Have you ever compared yourself, your life and your job to others? Maybe to your friends, your family or better yet, strangers on the internet?
Suggestion #1: Stop comparing
Stop doing that. Comparison does you no good, unless you are comparing to your own experience. Every single day you have the ability to start over. If you strive each day to beat someone else’s benchmark, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and unnecessary damage to your confidence. Make personal goals. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Annually. Make action plans so concise that you can’t possibly fail. Confidence boosts when you move one step ahead to achieving your goals.
When is the last time you took 15-30 minutes to reflect on your previous month or previous years accomplishment?
Suggestion #2: Reflect and reward
Start doing that. Much like comparing to others is a terrible idea, not appreciating how far you have come, is also a terrible idea. We all fall guilty of always moving forward and I suspect most of us rarely take the time to truly congratulate ourselves on how far we have come. Until it becomes habit to reflect and feel good about our progress, put a calendar appointment in your phone and when it pops up, stop….drop….and roll. Ok. That’s a little dramatic, and is more so required if your pant leg is on fire. I joke, but I am sincere in saying, when you take time to appreciate your wins, regardless of how big…you start to build up confidence to tackle the next “to-do” and this time maybe even with a bit of a spring in your step.
When is the last time you were told by a friend, a colleague or a family member that you were doing a great job at xxxx? Whatever x is. Maybe you made a delicious Mac ‘n Cheese. Maybe you built a chicken coop with recycled materials. Maybe you finished a work/school project ahead of schedule.
Suggestion #3: Make an impact on others
It’s not what you think. You don’t need anyone else to validate you. You can’t rely on anyone else to build your confidence. Those building blocks come from within. What you can do is BE THE PERSON to cheer on your friends, your colleagues and your family. Be their cheerleader and you will feel confident knowing you are making a difference in someone else’s life.
When is the last time you bought a new outfit? Got your hair done? Treated yourself BEFORE you treat your loved ones?
Suggestion #4: Treat yourself
Do that! You deserve to put yourself first sometimes. You deserve the pleasure of a new outfit, new hair do, new nails….all the things. It hurts me when things like that are labelled “guilty pleasures”. Why in the world should we feel guilty for treating ourselves to something that will make us stand a little taller, smile a little brighter? Let’s remove the guilty in guilty pleasure, and just say it. There is pleasure in looking our best. When we look our best, our confidence shines. We don’t NEED the compliments, as we already know we are looking like a million bucks, but the compliments go a long way to make the smile bigger.
Last but not least….when is the last time you had professional photos done?
Suggestion #5: Book a photography session
Please DM me if the answer is never, or not in the last year. There is so much confidence oozing goodness that comes from someone taking your photo in the best, most flattering light with thoughtful posing to be sure you look your absolute best. It’s ok to book a session with your loved one or your kids, but if you are inviting them because you think you NEED to, to justify the session, you have my permission to leave them home, lol. At least for one session.
You deserve to be pampered, to be gushed over and to get the full experience of multiple outfits showing all your diversity and personality. In order to show your kids and family, what success and confidence looks like, you need to feel it. I’m not saying a photo session will change our life completely…but it certainly isn’t going to set you back.
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