Confidence is something that we all have – though it comes in varying levels and strengths. For most of our lives, we wander around without any clear idea of what impacts our confidence. But if you can get to the bottom of this issue, you’ll become a much happier version of yourself.

The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Confidence

Confidence is best described as a general sense of belief and trust in your ability to control your life and circumstances as it pertains to a particular area of your life. It’s possible for a person to be confident in one area (like academics) and lack confidence in another area (like social life). Confidence occurs on a spectrum, and we all have varying levels that fluctuate over time.

Having a healthy level of self-confidence can help you live a more successful and enjoyable life (personally, professionally, socially, etc.). Here are some of the specific benefits associated with being confident:

• Less anxiety. Nothing cuts through fear quite like confidence. The more confident you are, the less likely you are to let fear impact your feelings or decision making.

• Increased motivation. When you’re confident, you’re much more motivated to set goals and take steps toward achieving those goals. And here’s the best part: Confidence is a self-feeding cycle. The more confident you are, the more likely you are to accomplish your goals. And the more you accomplish your goals, the more confident you become.

• Better relationships. People who have healthy levels of self-confidence tend to have healthy relationships with others. That’s because they don’t rely on the other person to fill them up.

• More resilience. Having confidence doesn’t mean you won’t ever fail. It does, however, mean that you’re more likely to pick yourself up off the proverbial mat and fight again. Confidence breeds resilience.

• Superior performance. Research shows that confidence is actually one of the top non-cognitive predictors of academic achievement. In other words, students who are confident in their abilities will generally perform better than their peers who have similar cognitive abilities.

Because confidence exists on a spectrum, you may experience varying levels of these benefits over time. However, one thing is for certain. As your confidence increases, so will these advantages.

Simple Ways to Increase Your Confidence

Here are several proactive steps you can take to increase your confidence:

1. Take Care of Yourself

There’s a significant connection between physical health/appearances and your internal self-confidence. The more you take care of yourself, the more your confidence typically improves.

This concept applies to everything from your weight/figure to your smile. In fact, your smile may be one of the most important factors in the appearance-confidence relationship. People who are missing teeth or have other oral hygiene issues tend to be less confident (which makes them smile less). But those who have a full set of straight, white teeth feel the freedom to grin. If you’re currently missing teeth, dental implants could help restore that missing confidence. ClearChoice Dental Implant Center is one of the best providers of dental implants in Salt Lake City and 75+ other locations.

2. Spend Time With Positive People

You essentially become the combination of the people you spend the most time with. If you want to be confident, make sure you’re rubbing shoulders with confident and positive people. This also means cutting ties with people who are toxic, negative, or who totally lack all confidence.

3. Do More Things That Scare You

When you’re not confident in yourself, you typically play it very safe. But if you want to increase your confidence, you have to do more things that scare you. In doing so, you’ll discover that these things aren’t actually as scary as you think they are. Then, in the future, you’ll be more willing to try new things. This leads to growth in your confidence cycle.

4. Squash Negative Self-Talk

You are your own worst critic. While other people can certainly say and do mean things to you, the reality is that nobody else is more critical of you than yourself – that’s a fact. But here’s the good news: If you can learn how to stop being so critical of yourself, your life will become a whole lot more positive.

The first step is to become self-aware of your negative self-talk. The moment you notice yourself saying something bad about yourself, stop and turn it into something positive. This will feel silly at first, but it’ll eventually become a habit.

Restore Your Confidence

If you follow these simple tips, confidence will no longer be something that you lack. It’ll be one of the defining characteristics of your life. Take the time to cultivate it and you’ll reap numerous benefits for the rest of your life.