5 Ways to Build Greater Confidence and Assertiveness

They're also two qualities that can help you tackle challenging situations more positively and give you an edge when it comes to job interviews or meeting new people. Building your confidence and assertiveness is rooted in self-awareness and understanding your values, beliefs, and intentions.

Both qualities stem from an honest and objective appraisal of where we can strengthen ourselves going forward. While you can read up on these qualities and learn about them from others, the only way to build your confidence and assertiveness is by putting those lessons into practice.

Here are five ways you can increase your confidence and assertiveness today.

Be mindful of your self-talk

Confidence and self-talk are closely connected. When building your confidence, you want to be mindful of the messages you're giving yourself. If you're constantly putting yourself down, no amount of practice or skill acquisition will build your confidence.

You want to be fully present in your self-talk and notice when you're putting yourself down. Confidence is not something that you can force. It's the outcome of thousands of tiny moments throughout the day.

It's the product of your daily habits. To build your confidence, you must consider how you talk to yourself and work to change them.

Practice self-care

Building your confidence isn't just about changing your mental habits and how you talk to yourself. It's also about the way you treat your body.

How you feed yourself, treat minor ailments, and get enough sleep can significantly impact your mental state and your confidence. Beyond that, the way you treat your body daily is a direct reflection of your self-respect.

Learn to recognize your strengths and weaknesses

As you build your confidence and assertiveness, one of the best ways to do this is by accurately identifying your strengths and weaknesses.

If possible, you want to be honest with yourself, but you also want to take steps to address your weaknesses.

If you're applying for a new job, you want to be able to acknowledge and address any areas of concern fully. At the same time, you want to be able to focus on your strengths and be able to articulate them to others clearly.

Building your confidence requires you to be honest and recognize your assets and limitations.

Push yourself to try new things

When building your confidence and assertiveness, you want to be sure you're pushing yourself outside your comfort zone.

If you struggle with public speaking, you should try to get involved in a public speaking group.

If you're self-conscious about your singing abilities, you should join a karaoke night.

The more you push yourself to try new things and challenge yourself, the more you'll be able to build your confidence. This is especially true if you're doing these activities with supportive people.

Network with people who build your confidence

Another great way to build confidence is networking with people with similar interests or who are further along in their careers.

If you're new to a city and trying to build your confidence and assertiveness, seek out groups or clubs related to your interests or professional goals. You can also try to find mentors in your field who may be willing to share their knowledge with you.

Confidence is infectious, and the more you surround yourself with like-minded and ambitious people, the more you'll be able to feed off that energy and enthusiasm.

Some Final Words

When you're trying to build your confidence, you want to be sure that you're being honest with yourself and not relying on false or misleading statements.

You also want to be sure that you're taking steps to address your weaknesses.

Confidence is not something that you can force. It's the outcome of thousands of tiny moments throughout the day. It's the product of your daily habits.

If you want to build your confidence, you have to look at how you're talking to yourself and work to change them. You have to be mindful of your self-talk, practice self-care, and learn to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.