50 Quick Tips for Boosting Your Confidence

I asked people on my Facebook page to list their favorite confidence-boosting tip. I ended up with an awesome list of 50 practical, real-life tested strategies which I’m excited to share with you!

I've grouped the tips into categories to make the list reader-friendly. As with any list like this, the tips scratch the surface of a deeper concept.

For a more in-depth look at these and other strategies, check out the new book I co-authored with Celia Ampel, The Self-Confidence Workbook: A Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt and Improving Self-Esteem.

Be Nice to Yourself

1. A new trick I've learned is to actually just be ok with myself when I'm not feeling confident. I talk to myself like a friend and use gentle encouragement to bolster myself.—Kristi

2. Being your own best cheerleader. Telling yourself, "I've got this!"—Megan

3. Self-compassion is a must for engaged living and it can be tough to remember that. One of the ways I keep it in mind is by remembering my mother’s laugh and her pride in her children.—Cindy

4. Remembering to take care of myself.—Tamara

5. Not pretending to be something I’m not.—Shannon

6. I trust myself and my inner guidance!—Barbara

Plan and Be Prepared

7. To feel confident, I always plan my priorities and meals in the evening for the next day. I sleep better knowing what is most important for the family and my well-being!—Karen

8. One of my tricks for being self-confident while giving a presentation is to be well-prepared and to love what I am talking about. In those moments I am eager to present and cannot wait for the audience to hear my talk.—Jadranka

Practice Gratitude

9. When I want to feel confidence, I remember how grateful I am for all the people and the good in my life. It may sound unrelated, but gratitude gives me confidence.—Malina

10. Embracing the little things. For example, I don’t like season changes, so I embrace something about it....like pumpkin spice!—Amanda

11. I keep a journal of positive affirmations and gratitude and I’ll pick a random page and reflect on it— reminds me of where I’ve been and energizes me for all that there is ahead.—Joseline

Remind Yourself of What Is Important

12. Practicing, presenting, or learning about the things I am most passionate about. This is what fills me with confidence!—Sasha

13. One of my tricks is that I have a daughter looking up to me for guidance.—Donna

14. When I need to act more confidently, I remind myself of my personal values. That makes me feel that I do have things to offer and contribute.—Julia

15. I try and be confident for my kids and teach them the same.—Tammy

16. I think about the times people have told me that I have helped them.—Shauna

17. For me, it is to remember to whom I belong.—Crystal

18. Set intentions for the moment, the week, my life and plan my actions accordingly. There will be obstacles and setbacks, and yet, I work to keep moving in the direction of what matters to me!—Linda

Remember When Things Went Well

19. I remember a time I took a risk and was/am happy about the outcome.—Liz

20. Remind myself of the moments I have been proud of myself.—Sarah

21. I feel more confident when I try to remember my strength, abilities, and the things that I achieved despite the hard circumstances.—Amjad

22. I feel confident when I tackle something I need to do. It creates momentum. “I accomplished that, why don’t I do this next, and then this...” -Nicole

23. When I want to feel confident, I remind myself that I can do hard things—often repeating the phrase as a mantra, either in my head or out loud, until I feel ready to deal with whatever comes my way.—Courtney

Practice Good Posture

24. My trick for confidence is to stand up tall. Having good posture always seems to put me in a better frame of mind.—Lindsay

25. A smile and awareness of posture—lengthening my spine rather than slumping!—Angie

26. When I am facing a crisis in my life I walk tall, head held high. This boosts my confidence to face each day until the crisis passes. Then I cry to let it all out.—Maxine

27. One of my tricks for feeling confident is to watch Wonder Woman! She is strong and powerful but also compassionate. She inspires me.—Kitty

Other Body-Based Tips

28. One of my simple tricks for feeling confident—breath. Deep, calming, soothing breathing. Always works.—Emilka

29. When I want to boost my confidence, I just think that everyone puts their pants on the same. And deep breathing helps as well.—Michael

30. One of my ways for feeling confident is to keep up my daily routine of meditation and yoga. I feel like I’m spending time with myself and getting to know and love myself just the way I am.—Heather

Mini-Confidence Boosters

31. Putting on a great pair of boots makes me feel confident to kick butt.—Shauna

32. The cup of tea I have at work in the morning. After I finish drinking it, I feel like I can conquer the world.—Oswald

33. I feel better when I am wearing a pair of beaded earrings that I made.—Anneh

34. I wear the color orange. It's my power color!—Fran

35. Wearing an outfit that makes me look good.—Amanda

36. My trick to feeling confident is playing music in the car before I go places to pump me up!—Jody

37. For me, it’s red lipstick. Makes me feel powerful.—Tara

38. I put some mascara on. I'm not massively into makeup and can go for weeks without wearing any. But for a quick confidence boost, mascara is my number 1 trick.—Becky

39. Taking the time to do my hair and put on makeup. As a stay-at-home mom, it's easy to fall into the trap of not taking time for yourself.—Jennifer

40. A great pair of heels can do wonders... until my feet start to hurt.—Darcy

41. I do three things to feel confident: I wear whatever makes me feel great that morning, I breathe, and I take a moment to say, "It is OK to feel and I am OK with my feelings." Finally, I listen to music to lift my mood.—Kerrie

Support

42. One trick I use is I imagine the supportive people in my life encouraging me and supporting me! It’s a great boost!—Tina

43. One of my tricks for feeling confident is surrounding myself with friends and family who are positive and encouraging. These are the people who help me to be my best self.—Amy

44. I surround myself with positive people and stay away from toxic people. I also focus on my accomplishments vs. negativity.—Nicole

Setting Boundaries

45. One of my tricks for feeling confident is curating my Facebook feed—I want to make sure that what shows up as I scroll through are things that lift me up, affirm me or challenge me. (So, many people's statuses don't get my attention—but that also means I'm potentially not comparing myself to others, which is a difficult thing to avoid with social media.)—Meg

46. Learning to say no to toxic people and situations makes me feel confident in taking care of myself.—Sandra

Act as If

47. When meeting someone new, I try to act like I have known them forever. It works for me most of the time.—Robin

Positive Affirmations and Quotes

48. My trick is to say some uplifting and positive affirmations to myself or read some inspiring quotes.—Miranda

49. I like to keep myself surrounded by positive sayings or verses. I have a pin that I carry with me often that says “Be Brave." When I am not feeling confident I will get it out to remind me that I’ve got this.—Sherry

50. I use my mantra that I am me. Not this body. Not defined by my job. I am me and my spirit shines brightly. This reminds me that that there is nothing to be afraid of. Fear is just made up in my mind.—Lisa

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