Self confidence is one of the most important factors in our lives. It doesn’t only affect how successful we’ll be in business plan, but also in our personal lives. If you want to boost your self confidence, take a look at our list of five scientifically proven ways.
Most of us have some strategy for increasing our self confidence. We try to think positive, set achievable goal or surround ourselves with people that give us emotional support. In the article bellow we’re going to tell you a thing or two about some less known strategies that can help you raise your self confidence to a whole new level. Some of them might seem somewhat illogical, however they are also scientifically proven and sound.
For example, you might not know that the place where you workout can reflect on your self confidence. Or that even the most unattractive people can get a date if they play it right. Or that the clothes you wear tailor the way you feel and act.
Take a look at our 5 self confidence boosting strategies.
Perfume and Cologne
According to the research people who are satisfied with their looks have higher self confidence levels. The same applies to how you smell.
This has been confirmed by a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Sciences, which revealed that wearing cologne or perfume resulted in increased self confidence and improved perception of their appearance. The results are stunning, showing that the increased self confidence and attractiveness was noticeable even for people who could not sense their odour.
To quote the study: “This effect highlights the flexible nature of self-esteem to respond to rapid changes in one’s own physical traits through the use of artificial cosmetic products. An individual’s personal odour and the perfume product chosen may thus influence both self-perception and impressions formed by others”. To sum up, your odour is not what makes you attractive. It’s the way you behave when you smell good.
Outdoor Exercise
People who exercise are aware of the beneficial effect it can have on the way you feel. Taking caring of your body improves your energy levels and overall health, resulting with increased self confidence.
Interestingly, these positive and beneficial effects of exercising can be amplified by the environment where you train. Scientific research has shown that exercising outside is extremely effective when it comes to increasing your self confidence and improving your mood. So next time you feel blue or out of your depths, take your exercises outside. It will help you tread the world with increased confidence.
Power Posing
The theory about assuming power pose for boosting self confidence comes from Amy Cuddy, a renowned social psychologist and author, who works as an associate professor at Harvard Business School. During her work she has noticed that the students who exhibited greater involvement during lectures tended to assume more dominant positions (arms open, heads up).
She started wondering whether this can work the other way around. In other words, can we increase our self confidence by consciously assuming a more dominant pose? The results of her research proved this theory right. The participants were asked to assume power pose for the duration of 2 minutes, which resulted in increased testosterone levels and lower presence of cortisol in their bloodstream, and greater preparedness for taking risks.
10 Signs you have way too much cortisol
In other words, the next time you need to boost your confidence preparing for a meeting, date or job interview, try assuming power position.
Confident Smile and Eye Contact
The results of a research conducted at Webster University suggest that confident smile can make you more attractive. The head researcher Dr. Monica Moore has based her research on studying ways people flirt in bars and malls. It turns out that the best flirting technique is confident smile. She found out that people who made eye contact and had a confident smile had even better success than the attractive people who were approached the most.
Simply put, your body language often speaks louder than words, while the smile and eye contact indicate that the man is available and confident.
Superhero’s Clothing
Yes, you’ve heard that right. Wearing superhero clothing can boost your self confidence. This comes from Professor Karen J. Pine’s book Mind What You Wear: The Psychology of Fashion. According to her theory, wearing superhero clothing was supposed to affect the frame of mind of the person, and decided to put her theory to a test, asking her students to wear superhero clothing with their pears. It turns out she was right. Not only that the participants in this experiment exhibited increased self confidence, but also reported that they felt stronger, more attractive and better than other students.
The clothes you wear do determine how you feel. One of more interesting findings made by Dr. Pine is that people wearing white coats exhibited an increase in their mental processes.
All things considered, choosing the right clothes for the right situation can make a difference to the way we feel, act and to our results in general. So choose wisely.
However baffling these strategies may seem to you, they are backed up by some of the best scientist in the world. Although some of them may not work as good as the others, it won’t hurt to try some of them next time you need a confidence booster.
