Are you dreading the thought of going back to school? None of us want summer vacation to come to an end, but we’re excited to start school again – I know, it’s all contradictory but is that not that the story of every girl’s life?
Being around our peers all day, every day, can seriously take a hit at our confidence levels. You might be worrying about your popularity, physique, intelligence or achievements during the summer but you shouldn’t work yourself into a sweat! You have a month before school starts so take the time to follow these 10 steps that will help boost your confidence right now. So when you walk through those huge school doors, you’ll be the ultimate and most-confident you.
Exercise
Yes, it’s summer and you may feel like you deserve to stuff your face with cake while tanning on the beach. You need some rest after that chaotic exam experience but it’s safe to assume that you’ve had more rest than necessary. After a while of just sleeping, eating and going out with friends, you’ll get tired of your repetitive lifestyle, which is not good for your mental health. So, why not break your lazy-summer routine and take some time to get back into shape? Maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle will help boost your confidence level. Knowing that you’re healthy is a great self-esteem booster because, as cheesy it may sound, your health is your greatest wealth!
Eat Healthy
Your plate needs to look like the food that I feed my rabbits. Go green! This means saying no to the last batch of cookies your mom just baked, or any other type of junk food for that matter. We all have guilty pleasures, and my personal one is chocolate. Any food with a chocolate flavour will be eaten up within seconds, but making sure that I eat healthy is an important component to my self-confidence. You can have the most fit and toned body but if you’re chowing down on barbecue flavoured ribs, fries, burgers, and treating yourself to chocolate dessert, your body will still feel horrible, regardless of your external physique. Change your eating habits and transform those two to three big meals per day into six small portioned meals. After a few weeks of chocolate sobriety, oatmeal will taste like chocolate fondue with a cherry on top.
Compliment Yourself
Go ahead, walk up to the mirror as much as you like and check yourself out. I’m not telling you to boast about your good looks, but it’s totally fine for you to look at yourself in the mirror every once in a while and say: “Damn! I look pretty good.” I think we’ve all shamed our bodies enough as it is. If our mirrors could talk they would say something along the following lines: “Great, what other nonexistent flaws are you going to complain about today?” Clearly, mirrors don’t talk, but we definitely do make up some ridiculous flaws about our bodies. After a lifetime of shaming our own bodies, we deserve to dance to the tunes of Queen Bey as we chant about our flawlessness in our most natural habitat. If we woke up like this, we better learn to appreciate it and accept ourselves, flaws or no flaws. The more you love yourself, the more others will be drawn to you too.
Take Selfies
Make sure to capture every moment of your hot days, so that when you’re not feeling too hot, you can rely on those pictures to make you feel alive again. You don’t need to go crazy and start your own selfie book like Kim K. did, but you can definitely keep these pictures to appreciate your beauty and youth.
Educate Yourself
I know it’s summer and the last thing you want to do is read a book. However, this is your only chance to learn more about the topics that really interest you. Your brain is a sponge looking to absorb more and more information as each day passes. You can’t stop learning once school ends. You have to make it a lifetime goal to continuously educate yourself on a variety of different topics. The more you know, the better. Once you feel smarter, your self-esteem is bound to be higher than the ceiling. You have control of all things around you because you’re no longer asking the questions, instead you’re providing all the answers.
Nourish your Mind with Positive Thoughts
Stop focusing on all the things you haven’t achieved yet, and take pride in everything that you have. Be proud of your past experiences, your current abilities, strengths and even your weaknesses. Personal growth is all about self-acceptance, which ultimately leads to high self-esteem. Make it your goal to be busy at all times. By focusing all your energy on positive thoughts and actions, you will avoid downplaying your success and achievements.
Set Realistic Goals and Achieve Them
Cheat yourself into an easy success. Start small and lead yourself towards greater achievements. For now, you can start by setting a goal of committing to daily exercise, even if that consists of only five minutes of fitness per day. Don’t expect to achieve ultimate success overnight. In the meantime, give yourself a break every once in a while to really appreciate your progress on your way up. At the end of the day, the achievement of a small but realistic goal feels much better than not achieving an idealistic goal.
Network and Socialize
Surround yourself with good supportive friends – the kind of people who have nothing but positive energy, nice compliments and productive criticism to share with you. Meeting new people and making new friends is a great confidence booster. Knowing that you’re a social butterfly can’t be bad for your pride. In fact, I urge you to dress up and attend some networking events. It’s never too early or late to make some great connections and gain professional contacts.
Be Flirty
They say diamond is a girl’s best friend, I say attention is. Don’t you feel so much better about yourself when you attract the right amount of attention from the right person? Don’t be coy, it’s no secret that being desired by someone in a little game of cat and mouse can help with everyone’s self-esteem. So, next time you see your cute colleague at work, strike up a conversation with him and don’t be afraid to laugh at his jokes.
Take Risks!
Maintaining an open mind for new opportunities will definitely provide you with much better experiences than you’ve ever imagined. Taking risks that lead you to success will reassure you of your good judgement and undoubtedly boost your confidence. So, try new things, explore your options and don’t be afraid to tackle a full workload because coming out of such difficult situations with high achievements will definitely be beneficial to your self-esteem.
Remember, the best quality in a woman is her level of confidence and self-worth. You have to accept and love yourself for who you are, flaws and all. This means acknowledging both your mistakes and achievements. How can we expect others not to judge us, and instead appreciate our accomplishments, if we cannot do it ourselves? Make an effort to achieve a better version of you every day.
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