Boost Your Body Confidence
Particularly as a female, my confidence comes and goes. On a daily basis, I might catch myself in a shop window and just feel shite, then a couple of shop windows down the road, I’ll see my butt in a different light and be walking on cloud nine the rest of the day. I’ve never seen confidence as something that stays with you, it’s something that we can fake, pretend we have or don’t have. I learned quite young to always be part of the performance. That it didn’t matter if I had the confidence, but that I could pretend I felt it, I could fake my way through anything. And in all honesty, I still do. I am more than happy to not say anything all day, to be huddled in my own thoughts and feelings, but, with the nature of the job I’ve chosen, I have to be outgoing and bubbly and be the fitness queen everybody knows I can be.
About 90% of the time, the ‘Beth’ you meet is the true me. I would never misrepresent myself and sell a fake version, but there will be times when I’ve taken a deep breath, stuck a smile on my face and I’m putting on an act. And that’s because you’re more than likely paying for my time, your paying for me to be the one who listens to you wins and loses, the person who will pick you up off the ground and keep you moving forward. I will always be the person you need me to be, but there are times it’s an act. An act of confidence.
Picture this. You’re getting ready to go out to dinner with friends, but you can’t find anything to wear. You’ve gone from excited about dinner and cocktails, to depressed and pointing out every flaw you can possibly see. What do we do? Pull on the old reliable dress that flows and hides the tummy we hate and go out not quite feeling the vibe? Or, pull your shoulders back, take a deep breath, give yourself a compliment and wear the skirt your gran would disapprove of? It’s a mindset. You speak to yourself more than you speak to anybody else, so tell yourself the right things.
There are so many different ways of boosting your confidence, from giving yourself a compliment every morning, looking in the mirror and telling yourself you look beautiful, to writing down things that make you happy, things your grateful for. My personal favourite? Taking five minutes to breathe. Grabbing a coffee and connecting with the barista, slightly harder right now, but asking how they are doing can give you such a boost. By getting to know them, it gives me an escape from my own brain, it allows me to connect with other humans and, every now and again, do something nice for them. One of my favourite Dolly Parton quotes; ‘If you see someone without a smile, give them yours’. In this funny Covid world, a little human kindness and positive mindset can make all the difference. Regardless of what I see in the mirror the rest of the day, I try to be happy and content, and that kind of mindset is impenetrable.