Boost Self Confidence with 5 Easy Techniques

There are very few people who could call themselves perfect and be right. Most of us need to build self confidence today, but the majority just either ignore the issues or concentrate on the negatives: stress, worry, jobs, money problems and relationship issues. Concentrating on these areas drains our self confidence rather than improving it.

If you could improve your self confidence you could make more money, look and feel better physically, or just be more relaxed with other people.  Below there are five simple techniques that have been proved to help build self confidence today.

1.  Talk to yourself. It sounds crazy but it works. All of us have a running monologue constantly in our heads, whether we realize it or not.  Everything we see, hear, or touch sparks off an immediate dialog in our thoughts.

For those who lack confidence this monologue is filled with negative messages many of which are the negative side of adverts from television, radio, advertisement boardings, newspapers, and just overhearing other people talk.

These negative thoughts literally suck energy from our minds and bodies and block the flow of positive messages. We need to hear the positive messages as they will build self confidence today and raise our self esteem.  Take control. Use your inner thoughts to talk to yourself in a positive manner, as often as you can.

As an example one of my regular sayings is "I like myself, I like myself, I like myself". I just repeat it for a couple of minutes.  It sounds cheesy, but does build self confidence today – Try it.  I bet that if you go to the mirror right now and repeat out loud "I like myself!" 50 times, it will be impossible to keep from smiling.

2.  Dress as smartly and as classily as you can.  You wont feel at your best if you don't look your best. You will be amazed at just how much more confidence you will have just looking your best.  It just feels good when you are wearing your best clothes, are well groomed, and are surrounded by a clean environment.  So what if it is Saturday, you need to build self confidence today not next week.  Put on your nice clothes, get the car washed, style that hair!  A hairdresser once told me "Everyday is show time!"

3.  Increase your self esteem even more by giving thanks to what you are, how you look, and what you are doing.  Say "thank you" to yourself to everything you see, all whom you meet, and each smile that you receive.

4. Stand or sit correctly:  How you stand sends out a message to the World, and in turn, back to you. This results in improving how you feel about yourself and will build self confidence today and every day.

There is scientific evidence that shows how posture affects our mood. Do not slouch. Slouching produces a down mood. By slouching you are telling the world and yourself it doesn't matter, you don't matter.  Standing tall and upright will actually lift your mood.  Help build up your confidence by pulling back those shoulders, stop that slouch, and walk proud.

5.  Smile. Just smile and things seem better somehow. Practice smiling regularly and get your facial muscles used to the physical act of smiling.

Go to the mirror and smile – make yourself. Not a grimace, but a proper smile. If you don't think you can try this:

1)Open your eyes as wide as you can – (try and get your eyebrows right up to you hair line)
2)Slightly open your mouth
3)Pull the corners of your mouth back towards your ears (If your not sure pull them back with your fingers so you know what it feels like then try again without your fingers).
4)Repeat 50 times. Get your facial muscles used to smiling and you will smile more and encourage smiles from others. This will make you feel happier and with that you'll build self confidence today.

Living in the Moment for Maximum Happiness

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” --Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) American writer, author, naturalist

How do you actually spend your days? Are you focused and committed to everything you do? If you are, that’s wonderful! But if that’s not you, does this ring a bell? Are you spending a lot of your day thinking about what has happened to you up to this moment? Or are you waiting for something to happen, for the right opportunity to come along, to get some more time, make some more money, meet the right person? Are you dreaming of what might happen next week, next month, next year? STOP!

Each day you are given is a gift. It is time to value every moment. We all have 24 hours a day. No more. No less. The clock is ticking and there will be no second chance. You cannot get time back once it has gone. What do you choose to do with your 24 hours? Are you letting life just happen? Decide to take control. Stop rushing. Savour every moment as it happens. Take note of everything around you. Be in the moment as it happens. Listen to the sounds, observe other people, see the buds on the trees and shrubs, the spring flowers peeping out through the snow. Don’t miss what is happening now in your world.

Act as though this day was your last. What message would you like to leave? Treat everyone you meet with care, kindness and understanding. Communicate clearly. Make every encounter with another person important. Give them respect, admiration and courtesy and you will attract the same. Do what you are doing to the best of your ability. Make only commitments you can deliver. Trust yourself to say and do the right thing. Choose to be excellent in all that you do. Be more, do more, demand and expect more from yourself. Focus on what needs to be done now, on results. Prioritize your time – don’t waste it. See every challenge or problem is a chance to grow.

Live your life on purpose, not by accident. The past – it’s over with and should be nothing but a fading memory. The future – it simply hasn’t happened yet and things you do today, now, are likely to have an impact on that future. Don’t compare your present situation to anything else – accept it for what it is and make the most of it – or decide to take action now if it is not the present you want. Acknowledge that nothing will improve unless you do something about it. Be happy. Don’t wait for events or other people to make you happy. Have some fun! Start enjoying your life – now, today. Start doing things you enjoy or try something different. Keep your sense of humour, your sense of fun. Think ‘This is my day of opportunity!’ – every day! Seize and enjoy every moment. Every morning is a fresh beginning. What are you waiting for?

The Key to Happiness - Not what you might think

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. --Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965) 

We are busier than we have ever been, working long hours and feeling under more and more pressure. How do you spend your days? For many people work and pleasure are seen as separate, with work being a chore that has to be done to pay the bills. It doesn’t always have to be like that. Although we don’t have to love everything we do, we do need to gain some enjoyment from most of what we do. Take a moment to see if it is time to start afresh and do something you love, something that adds the pleasure factor back into your working life? 

Think about what matters to you and why you do the things you do. For each person that means something different. What aspects of a job are important to you? List them. Think about your dream job. Does it motivate and inspire you? If not, think again. It has to mean something to you; otherwise you will not be prepared to put in the effort to achieve what you want. Ask: ‘What am I prepared to give up to make this happen?’ ‘What would I love to try?’ ‘What options do I have?’ ‘What are my talents, skills and qualities?’ ‘How can I utilise them in my ideal job?’ How can you take an idea and turn it into reality? Get creative and think through how you could make money doing what you enjoy.

Starting anew requires courage, confidence and commitment. Hold on to your sense of purpose. Believe in yourself. Ignore the critics, for there are bound to be some, and face your fears (there will many of those too!). Ask for help from those people who can assist you and get supporters to keep you motivated. Research things that interest you and, if necessary, go back to basics and learn new skills. Develop a clear vision of where you’d like to be in 10 years’ time – and why. Write it down. Be specific. This will provide you with something to focus on. Think creatively. This may not happen all of a sudden, but if you work at it gradually, day by day, it can happen. 

And if starting something new is not for you, how can you love the job you already have? You can’t always control your situation, but you can always choose how you react to it. Your attitude colours how you face every day and has an influence on the people around you. Choose to be positive. Are there areas of your job that you can improve on? Who can you discuss this with? Is a change to a new role in the same company an option? Examine the possibilities. Your job does not define you, but how you do it does. 

And why bother? Doing what you love gives you a good reason to get up every morning. Your life will be challenging, certainly, exciting, definitely. Doing things you enjoy which give you personal fulfilment and satisfaction has been shown to contribute to good health and longevity. Don’t wait for perfect circumstances to start. Begin now!

20 Ways to make People Smile

Do you want to put a smile on someone's face today? Maybe make their day a little better. It won't cost you a single penny or much time to do just that. And because smiling is contagious, it probably won't just be one person you make smile today.

Here are 20 ways to turn that frown upside down.

1.  Send some flowers to your partner at work.
2.  Compliment a friend or work colleague on their appearance.
3.  Donate something to charity.
4.  Take a friend out to lunch.
5.  Let someone know you miss them.
6.  Make a surprise telephone call to your partner at work, just to say hi.
7.  Hold a door open for someone walking behind you.
8.  Hug your partner for no reason.
9.  Leave a joke on a friends answer machine.
10. Send a card to a friend letting them know what a good friend they are.
11. Give up your seat on the train to someone when there aren't any left.
12. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.
13. Ask a friend if they need anything while you're out shopping.
14. When it's raining, plan an indoor picnic with your children.
15. Leave a love letter somewhere where your partner will find it.
16. Send someone an unusual and unexpected gift like chocolate, flowers or sex toys.
17. Tell your child you're proud of them.
18. Tell someone you thought about them the other day.
19. Cook a surprise meal for your partner one night, especially if they normally do the cooking.
20. Tell your partner you love them.

Did you know it takes only 17 muscles to smile, but 43 to frown. Why waste all that energy frowning when you could just smile.

Here are 5 more facts about smiling.

1. Women smile more than men.
2. Smiling releases endorphins that make us feel better.
3. We are all born with the ability to smile, it's not something we learn from others.
4. A smile is a universal expression of happiness.
5. A smiling person is thought to be a more pleasant, attractive, sociable, sincere and competent than a non-smiling person.

Just remember, smiling is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your looks.