I talk about confidence a lot, it’s true. That’s because, for me, understanding what it really means and feels like to be confident has transformed my life in a lot of ways. I can only speak for myself, but I define true confidence as being assured in yourself and your decisions, holding yourself to your own standards (nobody else’s), standing up for what you believe in, and being OK with the fact that you can’t always make everyone happy!
In my mind, the key to real confidence lies in acceptance. Accepting who you are—what you truly love about yourself and also the things you’d love to improve—and celebrating it all. Rather than focusing on what you perceive as negative, focus on the positive and remind yourself of it as often as you can!
Everyone has things that they dislike about themselves; it’s how you deal with them that makes all the difference. If it’s something that you feel like you can improve on in a healthy way, go for it! Healthy self-improvement is a wonderful thing. If it’s something that you can’t change, then acceptance is key! Spending time fighting something about yourself, comparing yourself to others or trying to be something you’re not is exhausting. It takes away from all the incredible qualities that make you an individual.
It takes bravery to be confident. To tell yourself (and the world) “I may not be perfect but I’m pretty amazing,” to try something scary and new, or to fail and pull yourself up and try again. The key to getting there lies in accepting yourself, loving yourself, reminding yourself that you’re incredible… and true confidence will follow.
