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What if you could just take a quick shot each day and have instant self confidence? Well, I guess you could have a few drinks of “liquid confidence” each day, but not without facing the consequences of a possible D.U.I., getting sick, and having a hangover.

How would you like to know some ways that you can start improving self confidence and overcoming shyness TODAY? All without facing jail time or hugging the toilet! Well, you are in luck. I’ve found seven simple and effective techniques that will dramatically add to your self confidence and help you overcome shyness, starting now.

Personally, I wish I would have found these years ago while I was still in High School. But one thing is for sure, I’m putting them to use now, and you should too.

Building self confidence and overcoming shyness is not as difficult as you’d think

I was surprised when I first came across many of these self confidence building tips. Although you are still going to have to work to overcome shyness and build your confidence, there is absolutely no reason you can’t use the following techniques to succeed.

1. Sit up front, not in the back - Are you someone who scrambles for a back seat at school, in meetings, and at church? I know I was. Don’t feel bad, a lot of people do this so they don’t draw attention to themselves. From now on, make a rule of sitting as close to the front as possible.
2. Make eye contact - I know this can be hard, but by forcing yourself to make eye contact you say “I’m honest, unafraid, and confident”. You’ll not only gain self confidence by practicing this, you’ll gain others’ confidence as well.
3. Don’t compare yourself to others, instead, compare yourself to your own previous results - I observed this in my wife’s elementary classroom. She told me how she motivates the children by having them strive to beat their own personal best, not by beating other children. If one child reads 120 words per minute, it’s unrealistic for a child that only reads 40 to be compared to the other child. That would result in less self confidence and damage to their self esteem. Similarly, if I rated my progress on this blog by one of the top blogs with thousands of readers, I’d be sadly disappointed. Instead, I see that a few weeks ago I didn’t even have this site really going, and now several people are finding and reading it, which is a tremendous self confidence boost!
4. Walk faster with your head held high - Psychologists tell us that your posture and movement are directly related to your self image, your work, and others around you. You can easily change those attitudes just by walking faster, with better posture, and your head held high. I’m not talking about being arrogant either. I’m talking about walking and acting with a sense of purpose and intensity. Just try it and you’ll feel a new sense of self confidence.
5. Speak up - This is a challenging one. But it’s necessary if you want to truly improve your self confidence and overcome shyness. Most people fail to speak up because they are worried about what others will think. Trust me, if you have something to say, people will listen. Each time you fail to speak up you damage your self confidence a little more. Alternatively, every time you successfully speak your mind, your confidence increases. This is also much easier if you practice sitting up front!
6. Smile on purpose - Although I’ve practiced walking confidently with my head up, I didn’t always practice smiling a lot. In one corporate job I moved departments and became good friends with one girl who commented “I used to see you walking and thought you were mean and in some upper-management job because you never smiled”. Now I try to smile frequently. It not only makes you more confident, it diffuses any opposition, and makes you more likable.
7. Become interested in other people - If are truly interested in other people, you will instantly become more likable, more social, and more confident. I’ve heard individuals say “I hate other people”. These same people seem to always live more depressed and angry lives, without confidence, and unable to build solid relationships. Dedicate yourself to loving people and getting to know them. This principle is also the key to making friends. When you’re interested in others they will take an interest in you.

These are some quick easy tips for building self confidence and I really hope you found something here you can apply to your own life. It takes time and effort to change so don’t feel discouraged if you aren’t a new person overnight.

If you’re really shy and lacking self confidence, try implementing just one suggestion per week and make a sincere effort to focus on that one technique. Think of it as an experiment, if you try these tips and they don’t work, you haven’t lost anything. If they do work, you’ll be one step closer to the happy, confident, and successful person you dream of being.

I’d love to hear your feedback about building self confidence and overcoming shyness

Have your own tip or story about overcoming shyness and building self confidence? Maybe you have a disagreement or something positive to say about this article. If so, practice #5 Speak up by posting a comment below!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Self Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.