Let’s face it: we all want to be more confident. As a woman, being self-assured is a trait that most people search for their entire lives.
Even if you don’t like the idea of being the life of every party or walking into a room with heads turning, confidence can help you earn respect from those around you and give your self-esteem a boost as well as boost performance in almost every activity you do. Even though confidence seems like an intangible quality, it is actually made up of many components that anyone can learn and utilize in order to become more confident on any given day.
So where does one start?
There are lots of strategies available for self-confidence. Here are 11 tried-and-tested ones that you can try for yourself:
11 Activities Women Can Use for Building Confidence
1. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
This one is all about perspective.
When you are busy putting other people’s lives on a pedestal, you are essentially denying the wonderful person that you are and making yourself seem less significant in comparison to their greatness.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, why not concentrate on your own journey? Celebrate what makes you unique instead of tearing yourself down because someone else does it better than you do – remember that everyone has different strengths! Once you begin focusing on this positive mindset, confidence will come easier to you naturally.
2. Accept Compliments With A Smile And Say ‘Thank You’
We all know the phrase: modesty is a virtue. And while it may be true, you don’t have to become so modest that you always brush off people’s compliments as being untrue.
Even if you have your doubts about what someone says about you, learn to accept those words with grace and a warm smile instead of dismissing them or adding a disclaimer along the lines of “Oh, but I haven’t done anything to deserve this compliment…”
By brushing away kind words from others, you are essentially telling yourself that their praise isn’t worth much. After all, if their opinions matter so little to us, why should we care? Always thank a person when they give you a compliment – in any situation! You will be surprised by the difference it makes.
3. Make Eye Contact During Conversations But Don’t Forget To Listen
As a woman, when talking to someone, make sure to maintain eye contact with them for most of the conversation. It shows that you are paying attention and care about what they have to say.
However, don’t forget to listen as well! If your partner in the conversation has something important to add, do not ignore their words because you were too busy looking elsewhere while they spoke.
We all lose focus from time to time however, make sure that doesn’t happen during an important discussion or when one of your friends needs you.
Maintain eye contact, but also work at maintaining focus.
4. Dress to Impress (Yourself)
By dressing the part, you are essentially telling yourself that you can do anything.
When you look good, your brain tells itself that you are ready to take on any challenge that comes your way. And wearing something comfortable, will also boost your confidence because who wants to let anxiety get in the way of looking fabulous?
So next time you have a big presentation at work or want to feel more confident, make sure to dress for success – it works!
5. Fake It & ‘Til You Make It
We’ve all heard the phrase before, fake it ’til you make it.
For many people who struggle with low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy, acting as though they possess confidence can be a helpful way to become more confident in the long term.
So instead of getting stuck in a rut because you doubt your abilities, start faking it until you actually feel it! Your body language will change and people will begin taking notice. Before you know it, your true self will come shining through and all those around you will see how amazing you really are.
6. Keep A Journal About All The Things You Love About Yourself
As the old saying goes: if you don’t love yourself then no one else can love you either. So why not take some time for yourself every day and write down all the things that make YOU unique?
If you are anything like us, there are probably dozens of reasons why you are amazing. Start this journal as a way to recognize all the things that make you an incredible person!
Once you start doing this on a daily basis, your confidence will flourish because instead of letting your insecurities hold you back, you will be able to let them go – one by one.
7. Practice Meditation To Clear Your Mind
Meditation is an incredibly helpful practice for anyone struggling with anxiety or stress. It can be difficult at first but over time you will notice reduced feelings of worry and negativity because meditation helps clear your mind so no more thoughts have room to run wild inside it.
This practice may take some getting used to, but it is well worth the effort because meditation brings you one step closer to inner peace.
8. Get To Know Yourself More By Writing A Self-Esteem Letter
Another great way of boosting your confidence and self-worth is by writing a letter to yourself!
Take some time every day and try writing down all of the best things about you and why they matter so much to those around you, whether that’s your partner, parents, or friends.
Think of this as an assignment: reread your letter as many times as needed until you begin feeling better about yourself. Nobody else needs to see this list, so don’t worry about sharing it with others just yet – just focus on what makes you special!
9. Give Yourself A Compliment Everyday
This is another simple yet effective way to boost your confidence and make yourself feel good about the things you already do every day.
Every night before bed, write down one thing that you love about yourself or did well throughout the day. It could be something as small as paying off a bill on time or making it to work on time without hitting any traffic.
Then once you finish writing down everything that makes you great, tuck it away somewhere safe where no one else can see until tomorrow’s list is ready for writing! Keep this up every day and soon enough, your list will have some very long entries because there are so many qualities that make you so special.
10. Let Go Of Things That Aren’t Going To Make You Happy
In order to feel good about yourself and be confident in who you are, you have to believe that your life is worth living – which means taking steps every day to remove the things from your life that don’t make you happy anymore.
For example, one or two relationships may not be working out the way we thought they would, and holding on to them can be detrimental if it begins making us unhappy instead of happy. So cut ties with those people and surround yourself with those who make you feel good about yourself and help you grow.
11. Set Goals And Be Grateful For Everything You Accomplish
For some, setting goals can be an incredibly daunting task.
However, we promise you, that even if you’re someone who doesn’t typically set short-term or long-term goals for yourself, it will be well worth it in the end when you start seeing all of your hard work pay off.
Every time you accomplish something that is important to you, write it down and add it to a running list of everything that makes you happy and everything that inspires you; this will also give weight to how much progress is being made by you which helps fuel your motivation to continue on the path of success.
Another thing that can really help with this is if you frame each goal with a positive affirmation, like “I Am Grateful” or “I Am Confident” – doing this will make it easier to embrace all the things you are capable of and help keep yourself accountable for achieving them!
Wrapping up
All of these tips can help build your confidence as a woman. This is because as you become happier with yourself, the more confident you will become too – even if it does take a little extra time and effort!
A lot of where we are in life has to do with our own personal levels of confidence and self-esteem. Self-esteem is simply confidence in one’s worth and abilities. When we are low in self-esteem, we tend to doubt our abilities and question our value. However, when self-esteem is high, a person feels empowered and capable of having whatever their heart desires.
It’s no secret that our life is a result of what we do. And, our actions are a result of how we think and how we feel. Moreover, when someone doesn’t think highly of themselves, there is a tendency to settle for a life of mediocrity. To be clear, living in mediocrity has less to do with living a minimalist life and more to do with settling for things you don’t truly want out of fear.
It’s important for us to know what we want for ourselves, what makes us fulfilled. For example, you may dream of having your very own hair salon. However, you may also struggle with low self-esteem and self-doubt. Thus, out of fear, you don’t pursue that dream. Instead, you choose to settle for something you deem a bit more “practical”.
All women should understand that confidence has the ability to lift the weight off your shoulders and make the unattainable look tangible. What appears impossible starts to look very probable as we begin to feel more capable in our abilities.
Such confidence and self-assurance should be instilled from childhood to ensure a very healthy, productive, and self-sufficient, adult life. However, such experiences don’t always pan out that way especially when dealing with generational trauma. In this case, a scarcity mindset and low self-esteem are things that can be passed down.
While we can’t select all of the experiences we have in life, we can surely choose how we want to respond to these experiences.
To improve self-esteem, we must have self-accountability. If you’re a woman looking to boost your confidence and self-esteem, it’s important to understand the signs of low self-esteem, the importance of having confidence, and tips to help you boost your confidence.
Where Low Self-Esteem Comes From
A struggle with low self-esteem can come from many different places. Here are a few examples.
Toxic Dating Relationships
Toxic relationships have the ability to deteriorate our self-esteem. Such relationships entail abusive language, physical abuse, betrayal, trust issues, and co-dependency. None of these things exemplify love nor is it healthy to entertain.
Unsupportive Parents
Perhaps we didn’t hear the encouraging words we needed to hear from our parents. This lack of approval and recognition is something that can stick with us for a long time. Without encouragement and support, one can grow up with a lot of self-doubt, questioning their ability to accomplish certain tasks.
Childhood Abuse & Neglect
Childhood abuse and neglect are major factors that contribute to low self-esteem. While a large part of how others treat us is dependent upon how we treat ourselves, it wasn’t always like this. As children growing up, how others treated us determined how we’d treat ourselves including ourselves. In cases of childhood abuse and neglect, a child may internalize this treatment as something normal.
Bullying
When we’re younger, we are especially sensitive to the harsh words others project onto us. It is why children often internalize these harsh words. In the fragile mind of a growing child, these words often solidify as belief systems when left to fester.
But bullying can happen in our adult lives too such as in the workplace.
Negative People
Constantly being around negative people is a sure way to minimize one’s self-esteem. The subconscious mind is like a sponge that soaks up everything it hears and sees. When around people who complain about hardship all the time, we are more likely to share these feelings and victim mindset.
Comparing Yourself to Others
Comparing yourself to another can make us question our worth. This can be especially dangerous when aspiring to have things that don’t make you happy. It’s like trying to squeeze into a shoe that isn’t your size and then crying about it. We are all different. Avoidance of acknowledging one’s uniqueness is one way to diminish self-esteem.
Unrealistic Expectations
Living for others is not only disingenuous to one’s self but it is also frustrating. Everyone has their own ideas regarding success, happiness, and fulfillment. And, it doesn’t always look the same. When we try to meet other peoples’ expectations of us, we find ourselves living a life that isn’t authentic. Instead, it becomes burdensome trying to maintain a facade.
Traumatic Events
Issues of low self-esteem usually begin at a tender age. Traumatic events can trigger these things. For example, children often blame themselves when witnessing parental conflicts such as fighting or divorce. Many kids believe these occurrences are at their own fault. This places a major burden on a child where they feel like they’re the root cause of the turmoil and chaos.
Signs of Low Self-Esteem
Here are some of the common signs of low self-esteem:
Avoidance of Trying New Things
Feeling Lonely and Unwanted
Fear of Failure
Unable to Accept Compliments
Self-Deprecating Humor
Unmotivated
Comparing One’s Self to Others
Staying in Unhealthy Relationships
Self-Sabotaging
Anxiety and/or Depression
If you recognize these signs and symptoms in yourself, the following tips can help you take steps towards improving your self-esteem and growing confidence.
Self-Esteem Tips for Women
Forgive Yourself
Guilt, resentment, and regret are all feelings that carry a heavy weight. Boost confidence and improve self-esteem by forgiving yourself first. We should forgive ourselves for the mistakes we’ve made in life and choose to do better. These few decisions do not define us. It is what we choose to do afterward that is a true depiction of who we are.
Identify the Source of Pain
Where is the pain? By identifying the source of our issues with confidence, we can begin to forgive others and forgive ourselves. Knowing this information is key to understanding self-defeatist habits and thought processes.
Forgive Others
Animosity and grudges towards others are also burdensome. It requires a lot of energy to hold onto conflict. Forgive others to relieve yourself of that weight. The act of forgiveness frees us to accept better things into our lives without self-sabotaging good opportunities.
Practice Self-Love
Self-love is a belief and lifestyle which prioritizes self-improvement. By practicing self-love every day, we see our lives transform as our self-perception shifts into a more loving place. Self-love makes us more compassionate towards ourselves. Examples of self-love activities include the tips listed here to boost confidence and improve self-esteem.
Recite Positive Affirmations
Replace Self-Deprecation with Self-Empowerment by reciting positive affirmations. As previously stated, the subconscious mind is like a sponge. It can also be seen as a garden. Women should water their minds with loving words and positive affirmative statements. Negative affirmations act as weeds that stifle the growth of those beautiful flowers in your garden. By affirming happiness, abundance, and success, weeds of doubt, negativity, and limitation begin to melt away.
Redefine What Happiness Means to You
Live for yourself. Let go of the expectations others have of you. It isn’t your responsibility to fit into the mold other people make for you but to create a mold of your own. Happiness to one person may mean being a successful doctor that makes 6 figures while others find fulfillment in living a minimalist life. It’s up to you to define what happiness and success mean to you.
Create a Gratitude List
Make a list of all the things you’re grateful for. This could be your family, friends, job, pet, etc. Feeling gratitude makes us feel more fulfilled. It’s okay to want more. However, obsessing over what you don’t have contributes to feelings of low self-esteem and not feeling good enough. A gratitude list helps shift this focus into a much healthier place.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation shows us that we aren’t our thoughts nor our emotions. We become observers of these things from an objective stance. After doing mindfulness meditation long enough, we notice certain patterns in our thinking. Thus, we’re able to identify and diffuse triggers, taking our power back.
Remove Toxic People
Remove negative people from your life. Hanging around toxic people is like having a heavy gray cloud following you around. These individuals can even be people we consider our friends and family. Such people may minimize your accomplishments and discourage you from going after your dreams. So, it’s best to keep these people at bay.
Get a Plant
Loneliness is one feeling that accompanies low self-esteem. Having a few household plants helps to alleviate this feeling. It’s nice to surround yourself with life and vibrancy. This acclimates the mind into a healthier space where you don’t feel so lonely. Taking care of these plants will also be therapeutic by giving you a much-needed sense of accomplishment.
Invest in Your Dreams
Acknowledge your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. All women must know they are deserving of manifesting their dreams. Exercising, eating healthy, and educating yourself are all ways to invest in yourself. Self-knowledge is a wonderful investment. If you want to start a business, invest your time, energy, and money into researching and financing this endeavor.
It’s important for women to improve self-esteem and boost confidence. High self-esteem immediately removes limitations and blockages. It feels like wearing a cape and feeling like you’re capable of moving mountains. When you’re in this space, you feel unmovable, unshakable, and unstoppable. These self-esteem tips for women will help those women struggling with their confidence by providing an effective guideline to follow.
Strong and independent women are a true inspiration to anyone. They don’t just talk about their dreams. They try to make it happen to the best of their abilities. They know what they want and go for it no matter what everybody else says. If you’re ready to chase your dreams, you can do it too!
Finding the spark you need to start working on your ambitions is a great place to start. But once you know what the dream is you want to go after, it takes action. If you’re ready to chase your dreams but aren’t sure what to do, these 9 tips will help.
1) Know Yourself
Getting to know oneself is a vital element of success that many people seem to neglect. Knowing yourself means understanding your passion, talents, and even weaknesses. Many underestimate this knowledge even though it can help out a lot in decision-making. That’s why it should be the first thing to consider.
When you know yourself, you will realize what you’re good at and what you’re not. This can be a big influence when you are about to judge which route is best to take for a higher chance of victory.
Self-knowledge also frees you from the pressure of others’ opinions. When you know what works for you, the point of view of others won’t bother you anymore.
2) Set Your Goals Right
When pursuing our goals, one thing we usually do is visualize the outcome. This is an essential part of the whole procedure. But what most people do is imagine vague concepts. They say they want to get rich or be happier. You might not find these ideas harmful but they don’t actually help you determine the best steps to take.
Furthermore, vague ideas won’t help you tell if you need to make changes in your methods or when you have done enough. Knowing what your exact goals are is an important factor in accomplishing them.
So, what you can do is imagine yourself in the place you wish to be and ask the following questions. What does it look like? What exactly makes it different from where you are now? How will you know when you get there? How will you know when you’re off-track?
The ideal way of goal setting is by using SMART goals. There are numerous variants on what the acronym SMART stands for, but the definition below is its main essence.
Specific – Your objective must be straightforward and well-defined. Make it as simple as possible by specifying exactly what you want to happen.
Measurable – Entail specific numbers, dates, and so on in your goals so you can track your progress.
Attainable – Do not aim for things that are obviously impossible to achieve. On the other hand, resist the temptation to create very easy targets.
Relevant – Goals should be related to the path you intend to take in your life and career so you can have more focus.
Time-bound – There should always be a deadline so you can have a sense of urgency and not waste time.
3) Break Them Down
Looking at the bigger picture is great and all, but it may appear intimidating when you start to ask how exactly you’re going to make things happen. Just thinking about it can burn you out and make you lose your will to keep pushing forward. To avoid this negative state of mind, you should take baby steps.
Break big goals down into smaller ones. It can be a way to boost your confidence. You will start to realize that it’s more manageable if you take care of smaller tasks one by one. This also allows you to keep track of your development when you follow your dreams.
Additionally, this is the key to multitasking. You can meet multiple objectives at the same time. With smaller goals, you have enough energy to fulfill several others simultaneously. You can even do this while also working toward reaching other major goals in different areas of your life.
4) Put Your Goals in Writing
When you physically write down a goal, it becomes real and tangible. You will have no excuse for overlooking it. Experts believe that goal success is strongly linked to vividly describing your goals in writing. Our focus is narrowed, and our attention is drawn away from other priorities when we write our goals down.
Your smaller, broken-down goals can be written with set deadlines to give you a clearer image of what needs to be done and when. And when you write, positively frame your goal statement.
Taking time to do this step in a peaceful place will bring many benefits. Take out a journal and write down your action plan for the next month, quarter, year, or decade. This can prevent you from wandering aimlessly toward your dream.
5) Stick With The Plan
Now that you have your agenda laid out, you to need to address it properly. Stick with the plan no matter what. Set reminders to keep yourself on course, and schedule time to review your priorities on a regular basis. This will assist you in accomplishing something every day that will help you be a step closer to your goal.
Sticking with the plan doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t adjust it when the situation requires it. Unless you’ve reached your dream, goal setting will be an ongoing activity. While your long-term target may remain the same, the action plan you set may shift significantly.
When you notice that something isn’t working, you can always replace it with something that will. Just be sure that the changes you make are really necessary and relevant.
6) Don’t Limit Yourself
A successful woman in her own right, Sylvia Plath once said, “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Most times, what stops us from attaining our hopes and dreams is our own limiting beliefs. You may hold yourself back by thinking that you are not good enough. You doubt your potential and fear failure as a result.
But you should know something, you are more than enough. You are capable of conquering obstacles and accomplishing greatness. Whatever you want to do, everything you’ll need to keep pushing is inside of you.
Fortune favors the bold, so don’t be afraid. It’s true that there’s still a chance of failing. But failure isn’t anything to be terrified of since you can learn from it and move on. Nothing can stop a positive mindset.
7) Be Realistic
Another way of thinking that can save you from peril when you try to chase your dreams is being realistic. As you get into goal setting, you can get easily obsessed. You can get hooked and will go to any length just to achieve your goals. This carries a lot of risks and should be avoided from the very start.
But wait, doesn’t this oppose the previous tip on this list? No, it doesn’t. In fact, they complement each other. It suggests that you shouldn’t do too little or too much. You just have to be balanced. Overkill and insufficiency have the same negative effect when it comes to realizing a dream.
Drive is commendable, but keep in mind that you, like everyone else, require rest and recovery. Making a timetable and setting aside enough time each day or week to focus on your goal is one practical step you can take.
8) Accept Assistance
As the saying goes, two hands are better than one. Being strong and independent doesn’t mean doing everything on your own. Connect with others who you know will be there for you every step of the way. It is crucial to have people who have your back and help you stay motivated as you strive toward your dreams.
This can be done in many ways. For instance, you can get an accountability partner. It can be anyone you’re comfortable with. Explain your plan to them, including the timeline, so that they can assist you in sticking to it.
The kind of help appropriate will vary depending on your objectives. So, you have to be flexible. You can find someone with similar goals, join a group, or hire professional help.
9) Celebrate Every Win
It’s very satisfying when you celebrate your victories and reward yourself. Keeping track of the tiny accomplishments along the way helps you in finding the motivation to keep on moving forward. Feel your spirit being regenerated as you bask in the feelings of satisfaction and pride that your modest triumphs bring you.
This emphasizes once more the importance of thorough planning and prudent goal setting. It gives you a map of every milestone you can conquer in your entire journey.
Acknowledge that you are taking decisive steps toward your aspirations, that you are changing your habits for the betterment of yourself, and that you are taking charge of your life as a whole.
Feeling Anxious? Here Are 10 Ways To Naturally Alleviate Your Anxiety To Start Feeling Yourself Again
Decisions.
Most people make decisions by adding more to their life.
‘I must do this…’
’I must do that..’
‘If I can just do xyz, my life will be better…’
But, take a step back for a second. If we dig into the word ‘decision’, we learn it’s a Latin word that means ‘to cut off’. And if you think about it, that makes sense.
Why? Well, a closely related word ‘incision’ means something similar:
“Incision: The action or process of cutting into something”
So with that in mind, in order to reduce and even eliminate our anxiety, the first step is to make a decision to remove (or ‘cut off’) the ‘triggers’ that may be causing it to creep up on us in the first place.
However, we’re all different. What causes my anxiety might be different from what causes yours.
So, as you learn more about yourself and what causes your anxiety, it’s important to note what things you should stop doing – both in terms of reducing your anxiety right now, and preventing it from happening in the first place.
It’s basically impossible to move forward with relieving your anxious thoughts without digging a little deeper and focusing on the root of the problem.
10 Things You Should Stop Doing If You Have Anxiety: As you learn more about yourself and what causes your anxiety, it’s important to note what things you should stop doing when you’re feeling anxious.
These certain things contribute to your anxiety and weigh you down.
It’s basically impossible to move forward with relieving your anxious thoughts without digging a little deeper and focusing on the root of the problem.
10 Things You Should Stop Doing If You Have Anxiety
It starts with realizing the bad habits you’ve become accustomed to and changing them. We all have our own ways of thinking and triggers that make us anxious.
Below are some of the most common things that people do that make their anxiety worse and how you can start putting an end to them today.
#1 Avoidance
If you get anything from this post, please try to remember this: avoiding things that make you anxious will only result in you feeling more anxious.
In short, stop avoiding what’s right in front of you. This is giving your anxious thoughts exactly what they want. It causes you to isolate yourself and ignore all signs that you’re struggling or need help.
Examples of avoidance are:
Drinking at a party to make social interactions more tolerable
Being on your phone in a public setting to avoid eye contact
Calling in sick to work on a day you have to give a speech
Avoiding things can cause you to isolate yourself. And isolation makes it difficult to build strong relationships with people. When you become isolated it is also a lot harder to reach out to people when you desperately need it.
#2 Trying to fight your anxiety
Your anxiety doesn’t have to be your best friend. But it also doesn’t have to be your ultimate nemesis either.
It’s possible to find a happy medium with anxiety. That means that you’re able to get through the day without a panic attack or breaking down.
Stop trying to fight away your anxious thoughts and feelings. They are there for a reason. Instead, you can work on figuring out what’s causing your anxiety in the first place.
This is honestly what causes most of my anxiety. I’m a people pleaser and care way too much what other people think.
When I used to get home from work each day, I would quickly think over in my head how the day and each conversation went. I overthink SO much!
But, something that has helped is practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness slows down your thoughts and allows you to be more in the present moment instead of worrying about things you can’t control.
You learn to accept your thoughts instead of trying to fight them all of the time. This helps reduce anxiety and calms you down.
There’s a cycle that starts when you become anxious. Anxiety is caused by feeling worried and stressed by certain things in your life.
Then, being anxious & stressed all the time leads to feeling fatigued and burnt out.
When you reach burnout mode, taking care of yourself goes out the window.
This is when we tend to reach for the comfort food and do whatever we can to get by. We ignore our needs in order to survive.
It’s time to put a stop to this! You’re the only one who can end the cycle.
That starts with deciding to put yourself first and making a daily commitment to do something that benefits you in some way. If you need help creating habits to take care of yourself, check out this 30-day self-care plan.
#5 Drinking too much caffeine
I love coffee almost as much as my dogs… but with that comes its own limits.
You can have caffeine. But work on limiting it to one or two cups a day (preferably first thing in the morning).
Caffeine screws up with your sleep schedule if you drink too much of it at night. And a lack of sleep leads to higher anxiety levels.
#6 Self-sabotaging yourself
Stop tearing yourself down! You’re not a failure because you have anxiety.
Try to let go of trying to be perfect and stop that inner critic in your head.
Anytime you hear a negative voice in your head saying you’re not good enough, counteract it. For every bad thought you have about yourself, make it a challenge to find something good about yourself.
Try to even out the playing field a little bit.
#7 Drinking alcohol
Drinking should be an occasional thing, like for birthdays or holidays.
This is especially true if you’re currently taking anti-depressants to help with your anxiety. Alcohol lowers your serotonin level. This means it’s basically reversing any positive side effects your medicine is giving you.
And I’m sure you’d rather wake up in the morning feeling refreshed instead of groggy and irritated.
#8 Falling into a deep negative thinking trap
Mental health professionals call this type of thinking “rumination”. Basically, you have repetitive negative thoughts going on in your mind.
These thoughts turn into problems that never get solved. Constant negative thinking causes you to start feeling like a victim in your life. You can end up feeling like you’re not worthy of anything.
This negative thinking trap is also where you develop high levels of anxiety. You start to worry about a specific outcome of a situation before it even happens.
Rumination is a difficult thing to overcome, so don’t expect it to happen overnight.
Talking to a therapist or a professional can help you walk through these thoughts and finally move forward.
#9 Black or white thinking
It’s either all or nothing, there’s no in-between. Well, when you have anxiety there has to be an in-between.
Black or white thinking leads to procrastination. It makes you feel like everything has to be perfect or else it’s not worth trying.
Try to work on finding the gray colors throughout your day. Try to lower your expectations. This doesn’t mean you have to settle for less, it just means you won’t get disappointed so easily.
If you have a test coming up that you need to get an A on, work on expecting a B. Or if you hate change in your life, accepting the fact that change will happen is a grey area.
Letting go of black-and-white thinking means you are learning to accept things the way that they are, without feeling disappointed in the process.
#10 Assuming
Assumptions hurt everyone involved. When you assume your boyfriend wants to take you out to dinner, but he assumes you’ll cook dinner at home, a fight is getting ready to boil.
The main way you can get rid of assuming is by communicating better. If you think a co-worker is upset with you, be upfront and ask them.
Or if you assume your boyfriend is taking you out to dinner, shoot him a quick text to double-check.
Lastly, if you do jump to conclusions, forgive yourself and everyone involved.
It’s so easy to get frustrated and blow up on somebody because you assumed something different in your head.
Take a few deep breaths and recognize what went wrong, then focus on moving forward. This will help reduce anxiety levels.
Moving Forward
When it comes to changing your negative thoughts, avoidance, or assuming things, these habits are difficult to change.
Typically, these habits were formed long ago, when you were a kid. Based on how others treated you, you started to believe certain things about yourself.
My point is, that it won’t be easy to change old habits, but you definitely can do it. I just want you to be patient with yourself and realize that improving your mental health is a lifestyle change.
It won’t instantly happen, but the more work you put into it, the less anxious you will feel and the happier you will become.
Today I want to share some Strong woman quotes to uplift you when you feel down, or just to give you some motivation or inspiration. Share these with your friends who might need them more than you do. Sometimes the right quote can open up your mind and make you realize that you are not alone and that there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Because You might forget the good when you’re having a rough day.
When you’re feeling down, it’s important to remember the good things in your life.
And the good things that come from you specifically.
15 Best Strong Women Quotes
Your thoughts invade your sense of wellbeing making you question things about yourself. Like your worth and how much value you hold in the world.
One main thing to remember is that “this too shall pass.” Your bad thoughts and feelings will fade. You will feel better again.
You just have to trust this and believe this.
Here are 5 strong women quotes to remember the next time you are having a hard day.
1. I’m proud of the woman I am because I went through a hell of a time becoming her
No matter what you’ve gone through, you’ve made it to this moment.
Which means you will make it through the next moment and so on. You will get through these tough times. When you’re feeling down it’s so easy to think that things will never get better.
Something about our brain convinces us that life won’t get better. And yet it does, through time and patience.
2. I forgive myself and set myself free
Go easy on yourself. Forgive yourself for the things you’ve done to make yourself feel bad. Forgive your inner critic for the way she speaks to you.
Forgive any negative thoughts you have. These thoughts don’t define who you are, they are just thoughts.
Allow yourself to feel free from the judgment you place on yourself.
Even though today sucks, I know I will get through this. Repeat this a few times a day. You will get through this.
Trust that you will. Even when you don’t truly believe it. Remember the times that you struggled but you pushed through.
Use those times as evidence that you won’t feel bad forever.
3. What I think and what I feel doesn’t define me. I am more than my negative thoughts.
You have thousands and thousands of thoughts a day. A lot of which you choose to ignore.
Some of the thoughts that you ignore are very positive ones (that are true). And yet you choose to give value to the negative thoughts.
Thoughts are only true if you allow them to be, and you can choose to not give value to the negative ones.
They do not define who you are.
As a form of self-sabotage, making yourself feel bad is just a way to protect yourself.
It’s easier to feel bad than it is to feel better. Just remember that you are more than any negative thought you may believe.
4. I do not have to apologize to anyone for who I am
If others don’t fully accept you for who you are, that’s their problem. You should not have to change just to fit in.
Because no matter how much you change to make other people like you, there will always be someone who doesn’t like that side of you.
What helps instead is to just be yourself and attract the people who like you for you.
Because you don’t have to pretend or hide and you attract people who don’t ask you to ever be anyone but yourself.
5. I don’t have to have everything figured out, I just need to trust myself more
For some reason, we always think we need to have our lives fully figured out.
As if there will be this epic moment where you don’t struggle, you’re always happy, and you don’t have any more worries.
But, life doesn’t always work that way. Yes, you will feel great and happy.
But you will also feel sad and confused. And that’s the beauty of all of this.
You just need to remember that you don’t have to have everything figured out.
Even 80-year-olds don’t have their lives figured out, they’ve just learned to not care so much.
And I believe that once you let go of trying to have it all figured out, you will feel more at peace.
6. She wore her scars as her best attire. A stunning dress made of hellfire. – Daniel Saint
Never forget that if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger. Don’t hide your failures or mishaps, be proud of the fact that you were able to make it through to the other side of the tunnel. Be an inspiration for other women who might be struggling to see or realize that there actually is a light at the other end of the tunnel.
7. Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.
Strong women quotes can only help to make you think, they can only inspire or motivate you. But you need to know that sometimes it will feel as if you are standing alone with no one else to understand what you are going through. It is not easy to ask for help, but it takes bravery not weakness to ask someone for help.
8. A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. – Eleanor Roosevelt
The only way to build character is to face challenges head-on, and not be afraid. You can’t always control your circumstances or the situation you might be in, but by using your intelligence and your willpower you will make it through. And every time you make it through you build more armor as part of your character. Don’t let past actions or failures define you, take courage and determination in yourself as you have what it takes already. Believe and trust in your powers.
9. You may not be everything you thought you’d be by now, but you can be the one who loves, serves, and gives her all, and waters and nurtures every plant in the garden that God has already given her. – Morgan Harper Nichols
It’s easy to forget everything that you already have in your life when only staring at everything that is wrong. Sometimes you need to take comfort in looking at your current situation and look for the things that you can be grateful for. There are a lot of other strong women that aren’t as lucky as you.
10. Don’t let a little stormy weather get you down, there is always sunshine on the other side.
You are a strong independent woman, have faith. When life gets a little stormy or challenging, hold on and ride it out. Sunshine is usually right around the corner. The sun will always shine brighter than her fears.
11. Never ever mistake her silence for weakness. Remember that sometimes the air stills, before the onset of a hurricane. –Nikita Hill
Don’t forget that you don’t need to brag or tell everyone about your challenges or successes. Being silent is not a sign of weakness, in fact, the most powerful women of all time see the ability to be silent, listen, and then respond as their biggest asset.
12. You have to learn to get up from the table when love is no longer being served. – Nina Simone
Love is always worth fighting for, but to know when to give up or walk out is just as important. Sometimes giving up on one love opens up the doors for new love to enter your life. Never stay with someone for the wrong reasons, have the willpower and courage to stand up for yourself, and don’t be afraid of change.
13. A strong woman builds others up because she knows what it’s like to be torn down. – Anonymous
There is no better way to help yourself, than by helping others. The more you give the more you will get. Being able to help someone else will allow you to build up your own confidence and power. It is only when you realize that someone else needs more help than you do, that you start to heal yourself.
14. In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. – Albert Camus
You will only realize your true power and character when you face adversity and challenges. Experience is the king, and unfortunately, that is the only way to learn and grow. Experiences are required to test ourselves and it makes us realize how strong we really are (or aren’t), and that builds our character. With character comes confidence.
15. If you live off a man’s compliments, you’ll die from his criticism. – Cornelius Lindsey
You never have to validate your own worth through the eyes of any man. What other people think of you is their own business, and don’t ever let that define who you are. Don’t fall for fake compliments, and don’t take criticisms too seriously. Do not overanalyze these as they are only someone else’s perception of you. You know yourself better and your own compliments and your own criticisms are so much more valuable than those of others.
15 Strong Women Quotes – Conclusion
I hope these strong women quotes inspire you today.
Remember to be content with how your life is now and you’ll feel more grateful for what you already have. Also, have a look at our massive list of affirmations for women post.
Looking for some ways to feel better about yourself? Great! I have 19 mood and confidence-boosting ideas for you. We all have bad mental health days at times. What makes those days worse is how hard we are on ourselves.
There’s a strong mental health stigma out there that tells us we should be doing better than we are. And if you struggle with depression or anxiety, it makes you feel like a failure of some sort. But this is NOT true. Trust me, it’s not. And the truth is many many people struggle with their own mental illness. It’s not a bad thing and you don’t have to keep making yourself feel worse. Which is why I want to talk about some awesome ways you can feel better about yourself. Because YOU are awesome! If you need a reminder of that today, then here it is.
19 Ways To Make You Feel Better About Yourself
You’re doing the best you can. You’re trying and that’s all that matters. To make yourself feel better you need to be calm and realize the progress you want to see in your life will come. You will have days where you fall backward, and that’s ok. Because you will also have days where you feel on top of the world. To feel better about ourselves is a struggle we all face. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible to always feel better or happy no matter how perfect your life may be.
Striving for endless happiness is like striving for perfection… it doesn’t exist.
What does exist is learning how to accept who you are. That’s the easiest way to make you feel better about yourself. Whether you’re in a bad mood or a good mood. Trusting yourself and knowing you’ll push through the tough moments will turn you into a resilient badass. Sometimes that is what is required to make you feel better about yourself.
1. To feel better, pay attention to what your thoughts are saying
Instead of ignoring your thoughts, spend some time listening to them. What are they saying to you? If you aren’t feeling your greatest right now, why? Is it because of something not going how you expected in your life?
To make you feel better you need to identify your struggles and respect them. This can help you learn to listen to yourself more. From every experience and those small wins, remember what you did to make you feel better. Check out this book on Amazon which was a great read to help me feel better.
When you ignore yourself it’s easy to feel down because you haven’t fully accepted what your thoughts are trying to tell you.
2. Listen to yourself and make sure to take it easy
If you don’t want to see anyone today, clean your house, or get groceries then don’t! Basically to feel better, don’t force yourself to do something you hate. You might think “But I’m an adult and need to take care of my responsibilities.” which, yes is true. But, your chores can wait until you’re better. Cut your to-do list in half and just work on the things that you can. Sometimes our minds and bodies give us a sign, to tell us that we need a break.
To make you feel better, let the other things wait and listen to yourself. Today might just need to be a Netflix day. Yay!
3. Stop making yourself feel guilty for not feeling good mentally
When you’re depressed it’s really hard to act like you care about something when you really don’t. Like when your boyfriend wants to spend Saturday doing a bunch of errands and you’re over here like: I need to be in bed with no interruptions. Which can make you feel guilty for not supporting the people you love.
Your mind has other plans for you and you have to cater to that.
Sometimes to feel better you don’t have to feel guilty for giving yourself a much-needed mental health day. If it’s an everyday thing, then it’s always good to talk to someone about it.
4. Write out all your worries in a journal
When you wake up in the morning and already feel like today is just going to suck, get your thoughts out. Only you can make you feel better. Write down all of your worries about your life, about the day, and just about anything. This is a great way to reel in your worries and take care of your mental health. Because once you get these thoughts, you’ll feel better about yourself and be ready to take on the day.
One way to make you feel better, try out the Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal to help you let go of worry and anxiety.
5. Buy yourself something nice, the best way to make you feel better
When you’re not feeling good about yourself, make yourself go out and buy something nice. Take a trip to the mall or buy something on Amazon you’ve been wanting. Treat yo’ self! This is a good form of self-care to remind yourself that you matter and realize that you can feel better with a little bit of a splurge on yourself. Now, you don’t need to buy the whole store or anything but something simple that makes you feel good will do the trick. This could also just be some ice cream to help boost your spirits. Let’s be honest ice cream will always make you feel better even when everything else fails.
6. Eat a healthy & fulfilling meal
You can treat yourself and eat a healthy meal all on the same day. It’s called balance! Fuel your body with the proper nutrients that you need to improve your mental health. A healthy meal makes your body feel better which improves your mindset!
7. Trust yourself more
To feel better, listen to your heart. If you’re unhappy a lot of the time, listen to why that is. If you always say yes when you should say no, learn how to set boundaries. For the longest time I did not trust myself and I always looked to other people to boost my confidence. Make your own confidence. Don’t sit and wait for a sign, stand up and take accountability. But, this never lasted because when nobody was around I didn’t feel good about myself. I spent a lot of time learning how to trust my instincts and listen to myself more, and now I feel better about myself and my circumstances. This takes some time, but if you make it a goal of yours then you will start to feel better quickly.
8. Spend time with supportive people
To feel better, it helps to have a strong support system because you can’t always pull yourself out of a funk, or make issues just disappear. If you aren’t your best today, call up your closest friends. Vent to them or ask them to hang out so you can be around positive people. Positive people can make you feel better instantly. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the people who care about you when you’re struggling mentally, because they need you to reach out to them.
They won’t judge you and care about your well-being.
Sometimes you just need some good music to pull you out of a bad mood. Dance around to your favorite songs for 15 minutes. Tune everything out and put your headphones on. Enjoying yourself where you get out of your head for a while can help you gain a different perspective on things.
Even when you’re not feeling your best you can counter your bad thoughts with good ones. Write down your favorite qualities about yourself. Is it the way you easily forgive people around you? Maybe you’re a really good listener, or like being so easygoing. Whatever traits you have, make yourself write them down. And if you can’t think of what you like about yourself, write down the things other people like about you.
11. Hang out with animals
If you have any animals at your house, spend some time with them. Cuddle your cat or go on a hike with your dog and make some friends. And if you don’t (but do like animals), go to a nearby animal shelter. If you find an animal you like, you can ask to hang out with it. And who knows? Maybe you’ll even end up getting a furry companion! Animals can be a great form of therapy because they are so innocent and pure. They are very forgiving, provide an endless amount of love, and have zero judgment.
12. Cry it out
Crying is a way to release all the built-up emotions you have in your mind and body. Sometimes you just need a good cry session to let everything out. I definitely feel better about myself after I cry things out for a little bit. If it’s just one of those days for you where you do feel on the verge of tears, don’t hold it in. Allow yourself to feel however it is you’re feeling so you can get back to being your best self.
13. Break/Punch something
So if you’re sad you cry, and if you’re angry you can punch something. I keep getting this urge to break some dishes when I don’t feel my best. That is usually a sign that some good old punches or kicks are required.
But if you’d prefer to punch something instead, sign up for a nearby kickboxing class. This can help you relieve a lot of tension…
14. Get some alone time
If you aren’t feeling your best sometimes being alone can be just what you need. This helps you re-center yourself. You also block out all of the outside noise. If you have a judgmental family, a difficult work environment, or just feel super stressed out then being alone can help a ton. Either go to your bedroom and shut the door for the night, go on a hike and shut off your phone, or take a 2-hour long bath for some privacy.
15. Go on an adventure to make you feel better
Sometimes we don’t feel our best because life feels boring. If you’re stuck in the same routine and feel like your life isn’t going anywhere, change it up by going on an adventure. This could mean a trip to the next town over or a road trip vacation. You don’t have to wait for a sign. Depending on how you’re feeling, set up a plan to get out on an adventure and explore something new.
16. Take a mental health day
If you wake up in the morning and just cannot get yourself to go to work, take a mental health day. We all need this from time to time. And don’t feel guilty about it either! A mental health day is amazing when you’re overwhelmed and burnt out. If you know you won’t be able to focus or work productively today, then it’s best to take a break from everything. This can help in so many ways and it can actually benefit your employer because you’ll feel refreshed and recharged after a little mini-break.
17. Get some exercise
Go on a run, take a hike, or do some yoga at home. Your body and mind work together to help you feel your best. Make sure to take care of your body and listen to what it needs. It already knows how to make you feel better, you just need to guide it.
Activities like running or HIIT get your endorphins going and your heart pumping, so you’ll feel better pretty quickly. And if you’re looking to calm down and be more in tune with your body, then yoga, pilates, or a peaceful walk can help you get there.
18. Read a good mental health book
If you enjoy reading like I do and like to focus on self-improvement, here are some of my favorite books to read to help you feel better about yourself:
19. Help someone else
Sometimes what you really need to make you feel better about yourself is to help someone else. Look around your life and see what areas you can help in.
Are there people in your family who are going through their own struggles?
Do you have a friend who could use a break from her kids?
Pay attention to other people around you asking for help and lend a hand.
