Accepting disability is not easy, let alone embracing it. So how can we find confidence in our differences and struggles? Ambassador Jenna Kedy shares her experiences with chronic illness and finding power in loving yourself.
I’ve struggled with self esteem and finding self confidence at many points in my lifetime. My confidence and self love journey has not been easy, but it's something I work hard on each day. Confidence is also not built overnight, here are my top 5 ways to build your confidence.
1. A great way to start your journey to confidence and self-love is by listing your strengths. This is a simple task that will help you get into a self-positive mindset which is essential to maintaining confidence. List things like, talents or skills, personality traits (anything about your personality that you take pride in), and accomplishments (things you've achieved that you're proud of). Make your list visible and remind yourself of it everyday!
2. Understand the barriers to self-confidence. Often, we may lack confidence when we don't feel supported or listened to by people in our life. For example, if your parents always criticized your efforts in school, you may grow up believing you aren’t smart or that you can’t possibly succeed in life. When that’s far from true! Once you understand the barriers, make a simple action plan. For example, if you want to be more outgoing because you are quite shy, your goal may be to start a conversation with at least one person a day (or week).
Important Note: As you start your journey and set goals for yourself, make sure your goals are small and measurable. This makes them seem easier to tackle and actually achieve! As well, when your goals are broken down into detailed steps it can outline simple ways to achieve a larger goal or outcome. For example, a measurable goal with several steps might be something like “Train 6 months, then run a half-marathon. Train another 3 months. Goal: run a full-marathon."
3. You don't need to do it alone! Depending on the area you'd like to gain self-confidence in, look for resources you may need. Consider finding a mentor, taking a class or reading up on a subject you need to learn about. As well, make sure your are surrounding yourself with people who support your journey and will hype you up along the way. Creating a support network for yourself and surrounding yourself with people who make you your best will further embrace the mindset that YOU ARE CONFIDENT.
4. Try to stay positive and optimistic through it all. Gaining confidence requires staying focused and having a positive attitude. For example, every morning when you brush your teeth, look at yourself in the mirror, smile and say, "I am going to give it my best today, and I deserve to have self-confidence!" Knowing that you have positive traits and qualities is a good thing but without emphasizing and focusing on them every day you will soon slip back into the habit of self-doubt and self-criticism. These positive affirmations reinforce a positive mindset and can give us a confidence boost, even when we don't feel our best.
5. Realize the importance of self-care. Often when a person lacks confidence the attitude toward self-maintenance boils down to "Who really cares?", and the answer is, you should care!! By taking better care of yourself you will be breaking the cycle and giving yourself a major confidence boost. Practice good hygiene. Set aside a block of time each morning to keep up with daily hygiene. Keep up the routine every day to maintain that confidence.
In final words: You’ve got this! Don’t give up even when it’s challenging. I believe in you!
Written by Jenna Kedy