You reap what you sow – how to boost self-confidence

What can you do for yourself this week? If you’re looking for ways to boost self-confidence, did you know that self-care is crucial for confidence. In fact, self-care often ranks in the top 10 confidence builders along with exercise and positive thinking.

Connecting with ourselves by acknowledging our emotions is also a great place to start before we embark on improving our confidence. And, to me, this is a form of self-care in itself… whether you journal or ponder your thoughts while you sip a drink, water the plants, watch the sunset.. whatever it is… take your time, don’t rush.. go with the flow. This is crucial because to effectively communicate with others we first need a solid connection to our self. As without this, we can suffer from low confidence in ourselves. So what can we do to increase our self-confidence?

Aligning our actions with our values

Whatever you do today has consequences tomorrow. And I have realised that self-confidence is actually self-trust. Because confidence comes from integrity and trusting the self to always do the right thing. Integrity is about consistently aligning our actions with our values. It is doing what we say we’ll do and living our true essence wherever and whenever possible.

“Integrity is when there is no difference between who you are and what you say you are“

HOLSTEE

Integrity keeps us in touch with our values and our sense of self-worth

I had a coffee pencilled in with a friend this week and although I was looking forward to it, a part of me wanted to reschedule. I had so much to do that I was letting my to-do list and my head take over. But I got back in touch with my heart and my values…. connection, loyalty, love, authenticity, joy… and realised not going would have caused me problems, mainly guilt and definitely regret. So I went and we chatted and laughed and it lifted me up no end. Time seemed to stand still while also disappearing so fast that I wasn’t sure if I’d been there 10 minutes or two hours!

Reflection keeps us aware of ourselves

To cut a long story short, catching up with my friend was the highlight of my day… it helped me reconnect with my heart, which went beyond self-care to a form of self-love, rather than just satisfying the ego by mindlessly by ticking things off the to-do list. Also, watching the sunlight over the field in the evening while reflecting on my day was another form of self-care. It brought beauty, peace and gratitude into my day to round it off on a high note.

If you’d like to receive my special Self-Love Workbook which is essential to self-confidence and a feeling of self-worth, click below

So if you are wondering how to boost self-confidence then embrace self-care, but make sure you choose actions that align with your values and celebrate them. So in other words, stay true to yourself and stay true to your word. At the very least don’t agree to something you can’t uphold. This is what integrity is all about.

Living with integrity to boost self-confidence

Living with integrity is about how often our actions reflect our values, and I think you already know that it feels REALLY GOOD when we do this (and pretty rubbish when we don’t). Now, this can take some time and self-awareness but this kind of self-trust magically starts to happen when there is an alignment between what you think, feel and do (both in public and in secret!).

Signs we are not living in alignment

When we get angry with ourselves or others this is often because we are not living in alignment yet, maybe we are forever trying to ‘people please’ or maybe we have our expectations set so high that we feel despondent and weak when we (or others) don’t meet them. However, the good news is – every time you do something you say you’re going to do, your energy shifts from the lower vibes to the higher ones. (Whoop!)

That’s why the phrase “You get what you give” is so true…

Communication is key

So stop lying to yourself and stop lying to others. If certain changes can’t happen yet that’s fine, just accept that and own it. No one is perfect! Communication is also key – people won’t mind as long as you are honest with them – try it! And if you need some time out to just go with the flow then do it. Don’t feel bad about saying ‘no’, it’s crucial sometimes for protecting your energy, just make sure you say ‘no’ with grace and try not to let someone down at the last minute.

Be kind to yourself

Be kind to yourself while making these changes to become the best version of you. Release the pressure and expectation while you take some baby steps. Lastly, be careful with your commitments – don’t say ‘yes’ to everything, and remember that you are priority no.1 (especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed).

My top 10 self-care tips to boost your self-confidence…

… and your self-love!

• Don’t say ‘yes’ to everything but when you do, make sure you follow through.
• Expand your comfort zone – take up a new hobby, reach out to someone, invest in yourself!
• Remove the expectation – take the pressure off by taking baby steps
• Watch the things you say to yourself – hush that inner critic with some positive affirmations
• Stop lying to yourself and others – communicate the truth, use your heart
• Watch your body posture – keep your shoulders back and head held high
• Live with integrity – always make sure your actions reflect your values
• Live in the present moment – worrying about the past or future is a constant energy drain
• Self-care in the form of reflection or journaling – get in touch with your emotions and accept where you’re at
• Celebrate your wins – focus on what you’ve done right rather than what you’ve done wrong
• List things about yourself that you are proud of – eg. your strengths & natural talents. Look at it when you’re feeling low.

Hope these help! Let me know how you get on… And finally, remember that whatever you do (or don’t do) today has consequences tomorrow! “You reap what you sow” means you get what you give – so whatever you put your time, talent and energy into is what you get back. Now go forth and conquer! ✌️

Value Discovery Session: I offer a special 1 hour online session helping people discover their values and learn how to live in alignment with them.
Get in touch if you’d like more information. Email me at caroline@coachyourlife.co.uk and put Value Discovery in the subject line.

Plus if you need some help with some simple ways to relieve stress you can download my list of simple self-care ideas below. See how many you can do in a week!

For a related post about being kind to yourself and taking small steps click here

For 5 secret essentials to having a confident mindset click here addicted2success.com

#staytrue #practicewhatyoupreach #alignment #integrity #positivevibes #raiseyourvibe #positivemindset #bepresent #selfconfidence #connection