Learning to improve your self-confidence can help you to meet your goals and to find the success that you want in life. Having confidence helps you to take on challenges, to focus on your goals, and to take risks. Without strong self-esteem, you are more likely to take a passive approach to your life, to make excuses for not going after your goals, and to become apathetic about your future.
There are many ways to improve your self-confidence, some of which are explored on this blog. Exercise, while known for its benefits for health and longevity, is another tool that can be used to help promote confidence.
Exercise can help you Improve Your Self-Confidence in a number of ways:
Exercise Makes You Feel Better
According to a center for CBT Therapy in London, when you feel better physically, you feel better mentally. You are better able to take on challenges. You feel more interested in exploring new places and meeting new people. You have the energy to overcome obstacles.
Exercise helps you to feel better physically and mentally, helping you to develop a positive attitude and the emotional stamina needed to take on personal goals.
Exercise Makes You Look Better
When we aren’t happy with the way we look, we develop body image issues and low self-esteem. Therefore, when we aren’t happy with the way we look, we often aren’t happy with the people we are. Negative self-talk can become overwhelming, permeating our thoughts and influencing our actions.
Exercising helps us to build our self-esteem by improving the condition of our bodies. Even if you don’t lose a lot of weight while exercising, you are likely to strengthen and tone your body, making it more firm. Seeing these kinds of results can make you feel better about the way you look and bolster your self-confidence.
Exercise Makes You Stronger
Physical strength can often give you mental strength. When you see what your body is capable of achieving, your self-confidence soars. Exercise shows you what is possible when you put effort into meeting your goals. Every day that you workout, your body grows stronger, giving you nearly immediate results for your hard work. When you are able to lift heavier weights, and achieve harder exercises without as much effort, you start get a feeling like you can do anything!
Exercise Gives You a Sense of Accomplishment
Exercise is all about setting and achieving a series of goals. Maybe you start out hoping to walk for a half an hour every day. Then maybe you graduate to running a mile a day. Soon, you may be running several miles a week and lifting heavier weights. You may be losing weight, or improving your stamina, or developing greater endurance.
Exercise promotes a sense of accomplishment by helping you to meet small, successive goals. There is always opportunity to set your sights higher and to meet new goals. Each time you succeed, you get a sense of accomplishment and improve your self-confidence.
Exercise Reduces Stress
Have you ever experienced the runner’s high? If you have, you understand the stress-busting properties that exercise has. Exercise releases feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine and endorphins, and it helps to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Regular exercise helps you to relieve stress and anxiety, helping you to relax and to focus better.
When you feel less stress, you feel better able to manage the challenges that you face every day. You feel calm and able to concentrate on the tasks that you need to accomplish. All of this helps you to feel more confident — knowing that you are not overwhelmed by stress and anxiety and are fully in charge of your own feelings and actions, guiding your own success.
Exercise Makes You Smarter
Exercise feeds your brain. It helps to feed valuable oxygen and nutrients to your brain to improve cognitive functioning. Think about it: How do you feel after you exercise? Are you able to concentrate more, or do you feel groggy? Do you feel energized and alert, or do you feel sluggish? Of course, exercise makes you feel alert and focused, better able to understand and complete the task at hand.
Improved mental function and focus will help you to complete your goals more efficiently, thus helping to improve your self-confidence. If you are stuck at a desk all day, consider incorporating mini exercise routines into your day.
Exercise helps you to feel mentally and physically prepared for the challenges before you, so that you feel better prepared to achieve your goals. Knowing that you can take on the tasks that you set for yourself helps you to feel confident in any situation. Feeling good about the way you look and the physical achievements you have made only further enhances this self-confidence.
Do you exercise regularly? Do you feel that exercise helps you to improve your self-confidence and the way you feel about yourself? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Sarah Rexman is the main researcher and writer for bedbugs.org. Her most recent accomplishment includes graduating from Florida State, with a master’s degree in environmental science. She loves to stay confident and spiritual in every aspect of her life.