Confidence is always something that I have particularly struggled with, whether it was in my abilities or just generally within myself. Of course everyone has moments where they may not feel that confident about something however, I feel as if I have let this hold me back quite a lot in my teenage years. Since coming to university in September my confidence has grown tremendously which is partly due to me having to rely on myself much more and finding out I can in fact do things on my own. However, it is also due to the people I've surrounded myself with, the new lifestyle that I have adopted and new attitudes that I've tried to develop.
During my time at school I was never very confident with my achievements, always doubting myself and my capabilities, only to realise quite a lot of the time that I actually could do more than I thought I could. A huge factor in helping to build my confidence was the people that I had around me, especially one of my teachers that I think got a bit frustrated with my lack of self belief in the last year of school. Having someone that believed in me even when I didn't and predicting me grades that I thought would never be possible was in fact a huge driver for me and a great achievement when I actually did manage to get these grades.
I've always been very self concious of my image and looks, which is probably very irrational because everyone is different, but sometimes you just cant help comparing yourself to others. Recently, I have come to learn that you're only as confident as you let yourself be, "you are confined only by the walls that you build yourself". One tip that I would give is to embrace your differences, try out new things and never, ever compare yourself to others. Even if its just buying a piece of clothing that you thought you couldn't pull off or a new shade of lipstick, you'll never know until you try it!
From all these experiences I've come to realise that having goals and ambitions are a huge help in building your confidence and self belief, even if they are difficult at times. The feeling that you get when you reach these is definitely worth it, and of course you may not always fully reach your potential but these experiences are ones that push you even more to get where you want to be in life.
I am still desperately trying to improve my confidence because at times I still have those moments where I feel down about things, such as maybe not doing as well on a test as I could have, or not pushing myself to step outside of my comfort zone. However, I think it is always important to remember that no one is perfect and you need to take a moment to actually reflect and look back at how far you've come and how much you have achieved. I've come to realise that in fact having some time to yourself is a good thing, because overworking yourself and trying to do something every minute of every day may not actually be the best idea in the long run. The first step in self growth is to truly value and take care of yourself.
Thank you for reading! I hope this gives you some 'food for thought' in trying to become more confident, or even just making sure you take time to think and relax.
