Dressing nice definitely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think about confidence and how to boost my own, but you’d be surprised at how effective just putting on some nice clothes is at doing just this.
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I’ve struggled with my own self-confidence since I was in elementary school, always questioning myself, hiding in the background, and never owning who I was, and I still have a hard time with it even now, after so many years of trying to improve myself.
I have tried almost everything in order to increase my confidence in myself, from positive thinking to visualization techniques and even just faking it ’til I make it, but nothing really seemed to be that helpful for me. Of course trying to think positive is awesome but there’s only so much you can take before you just feel like you’re being fake.
While I was searching for self-confidence boosters, I came across weightlifting. Now this was something that stuck with me and I was able to grow my confidence by finding something I was good at. I felt proud of myself and that alone gave me the self-confidence I was looking for.
However, I really only could tap into this confidence when I was working out, and hadn’t learned how to transfer it into my daily life. Even though you know you’re good enough in one area, doesn’t mean you know you’re good enough in another area. I still wasn’t feeling very confident in myself while I was at work or just going out to the store.
As I started looking around and reading some articles, I noticed that many people mentioned dressing nice as their number one confidence booster. I found this kind of upsetting considering my views on trying not to be so focused on my outer appearance, but I knew that wearing workout clothes all the time wasn’t really doing anything for me.
Once I started choosing better things to wear, I noticed that my outward confidence really did improve my inward beliefs about myself.
Here’s the 5 simple steps I took to boost my confidence:
1. Checked Out Pinterest For Style Advice And Tips
There are so many great boards dedicated to style and hair which helped me begin to figure out how I wanted to dress. Just be careful and remember that you are unique and won’t look exactly like those most-likely photo shopped pictures.
2. Started Buying Nicer Clothing When Shopping
Instead of only buying workout shorts and tanks, I started looking for nicer, more stylish clothes that would make me feel more put together and clean.
3. The Toughest Part: Actually Wearing The Clothes
It was difficult at first but go slow and wear one nice thing a day. You don’t have to go overboard with it, you just want to dress up enough to make yourself feel good.
4. Hair And Make Up
I learned some new hairstyles to try and tweaked my makeup routine just enough to make myself feel a little prettier and more confident.
I didn’t want to go crazy here because makeup isn’t meant to make you a different person, it’s just meant to enhance what you already have, so be careful not to overdo it.
5. Mix It All Together
Instead of choosing to wear jeans and a sweatshirt to the grocery store, I started wearing jeans and a nice sweater or a dressy tank top. It really doesn’t have to be much, just something that makes you feel a little more dressed up, yet something you’re comfortable in.
I did my hair in a different way as well and even that made me feel more confident in myself.
It’s the weirdest thing but just with some nice clothes, you can build your confidence, because sometimes you have to start from the outside in order to bring it inside.
When you feel confident in what you are wearing and how you present yourself to the world, you automatically feel confident on the inside and are more likely to feel proud of yourself. I know this was true for me.
