5 Ways To Improve Your Self Confidence

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What I am going to talk about today is something that I find myself regularly coming back to because it is something that around 80% of the population struggle with. I also believe that this is something that is not helped by the social media world that we live in. A world where it is so easy to find that you are constantly comparing yourself to others and the ‘ideal’ portrayed online and feeling that you are coming up short.

Unfortunately, the human brain is designed to focus on the negative 2.5 times more than it focuses on the positive. This is a protective mechanism because when the brain of our ancestors was designed they needed to be constantly aware of potential physical dangers and react accordingly to enable the survival of the species. Now, the reality is that if you don’t have as many followers, or as many likes or as many photos of your “amazing” family posted for the whole world to see, your life will not cease and you will not be physically maimed. But the way your mind and body react to this situation is the same. You immediately start assessing yourself as being ‘in danger’. Your monkey mind, the chatterbox, starts up with the negative self-talk and when this becomes a chronic occurrence all sorts of physical complaints can rear their ugly head.

SEE ALSO: Does Everything Really Happen For A Reason?

The Confidence Center

So what are we actually talking about here? You’ve gathered from the title that the topic is self-confidence, but where does this actually come from? It comes from your solar plexus, the energy center of power and balance, the 3rd chakra. This is located in the top half of your abdomen – between your belly button and the bottom of your rib cage. In modern western society, around 80% of people are living with a solar plexus imbalance.

The vagus nerve, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system – allowing us to ‘rest and digest’, or switch off and relax – runs throughout the body connecting, amongst other things, the digestive system and the brain. The vagus nerve is literally your ‘gut feeling’ nerve. Science now shows that this is a two-way street and our digestive system does, in fact, have a lot of control over our brain. (This is why sugar is so addictive – some of the bacteria in your gut love sugar because it allows them to multiply – so they send very strong messages to the brain that you should eat sugar!)

The vagus nerve is connected to the organs associated with your solar plexus energy center – the stomach, the small intestine, the liver, the gallbladder and the pancreas (please note that it is also connected to 1st, 2nd, and 4th chakra organs). Hence the solar plexus is the key ‘stress’ energy center and 80% of us are probably spending most of our time with the sympathetic nervous system chronically activated, which it is not designed to be.

The Stress Center

The ‘second’ brain – the gut and the solar plexus – is where our overthinking, overreactive, stressed out mind lives, rather than in our heads. It is here that negative self-talk and lack of confidence come from, therefore it is this area that we need to balance out in order to improve our self-confidence. The solar plexus and the heart energetic centers are paired together and intricately linked in this matter – self-love is critical in order to have confidence. Even those people who may have a persona of excessive, almost aggressive confidence, usually put on this display from a place of fear and so also actually need to work on balancing their solar plexus energy (you know who you are out there!)

Improving Self Confidence

As with anything that you may want to work on improving in your wellbeing, you are best to take a holistic approach because just working on one area is never enough. The Evenstar 5 Star Wellbeing approach is below. I have many suggestions for each of the 5 aspects but I have just pulled out the top ones here to get you started. As with any change, the best way to start is to start!

1) Food

Minimize sugar and all processed foods, as well as high glycemic index (GI) foods such as white flour, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes, and savory snack foods such as potato crisps. These foods provide a quick hit of energy as blood sugar levels spike but then lead you to feel fatigued – and lacking in confidence – when the levels of available energy in the bloodstream rapidly decrease again.

Instead, include slow energy release foods (low GI) – legumes (lentils, peas) and beans are a great example. Many people who believe they are intolerant to these will actually digest them easily if they are prepared in the traditional way of soaking and lengthy cooking times (because flatulence is not a way to improve your self-confidence!!). Other foods to include are nuts, vegetables (parsnips, potatoes, squash, sweet potato turnip), fruits (apples, berries, cherries, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, nectarines, pears), whole grains (quinoa, red or black rice, millet, oats, amaranth) and seeds (chia, hemp, flax)

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2) Movement

The human body is designed to move and cannot function optimally when it is inactive for long periods of time. Unsurprisingly the Solar Plexus loves the sun. Protect yourself from any damaging sun rays and take your exercise outdoors, even if the sun isn’t shining he is always in the sky. Balance your day in order to prioritize movement. If it is hard to set aside ‘exercise’ time try to incorporate it into your day – in your commute or walking meetings for example.

3) Sleep

Prioritize getting enough deep sleep because it is often the only time in a 24 hour period that your vagus nerve is activated for any length of time. For most people, eating close to bedtime is not conducive to quality sleep. High-intensity exercise in the evening is also not recommended because it raises your core body temperature for some time afterward, which decreases the ability to fall asleep. Taking a hot shower or bath before bed can improve sleep quality by lowering your core body temperature (heat is pulled outwards into your extremities).

4) Surroundings

Get more yellow into your life. The energetic vibration of the solar plexus – and confidence – is equivalent to the warm color spectrum, enveloping the color of the sun! You can wear yellow clothing, jewelry, or have yellow around you in the form of flowers, crystals or decorative items.

5) Affirmations

Affirmations to boost confidence:

– I am powerful, confident and worthy

– I easily digest and efficiently utilize all forms of nourishment

– I am radiant and complete from within

Write it out (the act of putting pen to paper tells the Universe and your brain that you are serious!) and place your affirmation somewhere that you will see it regularly – fridge, bathroom mirror, toilet door… Or alternatively, you might like to use it as a screen saver on your computer or phone. You just have to say it 3 times daily and you’ve woven the magic!

Be confident – you are amazing!