Empowering Yourself

Five strategies for building confidence and resilience

We all have moments in our lives where we feel uncertain about ourselves, Self-doubt and are simply unable to recognize our abilities and our Self-worth. It is natural to experience this at some point in our lives. It is a part of our lives. Just like we have our best days where we feel as if we are on cloud-9, we equally have our bad days which is completely okay but the disclaimer is that those feelings are not everything, they do not define you. I am 21 now and over the past 10 years of my life, I have had lots of circumstances and situations where sometimes I felt like giving up on life. I come from a society where Mental Health is not prioritised. We have a notion to not talk about it with our families. People assume you are simply sick and will be okay in two days. There were no resources or support around me. Sometimes, not even have people or mentors to who I could even talk. I moved to Canada five years ago leaving my family, and friends behind in my home country. One of the biggest reasons, I moved was to explore myself, and allow myself to truly experience life and for personal growth. It wasn’t a decision that I took at the dinner table but after giving it immense thought, and lots of brainstorming & planning. It was not easy to simply switch your lifestyle to a country you have never been to before. Finding and living in an apartment alone at this young age was not easy but it was a worthly experience. If I hadn’t taken that decision then I might be not writing this article. The following piece of writing is tips and strategies that I discovered along the way and had an impact on my life. It’s more of like lessons I wish I knew when I was younger. By the end of this article you will be able to cultivate a positive self-image that will empower you to take on the world with confidence.

···

Self-care

one of the most important things I found along this journey is how taking care of yourself each day can make a difference. I went through stages in my life where I neglected my Health because I simply had no time for it. I was working multiple jobs just to earn my living without any support and in the process, I forgot that I am working 24/7 for my self so it’s the time when I have to dedicate a few minutes to take care of myself. Small things like taking a day off from work and doing skin care, maybe taking yourself out & treating yourself to your favourite meal. Having a spa day or join your favourite workshop. After months of working seven days a week, I decided to take a day off and enrolled myself on the workout class. I always wanted to work after my body but I couldn’t because of a lack of motivation and having no workout buddy. Trust me it changes the game when you are working with a group of people. It resulted in me being consistent to look after my body.

The Power Pose

There is a whole lot of immense difference in your confidence level when you simply maintain a straight & upright body posture. When I am in a conference room for a meeting I often try to stand tall with shoulders back and chest out. One day, I challenged myself to maintain that body posture throughout the day. Even when I am home or while walking errands. As a result, I feel more power as I walk with the correct body posture. Over time, my body adapted to it and now I can never walk with a closed or hunched posture.

Present yourself for the day

Another key concept to boost your confidence on gloomy days of life is simply just by dressing yourself a bit. Put on the damn blazer which has been resting in your closet for years. Wear your favourite lipstick. Comb your hair into a new and different style. Put on some jewels. I started to dress myself a bit before going to class or work which resulted in more productivity, and more confidence within me especially in front of a bunch of people. Also, on days I went to class in my pyjamas and thats okay too but I know for a fact that grooming myself a bit makes a huge difference and makes me 100X better. Even on days when I am going to stay home for a whole day, I still put in some effort and get-ready for the day.

From Co-dependence to Independence

I was the most social person back then. I always had this need to meet people in a day and spill the the tea. Now that I am 21, life has changed multiple things. Ever since I moved to CA, I have caught myself with a lot of work and school. Becoming independent is a natural part of growing up and transitioning into adulthood. It can be challenging and stressful but also rewarding to take control of your own life and make decisions for yourself. One of the biggest decisions I made was moving out. Let me tell you, It was hard but looking back to the hardship I went through, I stand in front of the mirror and tell myself if I could go take that big decision in my life on my own then I am also ready to take up another challenge of my life. Self-talk works and it does wonders. Repeating positive affirmation and Manifestation at least five minutes in the morning can do a lot more than you think.

Set small goals and commitments for yourself.

Over the past years, I have taught myself in staying committed to my selves first rather than impulsively committing to someone else which is not going to work in the long run. I started with small goals- for example, reading a book once a month and staying consistent with that. Pushing myself and going to the workout workshop and staying consistent with that. If you can commit to small goals that mean you are respecting your decisions and staying true to yourself. Take yourself out for a movie night alone or dinner, if this is something you are scared of doing, push yourself to do so. Spend quality time with your self because it is important to set aside some side alone. If you think about it when you foster a relationship with someone you need to spend time with them and also with yourself alone to foster the same relationship with yourself. Eventually, you will adopt yourself in staying committed to your work, personal life and relationships with people.