Building confidence is one of the best things you can do for yourself – but it’s not always easy. It takes intention, commitment, and a healthy amount of self-efficacy.
A confident woman is secure in who she is and knows where she is headed in life. But in today’s world, it can be very difficult for women to build and maintain healthy levels of self-confidence. Between societal pressures and social media, even the most self-assured women can have moments of self-doubt. Add in the additional challenges of tackling your own limiting beliefs and suddenly the thought of building confidence may feel impossible.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by low self-esteem, the good news is that there are tons of simple ways to boost your own confidence!
How to build more confidence as a woman
Self-efficacy is the belief in yourself that you can succeed and that you have the capability to do so. Having a healthy amount of self-efficacy, or believing in yourself, is key to boosting your confidence. The great news? There are tons of different ways and many actionable steps you can start taking now to become a more confident person.
Here are 15 effective confidence building activities for women to increase your self-efficacy and grow your self-esteem.
1. Set boundaries
When you allow yourself or others to disregard your boundaries, it chips away at your self-esteem and your lack of confidence grows. It opens the door for people to take advantage of you and can deteriorate your own self-respect. Practicing setting well-defined boundaries will signal to others that you value yourself. It is one of the best ways to grow your self-esteem and confidence levels.
2. Learn from the past
Learning from previous failures or negative experiences is a great way to recognize your strengths and resilience. Reflecting on what went wrong, or what you wish could have gone differently, is a powerful way to own your role in the situation and set intentions for how you want to handle new challenges. This form of taking control will help to alleviate fear of failure next time you are faced with a similar or challenging situation. Learning from past mistakes is also a great reminder of how to be strong and confident along life’s inevitable bumps in the road.
3. Network
Even the most confident women may feel out of their comfort zone when it comes to networking. You may feel it’s forced or unnatural at first but learning to embrace networking can positively impact your ability to build self-confidence and lead to greater growth opportunities in your personal and professional life. If it feels overwhelming, then take a few small steps to prepare yourself prior to a networking event. Find out who plans to attend and make plans to meet up. Rehearse your own 30 second story multiple times to become more comfortable before sharing it with someone who asks you more about yourself. Set a small goal for yourself before you attend the event, such as “I want to meet two new people and exchange contact info.”
4. Develop a self-care routine
The most important thing you can do for yourself is to take care of your mental, emotional, and physical well-being . When you develop a healthy routine and practice self-care, you are elevating your self-respect and allowing the best version of yourself to show up in everything you do and think.
5. Surround yourself with people who lift you up
Oprah Winfrey once said, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” You need to have people in your life who push you forward and motivate you, people who believe in you and celebrate your unique qualities. Seek out relationships and people that bring a more positive mindset and encourage you to try new things.
6. Remove toxic relationships
It is never easy to cut ties with someone, especially a family member or close friend. Breaking off toxic romantic relationships can also be devastatingly hard. But sometimes it is the only way to improve your mental health and well-being. If your current life contains someone who intentionally contributes to your low self-confidence, then it may be time to create an action plan to distance yourself.
7. Check in on your body language and posture
The best way to be a confident person is to act like a confident person. And the first step is to become aware of how you carry yourself. Developing confident body language naturally leads to a more confident attitude. Your external self is sending a message to your internal self that “you got this” just by standing tall and making eye contact. The more you practice, the more those small things will become second nature and have a big impact in the long run.
8. Get active
Physical activity can give your confidence level a huge boost. There’s actual science behind it! Exercise and activity releases “feel good” chemicals within your body that help manage stress and anxiety more effectively. This is why people feel happier after they have completed a workout. It leads to a greater sense of accomplishment and a stronger mindset. A good way for any woman to work on building greater confidence levels is to incorporate physical activity into her day – so grab a motivational playlist and get moving!
9. Use positive affirmations
Negative self-talk serves no purpose and wastes valuable energy. Tell your inner critic to hit the road by infusing more positive self-talk into your daily routine. It’s a proven fact that when positive affirmations are used regularly, you can rewire the pathways in your brain and retrain them to believe the positive over the negative thoughts. Yes, you have the power to choose how that little voice inside you speaks to you!
Daily affirmations are powerful tools for the way women can shift their own view of themselves. Write down some positive affirmations on index cards or sticky notes and place them in areas where you will see them regularly. Speak them out loud as much as you can until they become mantras on replay.
10. Accept compliments
Receiving a compliment can be a wonderful confidence boost and is also a form of practicing gratitude. If you look at the habits of confident women, you will find that they all know how to comfortably accept a compliment. Start by practicing a simple response of “thank you.” Learning how to connect with and acknowledge your own successes and positive qualities will take some practice but a simple and immediate response of gratitude is a great first step.
11. Journal
Journaling is one of the most powerful tools in terms of creating self-awareness. And having a greater self-awareness sets a solid foundation for higher self-esteem levels. Journaling can help to replace negative thoughts and limiting beliefs with new, empowering beliefs and increase your self-efficacy. And one of the great things about the practice of journaling is that it is for your eyes only, no one is there to judge your thoughts. You are free to explore your emotions. There are tons of different ways to journal, including using journal prompts, so pick the method that fits you best and get writing!
12. Take chances and step out of your comfort zone
When you allow yourself to try new things and new life experiences, you are building trust and belief in your own abilities. You are sending a clear message to yourself that it’s ok to step out of your comfort zone and push back on any thoughts of self-doubt. Sure, it requires a bit of courage in the first place, but with small steps and consistent action your comfort zone will soon begin expanding well beyond what you thought was possible.
13. Seek a mentor
Mentors are no longer reserved for people interested in leadership positions or executives looking for guidance and inspiration. A mentor serves as a role model and guidepost for people of any role as well as those of a young age. Among the many benefits of being mentored, women mentoring other women provides a unique opportunity to cultivate and build confidence levels both in personal and professional life.
14. Learn a new skill
Having a growth mindset is an incredibly supportive quality of those with high self-esteem. Embracing opportunities to learn something new is not just a great way to challenge yourself but it also increases your self-efficacy. Whether it’s taking up a new hobby or registering for an online course, there are tons of ways to develop personal growth. As you learn new things and skills you build your belief in your capabilities and enjoy a higher level of confidence and self-esteem!
15. Do things solo
Confident people are comfortable in their own skin. They own who they are and don’t equate alone time with loneliness. Instead, they view that time to do things solo as a way to learn more about themselves, increasing self-awareness and becoming more mindful. If the thought of walking into a busy restaurant on your own is too overwhelming, the good news is that there are plenty of easy ways to embrace alone time and do things solo. Start by going for an outside walk by yourself or hitting up your local coffee shop at a table for one.
Set goals for building more confidence in your own life
Developing higher levels of confidence and self-esteem requires consistency and commitment on your part. Think about what aspects of your confidence you need to work on most. Have a goal in mind and decide how you will measure your progress. Give thought to what might get in your way or derail your efforts and how you will plan to stay the course.
Lastly, give yourself some grace along the way and take chances. Confidence is built over time.