*This is a collaborative post.
The fact is many different factors can affect how we feel about ourselves. It is thought that around 85% of people suffer from low confidence at any one point in their lives. And with constant bombardment from the press about how we are “supposed” to look and feel, it is no wonder that people are struggling to be as confident as they need to be in their skin.
While you should never feel the need to change who you are and how you look for other people, nothing stops you from making changes to make yourself feel better and boost your own confidence. The reality is that comparison is the thief of joy and sadness. Perfection is unattainable for most people for all areas of their lives.
With this in mind, there are some ways you can boost your own confidence and start to change how you feel about yourself and the world around you.
Make Goals
A lack of confidence will always hinder you from setting goals in many different aspects of your life. Be it your career, personal life or your own happiness. So, it can be helpful to make a list of everything you want to achieve, things that you do not feel confident enough to do. Then, put the list in order of priority for you personally.
Look at what it will take to reach this goal and plan to do this. Don’t make goals that you think you should be making or compete with others. Create goals that will make you happy.
It could be something like going for a promotion at work, visiting an attraction on your own, or learning to drive, for example. Be sure to focus on one thing at a time as you work through your list.
Eye Contact
Hold your head up high and make eye contact with people. When you lack confidence, typically, you lower your head and avoid looking people in the eye. This one small change can give you a confidence boost in a small way. Small changes lead to significant changes, which in turn help you to improve your confidence.
Change Your Look
Many people tend to hide behind their clothing and wear clothes they perceive to make them less visible in the world. This is to try and hide how little confidence they have in themselves. Suppose you want to boost your confidence; change this up a little. Start by making small changes, such as adding a piece of bright clothing to your usual outfits. Something like a scarf or tie or even socks. Remember how this makes you feel, and then start to add different items to your wardrobe to add to this effect.
Do this in all areas of your life: your clothing, shoes, hairstyle or colour and even your looks. While you do not need any form of permanent changes to your face or body to appease the media’s perception of beauty, doing so for yourself can be a massive confidence booster. Visit Dr Jason Roth to discuss your options if you feel this would be best for you.
A good tip is to find people whose look and style you admire, then see how you can adapt these elements into your style to find something that works for you.
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer, who has an obsession with dessert and beauty! 
