Self Confidence

Self confidence is something that is hard to have for a young woman now. Whether it is because of the images the media gives us or the harsh comments from our peers, it’s an unfortunately common thing for girls our age to have a low self esteem. Having a healthy self esteem is an important thing to have in school and later in life in our future careers. In school it’s important during test taking, as to not second guess yourself, and when you’re being interviewed by the college of your choice to display your strengths to the interviewer. Later in your career, it’s important that you believe in yourself as a business woman so you’re able to get the next big promotion or raise. Having high self esteem is a difficult thing to achieve and something that I have trouble with everyday. I do, however, have some tips on how to help improve your self confidence.

Create a list. Make a list of everything that you wish was different about yourself on a piece of paper. Now on a second piece of paper write down everything you love about yourself. For example, those awesome brownies you make that your friends beg you for; how well you spike in volleyball; your amazing photography skills. This is your time to brag about yourself! Write down everything you love about yourself, down to the really little things, like how well you can paint your toe nails or how quickly you can read a book. Now take the first list of all the bad things and get rid of it. Tear it up, rip it, burn it, crumple it, just get rid of it! After doing so think back on how it made you feel to see the short list of all the things you wished you could do better and compare that to all the list of all the good things you do. You can do whatever you want with the new list, but I suggest keeping it so you can add more to it later when you think of new things or so you can look back at it whenever you aren’t feeling that great about something.

Make a mantra for yourself. Think of a bunch of words that make you feel really great about yourself. Whether it’s a quote that you memorize and repeat to yourself or it’s just a bunch of words that make you feel great. Think of things that work for you. If you aspire to go into the fashion industry think of things like Vogue or New York City or even just the word “fierce,” things that remind you of your goals and make you feel confident that you’ll get there. If you’re an aspiring author, think of authors that you aspire to be like, think: Alice Walker or William Shakespeare or another author you look up to. Think of something that makes you feel good about you. Don’t pick something that makes you feel good about that thing or something someone says you have to do. Think of anything you want!

Just stare at yourself. I know this sounds kind of weird, but it works. This is kind of like the list thing, but this is more for you visual people out there! Just look at yourself and compliment yourself. Don’t say a single thing that’s negative. Just compliment everything about yourself. If you’re usually really shy when it comes to something about yourself, compliment it even more! I know it sounds weird to talk to yourself, but it helps! If you love every part of yourself, so will everyone else. Every time you pass a mirror, don’t think about things like “I wish I had different hair” or “I hate my skin”, think “Wow, I love my curls/shine today” or “My skin looks really great today.” I’m not saying to become self absorbed and look at yourself in mirrors for hours. I’m just saying to say something nice. Don’t criticize yourself every time you see yourself. Just take some time out of your day and remind yourself of the beautiful young woman you are.

Those are the things I do to give my self esteem a boost. Some you do everyday, some you do sometimes. I hope you use them on your bad days, but feel free to modify them to meet your needs! Do you have any rituals or things you do to help your self esteem? You should tell us! Leave a comment or send in an email.

-- Alex Scott
Jr Correspondent