Nurturing yourself, building your confidence, and maintaining yourself confidence means you must surround yourself with people that wholeheartedly believe in you! Surround yourself with people that align with your goals, value your talent, and lift you up!
Have you stepped into an environment that has you feeling bad about yourself? Then it is time to reevaluate those particular people or that environment. Here are two questions to ask yourself if you are feeling this way:
1. Do I feel negative energy or hear negative comments from others about the person I have become or the person I am working on becoming?
2. Do I walk away feeling as though my confidence has been depleted?
If the answer is yes to either one, I recommend taking these steps to develop and regain your confidence.
Focus on your strengths. Instead of focusing on your weaknesses, focus on your strengths. What gifts and talents do you possess? Write a list of your talents. If you are not sure, ask your partner or best friend. Set achievable goals that harness your strengths. Small goals help us build self-confidence and help us re-establish our sense of self.
Shape your self-image! Our self-image is how we see ourselves. To feel confident, we must have a positive self-image. Yourself image does not have to stay the same, it can change. You can shape your self-image by shifting your thoughts about yourself. An exercise I have clients do is write down the negative thoughts about themselves. For every negative thought they have I have them write down a positive thought that counteracts the negative. This helps release the negative thoughts within us and the positive list is your daily self-affirmations. I recommend reading them every morning to develop a healthier sense of self.
As your self-image shifts and your talents strengthen, you will desire a more positive and healthy support system that nurtures and values the person you have become. That might mean walking away from unhealthy people, environments, or places that no longer support your growth.
Keep shining my friend!
With Love,
Danielle