According to the dictionary, the word happiness is “the emotional and mental state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” Confidence is a word that describes a feeling of self-assurance arising from appreciating your own abilities or qualities.

In short, happy people tend to feel good about themselves and their lives, while confident people tend to feel like they can achieve their goals. It is widely accepted that confidence plays a key role in happiness. In other words, confident people tend to be happier and more successful than those who lack confidence.

Here are five reasons why confidence is important to happiness.

Confidence Boosts Self-Esteem and Self-Worth

People who lack confidence often have low self-esteem and feel unworthy of happiness. However, when you are confident in yourself, you believe that you deserve to be happy, boosting your self-esteem. As your self-esteem grows, so does your sense of happiness.

Confident People Take More Strategic Risks

Taking risks is part of life. Risk taking can lead to great rewards. However, people who lack confidence are often too afraid to take risks, sometimes leading to a duller and less fulfilling life. But if you work on your confidence, you can join other confident people in taking more risks and answering the door when opportunity knocks.

Confidence Attracts Positive People and Opportunities

People who lack confidence often find themselves surrounded by negative people and situations. As a result, they give off an aura of insecurity, attracting negativity. In contrast, confident people tend to attract positive people and opportunities into their lives.

Confidence Allows You to Enjoy Life More

When you lack confidence, you constantly worry about what others think of you and whether or not you are good enough. A lack of confidence takes from your enjoyment of life. When you are confident, you can relax and enjoy life more.

Confidence Leads to Success

Confident people achieve more goals than those who lack confidence. This is because they believe in themselves and their ability to succeed. When you lack confidence, it is harder to do anything to achieve your goals. When you are confident, you are more likely to take action because you believe in your plan.

These reasons why confidence is vital to happiness should motivate you if you feel you need to work on your confidence level. To sum up: if you want to be happy, start by increasing your confidence level. Then, take risks, surround yourself with positive people, and enjoy life more. Soon, you will see that confidence does lead to happiness.

Confidence is essential in order to move forward and go after your dreams. No matter what life throws at you, confidence prepares you for it. Conversely, lack of confidence can decrease the quality of your overall health, make it difficult to make the right decisions, and prevent you from achieving your goals.

It’s simple: when you don’t have the confidence or belief that you can accomplish something, you are less likely to do it, which then makes building up your confidence a high priority if you want to live happily and successfully.

Here are four steps to follow to build more confidence and improve your life.

Step One: Start with Positive Self-Awareness

Often, a lack of confidence means you don’t have enough information or knowledge to do better. To seek this information, you need to be aware of your actions and those around you. However, it needs to be met with positivity for you to grow and be more confident.

It’s simple. Negativity only brews more negativity. Mistakes don’t need harsh responses. Everyone makes mistakes; it is a natural part of life. However, having increased self-awareness allows you to see the areas where you truly thrive and discover you have more than it takes to be successful in life.

Step Two: Learn to Embrace Failure

Fear of failure is a real fear, and it’s a common reason why people lack confidence. However, having this mindset will only worsen the situation because you are more likely to respond poorly when it does happen – creating a ripple effect that is harder to come out of.

In contrast, most successful people have failed many times throughout their life and see those failures as the sole reason they are there in the first place. Without failure, they would not have discovered the tools they know today. Likewise, expecting failure means finding the tools and resources to overcome it.

Step Three: Ditch Absolutes

As previously mentioned, negativity only creates more negativity that hinders your overall success, which is why negative thoughts or absolute thinking must be stopped right away. Saying the words “I can’t” or “I will never” will only keep you down. Any time you catch yourself saying these words, turn them around – even if you don’t believe them at first. Positive words of affirmation increases your confidence by keeping your thoughts more positive.  

Step Four: Take Action and Recognize Improvement

The last step is always to take action towards your goals and dreams no matter what. Surrounding yourself with the things or people you love and want builds your confidence exponentially.

When your confidence is low, remember these four simple steps to get you back on your feet quickly. Remember, confidence is something that needs to be maintained. It is only natural for it to go up and down. However, what you do or don’t do to change makes a difference. With these steps, you will be sure you have the confidence you need each and every day. Before you know it, you will achieve your goals and live the life you were meant to live..

7 Things You Can Do to Boost Your Confidence Right Now

Confidence is a funny thing. When we have it, we tend to not think about it. We simply go out and do things. We probably don’t even realize just how amazing some of those things are.

But when confidence has taken a sharp blow, suddenly everything becomes more difficult. Even getting started on something so simple as a new project or talking to a stranger can seem daunting. The world becomes a much more complicated and difficult place.

So, if you’re needing confidence, you’re in the right place. Read on to find out about some really clever things you can do to boost your confidence right now.

Make a List

Caught up in a spiral of thinking you never do anything, right? Defeat the blah blues by making a list of everything you’ve accomplished. You’ll very likely be pleasantly surprised to find out just how capable you are.

Learn Stuff

Nothing makes you feel more confident than having the feeling you know what you’re doing. With this in mind, become an expert somewhere. How about learning how to make the best-mixed drinks, take up a hobby you’ve been thinking about forever, or get a skill certification at your local community college?

Dress the Part

When you look your best, you can’t help but feel confident. Always wear clothing that makes you feel like a million bucks.

Understand Your Belief System

Do you hold with certain moral or religious beliefs? Why? Having your values questioned has a way of demoralizing even the most confident person. On the other hand, having a clear understanding about what you believe will give you the confidence to share these beliefs with those around you.

Do What Scares You

Nothing builds confidence more than achieving something you previously thought was beyond your capabilities. Dare to do something you never thought you’d do. For some, that might be something super adventurous, like skydiving. For others, even talking to a stranger can be terrifyingly daunting.

Be Inspired

Feeling like you can’t achieve what you want to? Find books, videos, or documentaries on people who’ve done something similar. Confidence comes from knowing what you want in life is possible. If they can do it, you can too!

Analyze Your Actions

Feeling like you’ve been making nothing but the wrong decisions? It’s hard to feel confident when your moral compass is taking a beating. Ask yourself if your actions are in keeping with what you believe. If not, something needs to change before you can be your confident self again.

In all of this, remember the most important thing is to be true to yourself. You’ll never feel confident if you’re caught up in trying to be something you’re not. Be true to you first and foremost. The rest will follow.

5 Things to Reclaim Your Confidence When It Has Taken a Blow

No one is confident all the time. Think about it. Even the superstars have bad days from time to time. Take for example, actor Christ Pratt. After being cast in several roles where he played a jerk because (as he was often told), ‘you just look like a jerk,’ he started doubting himself. He lost his confidence. Yet no one can argue with his success now.

When we lose our confidence, we initially flounder. Chris Pratt started stress eating. He even wanted to give up. He didn’t though, and neither should you. In fact, it’s a lot easier to reclaim your confidence than you think. Even after it’s taken a severe blow.

Find a Friend

Sometimes the best therapy is to just talk things through with a friend or mentor. Rehashing what just happened clarifies in your own mind the incident and helps you to process your emotions connected with whatever caused the blow. Doing this with a friend means doing this with the help of someone who won’t let you fall into confidence defeating self-talk. Keep in mind, though, this isn’t the job of a casual acquaintance. Pick someone you can count on to be honest, who’s already in your corner.

Dive Back In

Doing nothing guarantees continued failure. This is why it’s so important to jump back in and try again when your confidence is shaken. Going back to our example of the actor Chris Pratt, he always kept looking for the next role to play despite how the previous one turned out.

Celebrate the Successes, No Matter How Small

Once you’re in motion, you’re going to start seeing progress. Embrace even the tiniest of steps. Anytime you’ve gained momentum, it’s worth celebrating. In fact, these small successes are what’s going to do the most work in rebuilding confidence, which you’ll see in the next step.

Revisit Your Accomplishment

Take a minute and think about those things which you have accomplished. By recognizing you’re capable of success, you’ll start to realize the negative things you’re telling yourself about you are not necessarily true. Here is where you recognize you’re worth more than you think. With this comes confidence.

Learn Lessons

Failure is also valuable. It’s in moments of disaster where you learn the best things. This goes far beyond the basics of finding out what doesn’t work. The best character-building exercises come straight out of these kinds of mistakes, building confidence, and showing what you’re capable of.

In the end, Chris Pratt gained his confidence back by following steps very much like these. He found out he was good at humor and used the lessons learned to move forward and build a fantastic career. You too can find success and brand-new confidence again. Hang in there. You’ll be amazed at how far you can go with a little confidence!

8 Tips for Reclaiming Lost Confidence Quickly

Not having a good day? Before you start internalizing and ruining what little confidence you have left after the disaster, think about these things:

Remember Who Loves You

Sometimes just knowing someone is already in your corner is enough to replenish fading confidence. After all, your friends are your friends for a reason, right? If you’re feeling particularly alone, you might want to consider your Facebook feed or Instagram followers. Someone out there cares about you, probably more than you think.

Realize What Caused the Shift

Something just caused you to lose confidence. What is it? By figuring out where the problem lies, you’re that much closer to solving it.

Remember Who You Were

Somewhere before this confidence drop, you were someone else entirely. In other words, if you were confident once, it’s merely a matter of remembering who that person was. Believe it or not, you’re still the same person inside. You’re just not feeling it right now.

Figure Out the Goals

How are you supposed to move forward from this point if you don’t know where you’re going? It’s definitely time to look at the future ahead of you. Where do you see yourself in a week? A month? A year? What does this person look like? What are they accomplishing? Here’s where you do some serious goal setting. You’ll be amazed at how much a solid destination helps confidence.

Try a Strategic Retreat

If your confidence is wavering thanks to the input of a certain situation or individual, it might be time to pull back. There’s nothing wrong with cutting toxic people out of your lives, and no one says you need to stay in an unhealthy situation. The absolute best thing you can do for your confidence is to protect yourself from things bent on destroying it.

Talk to Your Tribe

It’s nearly impossible to feel confident after a hard blow when you’re going it alone. Find your friends and supporters. Talk to your mentors. These are people who are there to help and build you up. Let them.

Act “As If”

Faking it is an amazing magical thing all on its own. Oddly enough, studies have found that people who go out and fake confidence start feeling genuine confidence very quickly.

Give Yourself Time

Nothing happens overnight. Realize the process might take longer than you want it to. Be patient and acknowledge it might be a while before you feel your old self again.

7 Secrets to Reclaiming Confidence that Successful People Know

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

The problem is, enthusiasm can be hard to come by, especially when yours has taken a beating. Setbacks and disappointments have a way of knocking it down. We start doubting ourselves and lose sight of who we really are. Without confidence, it becomes impossible to try, guaranteeing failure.

Thankfully, we know one thing for certain: confidence can be reclaimed, as every successful person knows. Read on to discover 7 things successful people know about reclaiming confidence.

They Remind Themselves They Can Do It

Successful people recognize failure is normal. Getting there won’t be without bumps. The important thing when trying to regain confidence is to realize success is still a possibility…or even a probability. This is where you remind yourself of your goal and visualize success all over again.

They Walk Away

There comes a time where a break is the best thing you can give yourself. Confidence wavers when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Doing a hobby you love, or even just taking a walk, or spending time with friends, does a lot toward regaining a positive mindset when you’re feeling frustrated.

They Revisit the Past

Where have you succeeded before? Where have you failed? Everything that’s come before is a teaching moment. What do you know about yourself already from these events? Understanding the “you of yesterday” is where your insights today come from. Confidence comes from using this knowledge well.

They Forgive

Hating yourself for some mistake you made isn’t going to get you anywhere and only destroys your confidence. Being able to let go and forgive the past is crucial to future success.

They Keep a Handle on What They’re Saying

Self-talk can be particularly destructive to confidence. How do you talk to yourself? Are you patient and understanding, or do you tend toward negativity? Grabbing hold of those mental put-downs will preserve self-confidence. Using more positive statements will build it up.

They Start Over

The only sure way to fail is to do the same thing, in exactly the same way, when you’ve already failed the first time. Rather than force failure onto yourself and eradicate confidence, revamp the strategy. Ask yourself how you can do things differently this time.

They Keep Trying

Persistence pays off. If you fail and stop, you’ll always think of yourself as a failure. It’s the person who gets up and tries again who builds confidence as they go.

In the end, the only way to reclaim your confidence is to put intentional work into recovering it. By using these tips, you’ll get there. Recognize the process can sometimes be slow, but success truly does still lie within your grasp, even after a setback.

8 Power-Ups for Reclaiming Confidence

There is nothing more crippling than losing your confidence.

Without confidence, everything gets harder. You struggle to concentrate. Tasks feel overwhelming. If you stay there, you’ll even find a more long-term emotional impact, where you might fall into depression or become bogged down in indecision. Without confidence, you lose all forward progress.

This is why it’s so important to reclaim your confidence after suffering a blow. For a fast boost, try these eight power-ups.

Do What Makes You Uncomfortable

When you take risks, you stretch yourself in surprising new ways. This is a powerful feeling. Why? It takes confidence to step outside your comfort zone. Trying something new forces you to act with confidence, whether you started out feeling it or not.

Find Your Purpose

Knowing what you’re destined to do is a fantastic feeling and fills a person with confidence. If you’re unsure why you’ve set a particular goal, or are questioning what you’re doing, you’re not likely to feel confident at all. Solidifying the goal in your mind is a rapid boost to confidence then.

Keep Trying

It’s normal to experience failure from time to time. This kind of disaster can easily destroy confidence. You regain this confidence when you get up and try again.

Learn Things

Knowledge truly is power. When you really understand something inside out, you tend to be very confident (at least in that area). Continually learning new things expands your knowledge base. As a result, your confidence extends in new directions as well.

Drop the Idea Things Have to be Perfect

When nothing is ever good enough, confidence falters. How are you supposed to feel sure of yourself when you’re feeling things are always unfinished or lacking somehow? By accepting things as they are, warts and all, you’ll find you’re relax more and even become more confident in what you’re doing because you’re telling yourself that what you have or are doing is exactly what you need.

Dress for Success

How we present ourselves to the world really can affect our mental state. Wearing what makes you feel good about yourself will restore confidence. A change in attitude is only a change in outfit away.

Trust Yourself

When you doubt your instincts, you’re telling yourself you don’t really know what you’re doing. This is why it’s so important to ‘go with your gut’ when faced with a challenge. This kind of trust instills confidence in your ability to judge a situation or outcome.

Look Forward

Confidence has a hard time standing up to ghosts from the past. When you get caught up in your previous failures or uncertainties, confidence falters. Instead, look forward to positive emotions. When you recognize your potential, you start seeing just how amazing you are.

3 Truths About Reclaiming Confidence You Need to Know Right Now

Not everyone is going to get it right. Sadly, there’s always someone quick to point out when you’re getting it wrong. It’s when you come under fire that you lose confidence quickly.

To get past this kind of blow to our confidence, you need to understand these simple truths:

Not Everyone Has It Right. Not Even You

Haters are gonna hate. But just because someone comes at you with the most reasonable-sounding explanation in the world of why you’re an idiot (and you’re an expert at giving that speech to yourself), the truth is, the person doing the talking quite likely doesn’t know what they’re talking about. This is because of one simple truth: People really don’t know everything, and even when they think they do, they have a tendency to get things wrong. So just because something nasty has been said, it doesn’t make it right. Regardless of who it’s coming from.

A Lot of Criticism is Grounded in Jealousy

That disaster you’re beating yourself up over? How much of it was the result of the green-eyed monster? Too often, we give people authority over us they don’t deserve. We listen to their complaints thinking they’re right without questioning why they’re attacking what you’re doing. The biggest culprit of why you’ve drawn the attention of the critics is jealousy. Don’t let someone pull down your confidence just because they’re feeling threatened by where you are.

You’re Better Than You Think

The loss of confidence can make you the critic. Why? Because now you’re looking for justification for thinking you’re no good. And trust me, when you go hunting for this kind of justification, you’ll always find it. Here’s where you need to back up and take a good, hard, impartial look at yourself. Ask:

• Is This Thought Really True?
• For example, you might be thinking, “I fail at everything I do.” Is this realistic? Probably not.

• If This Thought Isn’t True, What Emotion is it Coming From?
• The most likely explanation? A lot of negative emotions come from fear. In the previous example, you might be afraid of failing, so by convincing yourself you’re a failure already, you no longer have to try.

• What’s a Truer Statement I Might Make Instead?
• Try rewording the thought and keep it honest. ‘I’m afraid of failing, but since I’ve succeeded in the past, there’s good reason to think I will succeed now.”

Confidence comes from accepting the reality of who you are and where you are. Remember, nobody, not even you, has a right to make you feel small.

7 Small Ideas to Reclaim Confidence in Big Ways

Children are absolutely fearless. If you ever doubt this fact, then spend some time on a playground, and you’ll see exactly what’s meant by this statement. They jump into play, enlisting the help of perfect strangers for companionship and to meet their goals. They climb and run and jump, frequently with unbridled enthusiasm that adults come to envy.

We’re actually born with confidence. Sadly, this becomes lost through experience. All it takes is a nasty trip and fall to teach a child to approach life with more care. As we grow older, the process continues. We lose confidence with every failure and start taking to heart every harsh criticism. Soon we become so immobilized we see no way out.

The good news? Confidence can be fixed just by making several small changes in your life. Read on to find out how.

Honor Small Achievements

If you’re feeling like you never do anything right, making a list of the things you do well, and the accomplishments you’ve made is a great place to start. Enlist the help of someone who knows you well, as they’re apt to think of the things you might be too close to see. Once you have your list, keep it handy and re-read it when you feel confidence flagging.

Pull Yourself Together

A lack of confidence can make you want to hide in your own clothes. Rather than losing yourself in baggy, unattractive clothing, pull out the outfits you know you look good in. You’ll find yourself feeling more confident every time you look in the mirror.

Clean Up Your Act

Like dressing well, just taking better care of yourself does wonders for confidence. Eat right, exercise, and be sure to get enough sleep. You’ll feel worlds better, meaning your outlook likewise improves.

Check the Self Talk

Speaking of outlook, what have you been telling yourself? If you’re hyper-critical, it’s no wonder your confidence is flagging. Instead, turn your inner dialogue positive, focusing on the things you like best about yourself.

Challenge Yourself in Small Ways

A little success goes a long way toward improving confidence. Give yourself a task to do you know you can complete then set about doing it. Just the feeling you get when you finish is enough to give you a positive boost.

Finish Something

We all have unfinished projects around the house or at work. Digging in and finishing up something you’ve needed to for a while will serve a twofold purpose: you’ll feel good about getting something done, and you’ll even reduce some of the stress hanging over you. Both things increase confidence in giant ways.

Be Nice

Doing a kindness always boosts your own mood. This leads to increased confidence as you realize you really can make a difference in someone else’s life.

Because confidence comes from acting, use this list as a jumping-off point. Soon you’ll be discovering a multitude of ways to increase confidence. How exciting is that?

4 Things You Need to be Doing Now to Reclaim Lost Confidence

Confidence. It’s such an essential part of who we are, that we become crippled when we lose it entirely. Even a ding on our confidence levels can have a way of setting us back or even derailing our day. This is why it’s so important to reclaim lost confidence quickly when you lose it.

Thankfully, there’s been a lot of scientific study into confidence and what happens in the brain to inspire it. Read on to find out about 4 scientifically proven things you need to be doing right now to reclaim lost confidence.

Start with a Vision

Perhaps one of the most underrated techniques to attain success is visualization. Most people look at this in surface terms. They might picture the project completed without taking the time to really envision the act in absolute detail. The thing is the more complex the visualization, the more likely you are to realize the success you’re striving for. Why? You’re actually building neural pathways designed to ‘trick’ your brain into thinking you’ve already succeeded, leading you to step out with a lot more confidence when you’re working toward your goals.

Use Affirmations Often

Silly as it seems, using positive statements about yourself frequently will turn into positive self-talk. This kind of internal dialogue bolsters confidence without you even realizing you’re doing it.

Win Lots

How many successes have you had today? Most people would probably say very few, focusing only on the big victories such as the promotion at work, or meeting some big relationship milestone. The thing is, our day is filled with small successes. By recognizing all these minor victories, you signal your brain that, yay, you did this thing. This creates a rush of dopamine (the ‘feel-good’ brain chemical) coupled with a dose of testosterone, which acts as an appetite for more victories, making petty wins addictive. All this together creates a biofeedback loop that pushes confidence levels higher the more you ‘win.’

Change Your Position

Body language tells the world everything they need to know about you. When confidence is low, you look it. Your entire body slumps, your limbs feel slack, and your energy levels drop down to nothing. But doing something so small as sitting up straighter or taking a more assertive pose, your body recognizes this as confidence. As a result, you start feeling more confident inside, whether you’d felt confident before shifting position or not.

Understanding how the mind works make restoring confidence an easy task. These actions are all simple, easy to do things even when you’re not feeling confident at all initially. The results will speak for themselves.