How to Gain Confidence and Self Acceptance

Does confidence seem to allude you? Have you wondered how some people never ever lack in it? How to gain confidence and self acceptance is right there at your finger tips.

Youth is not the only indicator for being confident. As a matter of fact I would say we have arrived at the stage where confidence should be our motto. Now is the time to gain confidence and self acceptance.

Remember the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe, by Fannie Flagg. The character had a parking spot stolen by two younger and sassier girls. They felt no remorse about stealing her spot. Well, Evelyn, the girl that has been wronged promptly decides to ram her older slower car into the back of the young girls Volkswagen.

You know the funny thing about this was her attitude. Yes it is hilarious and we got a good laugh out of it, but something in the way Evelyn looked at life changed on that day. She no long saw being younger and faster as better. She had a moment of revelation. Sometimes we just need the very same thing to happen to us. Now I am not saying to go out and ram your older slower car into the back of someone else’s vehicle, but I do think we could us an attitude adjustment. We need to see things differently.

Experience Does Count

Guess what, we are not 15 anymore. We have lived a little haven’t we? Experience counts for a lot. You would not make all of the same mistakes made in the past. Living gives us the opportunity to gain wisdom and learn from our mistakes. Having confidence comes from know we have learned from our mistakes. Experience should give you the confidence in knowing you are not the same person you used to be.

Why is it important to KNOW you are not the same person you used to be? Well, when I was in my twenties I had a conversation with a women about some things I was going through. I distinctly remember her saying, “Been there, done that.” Guess what, we are that woman now. Many of the things others are struggling with we have already experienced. Think about that, you have become the expert in some areas of life. Your mistakes and lessons learned can be so much help to someone else. You have experience.

Gain Confidence From Having Experience

Confidence should come from our life experiences. We have made mistakes and had some successes too. Thinking back on where you have come from and the successes you have had are a great way to improve on confidence.

Appearance Does Matter

Now people may not want to hear this, but getting up and putting your very best foot forward does matter. When you are dealing with a lack of self confidence getting up and showering helps. The public treats us differently based on our appearance. If you are trying to improve your self confidence then making our personal appearance is important.

What Comes With Youth?

Have you ever considered what really does come with youth, stupidity. Yes, stupidity. When I think back to the dumb things I did as a young person I wonder how I survived. If being compulsive and foolish is what comes with youth, well that is not the way to gain confidence. Being compulsive and foolish is not going to help.

If you were one of those people that gets up everyday with an attitude of, “I don’t really care what people think!” then self confidence is not your problem. Many of us never developed that kind of confidence. So getting up and taking care in our appearance helps boost our self confidence. My mother and father always said, “Put your best foot forward.”

Remember Billy Crystal’s character on SNL? This clip should help you remember.

Confidence comes from within. So getting ourselves prepared for the day and putting on our game face is part of stepping out with the right attitude. There is nothing wrong with giving thoughtful consideration to our personal appearance as we leave the house each day. You can feel confident in presenting a neat, clean and pleasant appearance.

Gratitude

Starting the day out with a feeling of gratitude can always boost our self confidence. This is where thinking about the past and pressing on to future is so important. I like what the Apostle Paul said about this.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Apostle Paul

I am pressing on to the future, looking forward to each day. We can remind ourselves that God has carried us so far already. Being grateful is such a wonderful way to start the day.

Gratitude can keep us grounded and gracious. Being grateful gives me the confidence in knowing that time takes care of a lot of painful experiences and can give us the chance to guide someone else through the same tough times.

Take on a Challenge You Can Finish

Completing a task that has been lingering can be a big boost in self confidence. Remember learning how to ride a bike. It was such a momentous occasion. My dad taught me how to ride a bike when we lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

We had rolling hills behind our house and one spring when they were no longer covered in snow he took me outside and began running behind me until I figured it all out. When my balance was discovered the real test came. Daddy pushed me and my bicycle down one of those rolling hills. Guess what, I did it and I still remember that moment. I confidently rode my bicycle down that hill.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you never forget how to ride a bicycle”? Well, it is true, I can confidently get on a bicycle today and ride it. I have never forgotten how to do that.

Maybe you need to go through your closet and clean it out. After you complete a daunting task it feels really good. It makes us feel like we have accomplished something. It does not have to be a big job. Just completing it gives us confidence in a job well done and finished.

Avoid Scenarios That Are Difficult

If you are lacking in confidence right now and are working on building it up, avoid the places that make you feel bad. We all know where those places are. We do not like rejection or confrontation. So during this time of growth and teaching yourself about confidence avoid areas that make you feel discomfort. One day you WILL be able to go there.

Take Care Of Your Self Physically

I can not stress this enough. You must take care of your physical health. If depression is part of your everyday life, see somebody that can help you. Depression is real and can be helped.

Eat healthy. Avoid fast food and fast living. Take the time to prepare healthy meals and sit down to eat them. It is amazing how much I enjoy preparing simple healthy meals and sitting down in the evening to eat them with my husband. I look forward to them everyday.

Taking care of yourself and loving your heart, soul and mind is part of gaining self confidence. You are important enough to be taken care of and that means being award of your needs physically, emotionally and socially. Poor health can send us on a downward spiral and we do not need that in our lives.

Confidence and Self Acceptance

Confidence and self acceptance can be easily attained. Sometimes it is just a matter of how we see ourselves. You have it within you to attain self confidence. It is not something someone can just give you.

Think about the prize ahead of you and how you are going to obtain it. Looking forward to the future and confidently striving toward the mark.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.

Napoleon Hill

Don’t underestimate the power of your mind to change something. That includes the way your perceive your own possibilities in life and achieving those things with confidence. Honestly, Janet