9 Life Hacks to Boost Confidence

Life's little ups and downs can take a toll on your confidence so learning how to bounce back after a setback is key to being able to get back on your feet. The good news is confidence can be learned. So here are our quick-fix tips and life hack tricks to keep your confidence levels brimming over.

1. Be Grateful

Instead of thinking about the things that have gone wrong for you, focus on the things you are grateful for. Even if you haven't yet achieved what you were hoping you still have plenty in your life to be glad about. Don't believe it? Make a list of the positive elements of your life, for example: friends, family, pets, talents and skills. Be specific. Then think about the basics you take for granted, such as: enough food, fresh water, your health, warm home, your sight, your hearing. You have so much to be thankful for! Once you accept just how much goodness you have in your life, you'll begin to feel happier and more confident.

2. Practise mind control

Don't allow your thoughts to control you, instead you need to control them. So ignore the critical voice in your head that says you're not good enough - this is a thought pattern that you can break. Change your mental channel to: 'this will be a good experience' or 'I can do this'. Even if you know the situation will be difficult, approaching it from a positive and confidence stance will make it easier.

3. Use confident body language

If you look confident you'll feel confident and people will respond to you more positively. So stand tall, speak slowly and clearly, smile and make occasional eye contact with the people you are with. This body language tells other people you are relaxed and confident, making them more comfortable with you.

4. Discover your dream

Finding out what makes you happy is a shortcut to confidence. If you are following your dream you'll feel less like hiding under the duvet and more raring to get on with the day. Choose a constructive goal that uses your talents. For example, learning to cook, trying a new sport, joining a craft group, starting a business or writing a novel. Set aside a couple of hours per week to turn your dream into reality.

5. Keep moving

When you look your best, you feel your best - so make sure exercise is part of your daily routine. Moving your body releases feel-good endorphins into your system, so you feel on top of the world. You don't have to run a marathon or even hit the gym - a brisk 30 minute walk everyday is a good start.

6. Be optimistic

See setbacks as temporary not terminal. So put negative events into perspective and move forward instead of dwelling upon them. Thinking ahead in a positive way means you are building your confidence naturally as you plan for a positive future.

7. Don't compare yourself to others

Feeling envious of other's good fortune will make your confidence wilt. Expending your mental energy in this negative way also prevents you from achieving for yourself. Forget about what others have, and think about what you could have! Discover what your talents are and use them, constructively.

8. Trust Yourself

Confidence is about believing you are a good and capable person. You must believe in your own abilities. This doesn't mean you should be boastful or egotistical but a quiet confidence and inner strength is what you should nurture within yourself.

9 Quietly confident

Don't confuse confidence with aggression. Confident people are often not the loudest people in the room. A sign of confidence is being able to listen to others and consider their views with the same respect as you'd expect them to consider your own.