Confidence building activities…
Wouldn’t it be nice to just have a magic pill that makes all our problems go away?
Like…having more confidence around others.
Maybe around your boss…
In school when doing presentations…
Around a person you really like…
Studies have been made over the years-even decades showing us that confidence is one of the key factors in determining the happiness in your life. Confidence determines how satisfied you are at work regardless of the nature of the job. It can determine how well you do in school because you’re more likely to engage in dialogue, stand up for yourself around peers. Self-confidence in sports leads to better decision making during critical moments where indecision can lead to losing the game.
The fact is confidence (real confidence that’s built from constructive criticism and also praise) does something to our personality and our character that is hard to describe. When you feel it, it’s like other parts of your life falls into place. You’re less on edge, you’re happier…
So, I’m going to show you seven little-known confidence building activities that very few people know about and it can transform your life if practiced regularly.
#1 Do Something Counter-Intuitive
I’m going to start you off with the heavy-weight activities. What is counter-intuitive? It’s something you wouldn’t logically think of doing but gives you the results you want. If you spend your time only doing what you’re good at you become lethargic. You stop growing from certain angles. A counter intuitive thing to do is getting involved with something you’re NOT good at. If the only thing you play is soccer try picking an activity you haven’t tried and perfect it…such as golf, chess, swimming. By going through the vulnerable process of learning you condition yourself to feeling exposed. It’s called transition vulnerability.
#2 Get Involved In Smaller Intimate And Social Crowds
Julius Caesar once said “I had rather be first in a village than second at Rome.”
There is a lot of wisdom to that. It’s like thousands of nobodies going to Hollywood to become famous compared to someone becoming recognized in other cities – then coming to Hollywood with an established reputation. This is about strategically picking your battles so you win before you arrive.
#3 Learn Dance
If you don’t know how to dance you need to learn. Seriously…and I’m not talking about private lessons in your home. I’m talking about going to a local dance studio. Many people become uncomfortable when learning to dance. We become self-conscious around the dance studio while being around others. You quickly learn how accepting others are of you. That “myth” you created in your mind starts to disappear, that myth about everyone constantly judging you.
#4 Pick Something You Used To Make Fun Of And Do It
Ohh yeahh. Facing your ego. Believe it or not, facing your own ego can be very therapeutic. Often times something else lies behind that behaviour where you make fun of something. We begin to discover a different angle of experience that we refused to acknowledge before. The fact that you took the action to go through with this gives you a sense of control over your own mind. It’s you controlling the ego instead of the ego controlling you.
Here’s more confidence building activities for you:
#5 Do Cardio
Now that we’ve covered the heavier and deeper stuff let’s move outward. Exercise, specifically cardio. There’s something about the body in motion that relaxes our mind. Whichever way you look at it you come to the conclusion that your body is made to move. With modern society giving us excuses to sit we often take the offer without thinking of the consequences. If you spend most of your day playing video games or watching TV you prevent your body from doing what it naturally does…move. Our bodies get used to taking a never ending break and if your body suffers your mind will too.
#6 Teach Something You’re Good At
As you learn how to build confidence you start to realize that you are good certain things in life. Maybe it’s poetry, sports, arts and recreation… whatever it may be you realize that others can learn from you. I would recommend volunteering at community centers for children. There’s nothing like a confidence booster than teaching a kid something you’re good at and watch as they become proficient at it. It can reaffirm that you have something to give to the world and asserts your self-worth.
#7 Take A Friend And Chat With People At Bars
Being able to hold a good conversation with strangers does a great deal of good for you – even if you don’t realize it. Not only does it teach you how to be outgoing and confident but you start to open yourself up to widening your social circle. I have to admit you might not find the best of friends in a bar where everyone is drinking, but if you can build your confidence by chatting with strangers you’ll be able to hold conversations in any other setting.
We all need to work on our confidence skills to keep it sharp. For some it comes naturally while others need finer refinements. Overall if you are moving in the right direction there shouldn’t be any reason to not succeed. The hardest part for me was learning to dance, not only do I suck at dancing but having to dance in front of really attractive people was embarrassing. If you have a hard time dancing you’ll probably know what I mean… but once I overcame my own inner limitations I saw that it’s not a big deal. Pushing through is what creates progress. Besides, I made some good friends in the process which is always a bonus. If you have favourite confidence building activities you’d like to share with our readers leave a comment below. I’m sure they’ll appreciate you for it. Or if you feel you need to poke at my confidence and have something else to say you can do that too :)
