3 Healthy Tips to Boost Your Confidence

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost of your mornings start off with the same routine: wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then out the door. During this time, you’ve probably looked at yourself in the mirror at least a handful of times and often times notice all your flaws. How many times do we as women hone in on any wrinkles or blemishes we spot on our faces, a scar on our body, worry about outfits, or worse, our weight?  Let’s face it. We often wake up with the overwhelming pressure to always look better.

From an early age, society places a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way: skinny, toned abs, flawless skin, the perfect smile, and an ass you can bounce a quarter off of; and those are just the basics. I’m going to be honest with you, I wasn’t born with ANY of those qualities! These societal ideals are sometimes so unrealistic that it can be easy for young girls to quickly lose self-esteem and feel as if they don’t measure up.

Nevertheless, we press on trying our very best to reach these sometimes unrealistic expectations. The pressure in doing so only adds to our anxiety, and our effort to lose weight and stay in shape turns into this never-ending burden instead of a beneficial process to redefine your life. Getting in shape should be about the desire to live a healthy lifestyle and making yourself feel better, not about trying to replicate the airbrushed model we see on the magazine cover.

Here are three ways to empower yourself to be the best you can be and love the way you look.

[large_title title=”Get Rid of the Word “Can’t””]

Words are the most powerful weapons we have, and unfortunately we’ve grown accustomed to use them unconsciously against ourselves. In other words, your mind believes what your mouth says.

Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of the popular motivational best-selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad said it best, “The word ‘can’t’ makes strong people weak, blinds people who can see, saddens happy people, turns brave people into cowards, robs a genius of their brilliance, causes rich people to think poorly, and limits the achievements of that great person living inside us all.”

So, the next time you catch yourself using the word “can’t,” try to figure what you really mean by that. Chances are you really mean one of these three things:

• 1. I don’t want to… [“I can’t do 100 burpees.” = “I don’t want to do 100 burpees. I would rather go home.”
• 2. I don’t know how to… [“I can’t do dive bomber pushups.” = “I don’t know how to do dive bomber pushup. I’ve never even heard of them.”
• 3. I don’t believe I can… [“I can’t run five miles.” = “I don’t believe I can run five miles because I have never tried.”

You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to. There is no such thing as “can’t.”

[large_title title=”Practice Positive/ Gratefulness “]

It’s so easy to focus on the undesirable aspects of ourselves and get caught up with what’s not going right. And the more we talk about our problems, the bigger they seem to get. So, a good way to combat our negative thoughts and feelings is to actively highlight all of the positive things in your life. BE GRATFUL! It could always be worst. Whether it’s keeping a gratefulness journal or a gratitude jar, writing down a few positive things that you are appreciative of every day can really make a difference and change your perspective on life.

[large_title title=”Conquer New Challenges/Do Something New”]

Sometimes you get tired of your normal exercise routine—that’s natural. The best way to overcome that feeling is to try something new: run a marathon, do a Spartan race, try that boxing class you heard about. Conquering a new fitness challenge contributes to feelings of pride and accomplishment that extend to other areas of life and will leave you feeling more capable and able to take on new tasks with more confidence.