Body confidence is something anyone can build, regardless of their body’s shape, size or weight. We all know short people, big people, tall people, skinny people, disabled people etc., who’re equally confident about their bodies. We also know another group of the aforementioned list who’re lacking in body confidence.
But what is it that makes one person less or more body confident than the other person? It’s certainly not their body shape or size, or there would never be successful people who’re unattractive, right? Right! It must be something else then. Regardless of what you think of your body there has to be (at least) one great thing about it – your legs, your hair, your voice, your dimples… the list is enormous. Look at the picture below. I took this picture of a tiny, white water lily at the very end of its growing season. The lily itself was not a great – it was one of the puniest I’ve ever seen. However, taken against the background of the shabby, unimpressive leaves, the lily seems a perfect specimen!
This is you! Regardless of how many shabby, unimpressive ‘leaves’ you may think you possess, the perfect, great bits of your body can shine through magnificently.
If it looks good on your friend, it may not look right on you. If in doubt, ask the shop assistant or stylist. Most department stores have free stylists on hand. Grab one of them and ask for advice. Dressing for your shape is the first link to building body confidence because it makes you look your best. Looking your best makes you feel your best, not only because of the way others react to you, but because it’s one of the first ways to build over all self-confidence. If celebrities inspire you, then look at these celebrities who have body confidence without having stick-thin bodies.
You know those air-brushed ads you see of celebrities with perfect bodies? When you see their smooth skin and perfect figures it makes you wish you looked like them. Well, frankly, those celebrities wish they did too! Get sensible where your body confidence
If you have to fake it to make it, it’s worth doing so. You know, many confident people started off as wimps. In order to avoid being bullied they pretended they were confident and strong. When they found out how well this worked, they did it more and more. The more they faked confidence, the more confident they became.
Stand tall and hold yourself well. This makes you taller, more elegant/handsome and confident. Tall, upright people look attractive to the opposite sex. They also look thinner and their stomach – flatter. I use this trick quite a lot for photo shoots. I push my chest out, hold my shoulders back, and think ‘elegant’. The product of this stance are pictures of me looking tall, thin, elegant and beautiful. I don’t even have to hold my tummy in when I stand tall. Experiment with this: slump and measure your waist. Now stand tall and measure it again. See! You’ve lost at least 2 inches off your pouch!
This goes without saying. I’m not telling you to go on a diet. I don’t believe diets are sustainable, therefore they don’t work for most people. There is a unique programme showing you how to lose weight without dieting or extreme exercise. It has psychological reinforcements and takes you step-by-step into a workable (and sustainable) solution for weight issues. It promotes a lifestyle – not a week of hard dieting. Find the healthy eating book
This one sounds strange, I know. When feeling less than positive about your lack of body confidence, treat your best bits. If it’s your hair, go to the salon and get a fabulous shampoo and condition. If your best bits are your legs, go for a professional wax, moisturise and feet massage. If you think your face is the most attractive part of you, then get a facial. You get the drift. Let your best bit work hard for you. Like the lone water lily above, it’s the thing that will be your shining light, the thing that people congratulate you for and remark positively about.
Now you’ve got some great points about grabbing your handful of body confidence. Go out there and let your light shine. Work on these five points, and if you’ve got a friend who can use some tips on body confidence, why not send this article to him/her. If you’ve got some tips about building body confidence please share them below in the comment box.
As always, thanks for visiting and commenting on Build Confidence. While you’re here, why not look at Ways To Build Body Confidence and How To Build Confidence in 48 hours. Please leave any comments or questions you may have. If you liked Body Confidence: Get It, please share it on you social networking sites.
Totally agree Anne!
Anyone can build body confidence, and it doesn’t really matter whether you are fat, thin, dark, small etc. All that matters is that you have the confidence in yourself to be and do what you feel is best.
Just as you mentioned, each one of us always has something that is good and all we need to do is enhance and work on those areas to build our confidence. Loved the points you shared, especially the standing tall and eating right that surely do make a huge difference.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by, Leena.
As I like to say to my kids, it’s not about how you look. It’s how you FEEL about how you look.
As you have no control over how you look (apart from your weight and how you dress) you just have to accept it and make the best of it.
Thanks for your insightful comment.
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I was thinking of writing an article on the standing tall part, only because I’m a short guy. And whether you are tall or short, the way your posture stand looks, it can make you seem that much more confident, or less.
I see some tall guys around my university, who slouch over. I think to myself that they are either carrying some heavy piles of books in their backpack (which is probably not the case, everyone acts cool and never carry more than one books these days) or they want to hide their own presence.
Well, I guess they should of stayed home or something, because slouching is not the way to go!
Slouching is sometimes the way tall people hide their height. I’m an extremely tall woman, and when I was a teenager, I slouched so that I didn’t look tall. I soon learned that I could do nothing about my height, and that it was actually a blessing rather than a curse to be tall.
I think confidence comes from acceptance. The quicker we accept who we are and learn to accept anything that happens to us, good or bad, then we can believe in ourselves also.
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True. It also comes from flexibility. If something isn’t working to get us where we want to be, we could stick to doing it ‘our way’ (a way that never worked), or shift positions and do it a way we’ve never tried before.
Hi Anne,
Wonderful post, indeed! 🙂
I loved the advice you included in your post. I’m pretty slim and over the past 5-6 years have really embraced my build rather than wishing I was built and muscular. To support this, I also try and wear clothes them emphasis my build. I also appreciate the point you made about standing tall and upright. I learnt to do so this some years ago and it has turned into a daily habit. By walking in this way, as you quite rightly said, we feel confident and elegant.
Great post. I’m off to share on my social networks.
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This is exactly what I had to do, HIten. I was bullied for being tall and told I was lanky and ugly when I wasn’t. For me, it was difficult to see my height and built as positive things.
When I blocked out the negatives and started holding myself up high, I felt beautiful and confident long before I became those things.
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I love your tips Anne! I think most people have at least some body bits they are less than confident about. I especially agree with your point about standing up straight. Regardless of what a person looks like, there is something about the slouching shoulders or avoiding eye contact that just screams INSECURE. Thanks for the important reminders!
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Hi Marty,
Yes, we all do have some body inferiority complex. It’s better to emphasize the bits we love and play down the ones we don’t. With everyone paying attention and complimenting us on the stronger elements, it’s not too difficult to dismiss our ‘bad bits’ and leave them at the back of our minds.
We have to concentrate on how we want things to be, rather than how we don’t want them to be. This attitude helps us to stay positive and see the good in ourselves.
[…] Anne Lyken-Garner […]
I used to hate myself when i was thin and all my friends had great body shapes little did i know i could do so much with the little i have so i stood tall and started apreciating whom i am and from that time my confidence grew much stronger.
Thanks Anne for this post
Thanks for your input, Naomi,
And you’re right, feeling great about ourselves start with first appreciating ourselves.
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Thanks anne for this article it’s reminding us on how to love ourselves n try to be confident with whatever we have or whoever we are.
thnx Anne
Wonderful tips Anne! I appreciate this post since I’ve done these tips a year ago. When I was still in college, I have this slim fit. But when I finally got a job, I became chubby-fat. I have this hard time accepting it, but later on I accepted it. I agree that you have to choose an appropriate clothes for your fit. To boost your confidence, you must start it within you.. dress well and feel good about yourself
This is amazing information. I think it is amazing that there are ways to build up your confidence, no matter what size you are. Everyone should be proud of their body. No matter what.
This was a really good article and I think it goes to show once again how much confidence has to do with all the little things that we do everyday. I know if I’m not living the way I should and aren’t taking care of my body and doing things that I feel proud of then that will translate into my self image and how I perceive other people to perceive me.
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Great Tips Anne! Just as you described, every single certainly one of us usually has one thing that is certainly fantastic and all we require to accomplish is enhance and perform on those locations to construct our self-assurance. Loved the points you shared, in particular the standing tall and eating suitable that surely do make a massive difference.
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