Understand and improve your self-confidence.

Self-confidence is about believing in your ability to accomplish tasks, handle challenges, and achieve your goals. When you have strong self-confidence, you feel secure in your skills and are more willing to take on new challenges.

Self-confidence isn’t something you’re simply born with or without, it develops over time and can be actively strengthened through practice and experience.

What is self-confidence?

Self-confidence means trusting in our own ability to perform and solve problems. It’s about how we perceive our competence in different situations, whether at work, socially, or in our personal goals.

Examples of high self-confidence:

• You dare to try new things even if you’re not sure you’ll succeed.
• You view failures as opportunities to learn.
• You feel secure in your abilities and aren’t afraid to take up space.

Examples of low self-confidence:

• You hesitate to try new things for fear of failing.
• You underestimate your abilities and feel you’re “not good enough.”
• You avoid challenges to avoid the risk of making mistakes.

Self-confidence can vary by situation, you may feel confident at work but unsure socially, or vice versa.

Signs of low self-confidence.

Low self-confidence can affect our choices and well-being. Common signs include:

• Avoiding new challenges: You decline opportunities because you don’t believe you can handle them.
• Excessive self-criticism: You focus more on your flaws than your strengths.
• Difficulty asserting yourself: You hold back ideas and opinions for fear they aren’t good enough.

Low self-confidence can limit us and cause us to miss chances for growth and new experiences.

Therapy test – see if therapy could improve your confidence.

Do you recognize signs of low self-confidence? Therapy can be a powerful tool to begin building stronger confidence and getting support for feeling better.

By answering a few simple questions, you’ll get a clearer picture of whether therapy might help you manage your challenges. The test takes only a few minutes and can be a first step toward understanding and improving your well‑being.

Take the therapy test here.

Self-confidence vs. self-esteem: what’s the difference?

• Self-confidence and self-esteem are related but not the same.
• Self-confidence is about believing in our ability to accomplish tasks and perform.

Self-esteem is how we value ourselves as people, regardless of performance. For example:

• Someone might feel confident in their job (high self-confidence) but still feel personally inadequate (low self-esteem).
• Another person might have good self-esteem and feel worthy regardless of achievement, but still feel unsure about trying new things (low self-confidence).

Understanding the difference is an important first step in strengthening both. Want to get started? Here are 7 practical tips to boost both your self-esteem and self-confidence, helping you feel better from the inside out.

Reasons your self-confidence is low.

Self-confidence is shaped by our experiences and self-perception. Here are common reasons for low self-confidence:

• Past negative experiences. Being criticized or told you’re not good enough can affect how you view your abilities. Failures may make us doubt ourselves, especially if we’re self-critical.
• Comparing yourself to others. Social media makes it easy to compare, which can make us feel inadequate. We often see others’ success but not their struggles, creating a skewed view of what’s normal.
• Perfectionism and high standards. If we set unrealistically high goals, we can feel like failures when we don’t meet them. Always striving to be “perfect” means we never feel satisfied with ourselves.

Low self-confidence isn’t permanent, it can change through new experiences and a more constructive way of thinking about yourself.

How can you boost your self-confidence?

Building self-confidence is about changing old thought patterns and daring to step outside your comfort zone. Here are some methods that can help:

• Challenge negative thoughts. When you think “I can’t do this,” ask yourself: “What evidence is there that I can?” Sometimes we are our own worst critics, try to see yourself more objectively.
• Start with small steps. Do something outside your comfort zone, but start small. It could be speaking up in a small meeting, trying a new hobby, or setting a realistic goal and achieving it.
• Notice your progress. Take time each day to reflect on what you did well, even small things. Write down your successes, it helps you see how you’re growing over time.
• Stop comparing yourself to others. Remind yourself that everyone has their own journey. Focus on your own growth instead of measuring yourself against others.
• Dare to fail and learn from it. See failures as part of development instead of proof you’re not good enough. Each time you try something new, you strengthen your confidence, regardless of the outcome.

Self-confidence is built through action, the more positive experiences you create, the more you’ll believe in yourself.

When should you seek help?

If low self-confidence is limiting your life, it may be helpful to talk with a therapist. Signs that professional support might help:

• You avoid challenges or opportunities for fear of failing.
• You often feel insecure and self-critical—even when others say the opposite.
• You have trouble accepting praise or feeling satisfied with your achievements.
• Low self-confidence affects your daily life, work, or relationships.

Therapy can help you understand what influences your self-confidence and give you tools to build stronger self-belief.