Throughout my teen years, I almost always struggled with my confidence, and always desired to learn tips on how to become more assure of myself. But in the midst of finding even simple tips to grow in confidence, I always found myself never applying the tips to my every day lifestyle. I always wanted to be more like this person or that person, but I never would try to go out of my way to change my habits; I was wishing instead of taking action. Over my past two years in college, I really wanted to find ways to change myself, and since I was able to learn a lot about myself in the course of even two years, I picked up habits that made just a slight difference in my life. These five habits benefited me greatly, and hopefully they may be helpful to you too!

Self Care

You may hear countless times how eating right and exercising can instantly help you feel better when all you want to do is pig out on pizza while binge watching your favorite TV show on Netflix. And what they say is true; exercising and having a healthy diet are two things that correspond with each other that have lasting effects on not only your appearance, but also your mood! I can’t explain how many times I have felt guilty after having one too many servings of junk food, only to find a zit on my face an hour later. Just recently, I discovered the hard way that what I ate really affected my mood and anxiety level. This influenced me to cut down on the processed food and switch to eating natural healthy foods (can I talk about how much I love fruits?) along with putting in at least 20 minutes of exercise almost every day. Trust me when I say that you will see results both physically and mentally, and it can play a huge role in your self-confidence.

Let Go of Negative Self-Talk

In a world where it is so easy to fall for the unrealistic expectations that are on display, we are likely to give in to negative ways of thinking towards ourselves. When we are bombarded with advertisements and messages that tell us to look or act a certain way, it can make us knit-pick every little blemish, action, and thought that goes through us. This causes us to spend more time picking ourselves apart when it is just as easy to find the qualities that we love about ourselves. Even by picking out three qualities that we love about ourselves can help turn our way of thinking around. So next time you are feeling down about yourself by something you said or a body issue, just look in the mirror, blast Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off,” and say to yourself, “I rock!”

Find Your Role Models

We all have people we admire, whether it is a celebrity or a close friend. Even the most confident people on Earth look up to someone. When we look for role models, we notice how they express themselves and try to see what we can learn from them to become better people. Whether we admire the charisma of one person and maybe the success of another, finding role models can help guide us and search for the unique qualities that we want to establish for ourselves.

Practice Positivity Daily

Believe me when I say that it can be so easy to fall in the trap that is negativity if you are constantly surrounded by it all the time, but the good news is that it is just as easy to get out of the trap. We are all guilty of falling into the temptation of complaining or seeing the glass half empty from time to time, which is completely normal… we’re human, after all. By practicing simple ways to stay upbeat and have that “glass half full” perspective, the little things will add up to a better attitude later on.

Let Go of What Hurt You in the Past

If there has ever been one thing that I have done that was super beneficial and put me at my happiest, it was letting go of the things that have hurt me in the past. Coming from someone who has struggled with letting situations go, I have put myself in the trap of obsessing over why something happened and what could I have done to change the situation, when in reality I should have just let the situation happen and not let it get the best of me. I would go through a phase where I would be really upset about a situation for days and then feel fine for a while, only to be reminded of the situation again and fall into the obsessive thinking trap again. And let me tell you, it’s not worth it! When you learn to let things go and learn about the power of forgiveness, it can do amazing things for your overall well-being.