4 Ways to Feel Confident With Imperfections

Thank you Alex from The Berger Bungalow for contributing this blog post to Through Jam's Eyes.

We have a choice each day: to feel great about ourselves, or to choose to hide ourselves, because we are scared of what others might think. If you are choosing the latter, I really hope that after reading this article, you choose happiness and to embrace yourself. No matter what your imperfections are, you deserve to love yourself and to feel confident each and every day. But, I do know that it takes a lot of work to get there. If you want to go for it and start loving yourself and feeling confident with who you really are, I have a few tips for you!

Here are 4 ways to feel confident, even with your imperfections:

 

Create A Morning Routine

Confidence starts every single day, the moment you open your eyes in bed. Because of this, your morning routine can definitely make or break your day - and confidence levels. If you start off on the “wrong side of the bed,” your day probably seems as if it is already ruined. Keep in mind that this is all just perspective. You can change your perspective at any point during the day, even if your morning gets started in a not-so-great way. Imagine how much better your day would be if you went through it with a positive attitude. You have the ability to choose your attitude and determine how your day goes.

Now, why am I talking about your attitude and perspective? Your confidence and how you feel about yourself has everything to do with your mental space. If you are in a bad mood, your confidence levels will probably be pretty low. In a great mood? You are probably much more confident! Because of this, I truly do believe that creating a morning routine, in order to start your day on a positive note, will help you boost your confidence levels significantly each day.

To do this, I would recommend waking up a bit earlier (it only needs to be a few minutes!) in the morning so that you can have a slower start to your day. You don’t want to be rushing around first thing when you wake up. Also, your first instinct may be to grab your phone as soon as you wake up, but instead of immediately staring at your screen, get out of bed and get moving before you reach for that screen. Take a shower, brush your teeth, pick out your outfit, and make yourself a good breakfast. Consider getting some Vitamin D, while drinking your favorite beverage. If you are low for time in the mornings, try prepping everything the night before. Your breakfast, your clothes, even your meals for the day.

Another idea that could potentially help you get your day to a good start is to grab a journal and write down a few thoughts each morning - how are you going to make your day great? What are you looking forward to that day? Is there anything you are thankful for? Anything you are hung up on and need to get out in the open in order to clear the air? Doing small tasks like this before checking your social media will definitely help you curate a sense of peace and joy, which will help boost your happiness and your confidence levels each morning.

 

Pay Attention to What You Are Putting In And On Your Body

Take a look at what you are putting into your body. How are you eating? Are you drinking enough water? There is so much sound around what being healthy means right now, but no matter what anyone defines “health” as, I think you need to create your own version of what healthy means to you. Every person is different!

One thing that I think everyone could use more of is awareness of what they are putting in and on their body. What ingredients are in your products? What is on your food? These are questions that we need to be asking. However, there is definitely some balance to this, too. A great example of this is artificial fragrances. More and more people are starting to speak out about the dangers of artificial fragrance (and other chemicals, as well). They can cause brain fog, headaches, irritation, respiratory issues, etc. So, is it worth the risk of using perfume to boost our confidence levels knowing that you might be risking your health? While I believe that this is a personal decision, I also think that if we were more aware of safer products to use, it could change what we buy and how we feel. We can still wear perfume - without artificial fragrances - to boost our confidence levels and feel great about how we smell; we just need to be more aware of those products! If we choose products that do not bring any negative health effects with them, we can smell great AND feel great.

What you put into and onto your body definitely has a major effect on you - your body, your mindset, your energy, and your confidence. If we spend our days eating Taco Bell, we probably won’t look or feel the best. If we focus on healthy and nutrient packed meals, we will more than likely look better and feel better, which is the key to increased confidence levels. Everything in moderation, though! Choose to still use (and eat) the things that you love - the things that bring us happiness - but, also do research to make sure that you are finding swaps that do not risk your overall health.

 

Create A Fitness Routine

I started really focusing on my fitness journey a few years back and since then, I have fallen more and more in love with my body. I am strong and even though I have cellulite, stretch marks from pregnancy, and a little more “fluff” than I would like, this does not mean that I am not any less than the person who does not have these things. But, before I started working out, I would not have viewed my body that way. Before working out, seeing the fluff or stretch marks would have stressed me out and I probably would have tried to cover it all up with baggy clothes and cover-ups while at the beach. Working out has brought more happiness and confidence in my life than anything else! Partly because it has taught me how strong I am, but also partly because working out is known to boost happiness and feelings of positivity (look up the science science if you’re wondering!).

The one thing that I recommend when looking into creating a fitness routine is finding a gym or a group of people that will push you to become your best (while also teaching you how to workout safely). In Nashville specifically, CrossFit Solid Orange is a great place to get started with your fitness routine. They offer CrossFit gym memberships in Nashville and will help you get stronger, no matter your current fitness level. Their 21 day kickstart program is awesome! It is for beginners and de-conditioned athletes. In this, you will get weekly personalized training, fitness foundations program, unlimited CrossFit classes, and yoga/recovery classes (my favorite!). If you are concerned about getting started, don’t be! Text them or fill out their online form for your no-stress consultation. They are committed to helping their clients increase their overall health, wellness, and life fulfillment and they like to have fun while doing so! They say, “

The local Nashville Crossfit Gym has forged lasting bonds and friendships through blood (not too often, ha, sweat, and some tears along the way). When you break down perceived barriers, you’ll realize you were more powerful than you ever thought, and you can achieve everything you want in life through the correct path. CrossFit Solid Orange knows the path, walks it, and welcomes new members to their tight-knit, welcoming, challenging, yet extremely rewarding journey.”

 

Choose To Push Aside Negative Feelings

Do we all have imperfections? Yes. But, that does not mean that we need to focus and dwell on them. As Jamaria says, “anyone can be unique and embrace the natural imperfections about themselves, and still be fabulous.” We could get wrapped up in our negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves, OR we could choose to embrace those things and own them. Owning the not-so-perfect aspects of ourselves definitely takes confidence, but once you figure out how to embrace who you are and why you are amazing (yes, you are amazing!!), you are well on your way to loving yourself, which is what confidence is all about. If we embrace who we are and love ourselves fully, we will begin to see that everything else does not matter. You are great and you are doing amazing things!

 

How do you channel your inner confidence? I'd love to hear about it!

 

Thank you so much for reading!

 

Thank you again to Alex from The Berger Bungalow for contributing this blog post to Through Jam's Eyes.