they face.

Confident people keep their cool at all times.  If there is a problem, they aren’t ranting, carrying on, or falling apart.  Instead, they handle things with a quiet confidence.

If you want to improve your self-confidence, you have to adopt the habit of being cool at all times.  On a daily basis, no matter what big or small stressors you are facing, you need to adopt the habit of dealing with them with a quiet self-assuredness. 

You might start with being cool regarding small problems.  Perhaps every day you have to deal with a supervisor or a family member who is rude.  Instead of getting upset, listen to that person calmly, respond respectfully, and otherwise keep your cool.  Do this for a week or two and watch your confidence increase dramatically. 

A large part of confidence is knowing that you can handle anything that comes your way.  The best way to develop that confidence is to commit to being cool no matter what happens in your life.  Pretty soon, you’ll find that you’re the kind of person who doesn’t get flustered.  You can handle any issue without falling apart.  That’s because you truly have become a confident individual.

Improve Your Self-Confidence with Daily Reading

If you want to go out into the world and be confident, it helps to be well-read.  I’d like to say that you can read anything that suits your fancy.  However, the reality is that there is a lot of negative, bizarre junk on the Internet these days.  So, you have to be discriminating in what you read!

The most effective way to be well-read is to read the most well-regarded authors in subjects that interest you.  You might choose 1 or 2 subjects to study, and then pick up some books in those areas.  That is a great way to become knowledgeable. 

And if those authors have websites or blogs, follow them!  Knowledge is a confidence builder.  That is because when you become an expert in one area, you realize that there is no field that you can’t tackle. 

For instance, there are lots of folks who become Civil War buffs.  They are interested in that period of U.S. history, and they decide to become experts in that area.  If you happen to enjoy classical music, you might decide to become an expert on the life and works of J.S. Bach. 

Once you choose a topic, commit to doing some reading each day on that topic.  Even 15 minutes a day of reading will increase your knowledge in a certain area.  And one day, you’ll wake up and truly be an expert or “buff” in that subject area.

When we read and study a particular area and develop an expertise, that improves our self-confidence.  We then can go out in the world knowing that if we put our minds to it, we can become knowledgeable in a multitude of areas.  That is a confidence builder like no other!

Spend Time Each Day Working Toward a Personal Goal

Sometimes, we mistakenly rely on the opinions of others in order to feel confident.  So, if we get positive feedback, we feel great! But if we get negative feedback or receive zero appreciation for our efforts, we feel badly and lack confidence in ourselves. After all, we think that if other people don’t appreciate us, we must be doing something wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The sad truth is that most people are loath to pay a compliment or express appreciation. So, your boss may not tell you that he or she appreciates your efforts on the job.  And if you are a housewife or househusband, your spouse may not acknowledge the valuable work that you do at home.  

As a result, it’s a terrible idea to base your self-confidence on the feedback of others.  So, you have to learn to be confident by celebrating your skills and talents yourself!  One way to do that is to work every day toward a personal goal. 

Having a personal goal is a great way to be your own boss.  When we have a personal goal, we are working toward an accomplishment that matters solely to us.  And when we make daily progress, we have an opportunity to give ourselves a pat on the back!

For example, your personal goal may be to become healthier.  Well, each day that you choose to give up eating candy and exercise for 30 minutes is a day that you can say to yourself, “Well done!”  Or you may have a goal to learn to play the piano.  With each piece that you master, you can say to yourself, “Great job!”  And with each “Well done!” and each “Great job!,” you are improving your self-confidence.  More importantly, you aren’t relying on the positive feedback of others to feel good about yourself.

In fact, the worst thing that you can do is to base your self-confidence on the feedback of others.  For instance, growing up, I had very little encouragement.  No one ever said to me, “You are smart and capable, and you have the potential to do great things with your life!”   Now, based on that lack of encouragement, I could have crumpled up in a ball and decided that I was someone without skills, talents or value. 

But instead, I chose not to base my self-confidence on whether I was getting positive feedback from others. Rather, I decided at a young age to set regular goals for myself.  I then learned to take pride in my own accomplishments. 

In fact, I’ve lived my life with a high level of confidence because I decided to be confident based on my own evaluation of my accomplishments.

So, if you want to improve your self-confidence, be your own boss in life.  Set personal goals for yourself, and work toward them on a daily basis.  Then give yourself a pat on the back every time that you accomplish one!

Not one of us is born with rock solid self-confidence.  Rather, it is something that we each need to work at every single day.  Consider adopting the habits above.  Incorporate these habits into your daily routine, and see your self-confidence and happiness increase! (To read about how to be humble and yet confident, click here.)