Forget about always having to be the life of the party – that’s not what real confidence is about. Sometimes, it’s the little things you do even when you think nobody’s paying attention that show how much you believe in yourself. If you do these things, you’re probably way more confident than you give yourself credit for.
1. You can talk about your weaknesses.
Someone who’s genuinely confident has the ability to look at their flaws and weaknesses without feeling any shame or feeling like they’re not good enough. By embracing what you consider to be your flaws, you don’t let them get in the way of your strengths. In fact, they only serve to make you stronger!
2. You laugh at yourself regularly.
If you can laugh at yourself, you’re much more confident than you think. You’re not caught up in self-consciousness and you don’t take life too seriously. You can take your so-called flaws lightly, which is actually really brave and shows just how emotionally mature you are. You get that no one’s perfect and that it’s no reason to get down on yourself.
3. You don’t have to brag about your success.
People who lack confidence usually have a tendency to blab about all their achievements to everyone as a way to make themselves feel better or worthy. If you’re genuinely confident, you don’t have to prove yourself. Your success speaks for itself and you like it that way.
4. You can sit and listen instead of rushing into conversations.
You’re never the person at a party or social gathering who feels the need to interrupt other people in an arrogant way because you want to be heard or to receive attention. As a confident person, you can comfortably sit and watch others, instead of feeling desperate for attention.
5. You’re not afraid to initiate conversations.
While you don’t feel the need to fill every silence with meaningless chit-chat, you’re totally comfortable striking up a conversation with your hairdresser, your colleague, or even someone you’ve never met before who’s standing next to you at a concert. While you might sometimes feel a bit shy, you can override it in certain situations.
6. You take criticism with grace.
When someone gives you some negative feedback, you might listen to it, but you don’t let it define you. This is what makes you more confident than you realize. It’s all about taking the criticism with grace!
7. You don’t rebuff compliments.
You also take compliments with grace, which isn’t always easy to do if you’re insecure. Instead of rolling your eyes or shaking your head when someone gives you a meaningful compliment, you’ll say “thank you.”
8. You give genuine apologies.
It takes confidence to step up and apologize to someone, as well as to recognize what you’ve done wrong. When you tell someone you’re truly sorry, your apologies are sincere instead of being rushed or fake.
9. You talk slowly.
A common sign that someone is confident is if their speech is slow and controlled instead of quick or jittery. Even if you’re not feeling super-confident, doing this can help you to feel it more and display to others that you’re self-assured.
10. You know how to say “no.”
You have healthy boundaries in place to protect yourself. Saying “no” is a sign of confidence because it means you respect yourself and don’t bend over backward to accommodate other people. You don’t have to jump to impress anyone. If they don’t like you for who you are, they don’t belong in your life.
11. You don’t let rejection damage your self-worth.
Rejection is always hard to deal with, but you don’t let it become something that you carry around with you. It hurts, sure, but you don’t let it change your course or put you off from chasing your dreams. You know that every “no” you hear is paving the way for a major “yes.” Speaking of which…
12. You use “no” as a powerful motivating force.
Not only do you take rejection in your stride, but whenever the universe tells you “no,” you see it as a chance to push harder to achieve your goals. “No” is an answer that motivates you instead of rendering you helpless, which is awesome.
13. You listen more than you speak.
People who have confidence know how to really listen to other people and pay attention when they have something to share. By comparison, insecure people will struggle to actively listen because they might feel they have to interject with their opinions and thoughts to appear confident.
14. You’re comfortable being alone.
If you love having time to yourself to do activities you love or process your thoughts and feelings, you’re probably more self-confident than you realize. You don’t need to surround yourself with people all the time to feel worthy.
15. You’re unafraid to make mistakes.
Because you go for what you want, you know that you might slip up sometimes, but that’s not something you try to avoid or panic about. You have the inner boldness to accept your mistakes and use them as fuel for your next great adventure.
16. You don’t wait for good things to happen.
You’re not the type of person to sit around and wait for opportunities to come your way. You go out there and make them happen! Even if you have some confidence wobbles along the way, that doesn’t matter because you don’t allow them to hold you back.
Enjoyed this piece? Give us a like and follow Bolde on MSN for more!
