Do you ever wonder how extroverts do it? How are they so confident? It’s almost like they’re naturally able to strike a conversation and be so likable.Although we’re not all born with the dashing confidence, given to a lucky few, everyone can harness this skill with some hard work and dedication. But to be confident, we must first learn what confidence is. 

Confidence is the consciousness of one’s powers. In other words, confident people are aware of their capabilities. So to be confident, one must first believe in themselves. Although that sounds like a cheesy movie line, there’s a lot of importance behind it. Believing in yourself is an integral part of growing your confidence. For example, were there ever times where you were so sure of something yet the thought of being wrong leaves you paralyzed with fear? 

Sophomore Kevin Wu says, “Oftentimes I know the answers to questions in class, but I’m too afraid to answer. It’s almost like it’s impossible to push myself out of my comfort zone.”

Moments like these, although seemingly daunting at first, are the building blocks to gaining confidence. The way to lose that fear of failure is to gain awareness of your capabilities. And once you have self-awareness, you have confidence. But how does one become aware of their capabilities?

There are several ways to become aware of your capabilities. Oftentimes people like to practice. The more someone practices, whether it be a premeditated joke or a dry run of a presentation, the more awareness they gain of their capabilities. Practicing before doing something often lets you better understand how prepared you are and generally the more prepared you are the more confident you will be.

Another way of gaining awareness would be a 2nd opinion. Whether it is a trusted friend or close family member, you can always run whatever you’re doing through them for approval in case you can’t gauge your capabilities by yourself. For example, you could practice a speech in front of a family member and ask them for feedback. This will give you exposure on how you perform in front of a real audience and hopefully some constructive criticism.

Then there’s the YOLO attitude. You’ve probably heard the saying you only live once by now. So if you’re only going to live once, push yourself to do what you love to do. Whether you are capable or not, overcome that fear of failure by thrusting yourself into awkward situations and learning from them. Making yourself do uncomfortable things gives you experience on what to do in certain situations often resulting from hilarious mistakes. 

And finally, you can fake an ego. Oftentimes, all that’s required to build confidence is a little boost to your ego. This can be achieved through either hyping yourself up or having your friends do it for you. It could be as simple as looking at yourself in the mirror every morning and being thankful for looking so hot. Although you may not initially actually think it, over time it’ll start to seem more and more believable and soon you’ll learn to embrace your insecurities and improve upon your self-image.

So if you were looking for a way to increase your confidence there you have it. Be yourself and be happy. Good luck!

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