Hello, my
lovelies!
I hope you’ve
all had a lovely week! I’m finally back from my little break from blogging! The
past few weeks have been hectic – between one thing and another, I just haven’t
had the time to sit down and dedicate any real effort to writing new posts! On
the odd occasion where I did have a
spare half hour to just sit down and write, I was stopped in my tracks by the
most awful writers’ block – what a nightmare!
Anyway, I’m
glad to tell you guys that after taking a few weeks off to clear my head and
get inspired, I’ve decided to start a new post series on being happy! We all know that from time to time, little problems
and stresses can add up and start to get to us. Whether that be the stresses of
work and day-to-day life, or even our insecurities and self-doubts – all of
these things can leave us feeling a little downhearted and gloomy. From my own
experience I know that sometimes, when we’re feeling a little low, we stop
noticing the little things in life that once made us happy, and start letting
them pass us by. Whether it be a smile from a stranger, or a long phone call
from someone that you miss, we sometimes stop noticing and appreciating all
those little things that we love and that make us happy.
So, I’d like
to share with you guys some of the little steps that I’ve taken over the years
to help myself to feel happier, whether that be during difficult times in my
life, or just after a stressful day at work! (Also, just a little disclaimer
before we get started – I’m in no way insinuating that these are definitive
tips that will work for everyone, I’m just sharing some of the methods that
have helped me out over the past few years in the hope that they will help some
of you guys!).
Let’s start
off this post series with a little chat about confidence! Everyone has
struggled with confidence issues at some point in their life. One of the main
things that have really held me back over the years has been my confidence – or
my lack of it. Having super low self-confidence really impacted on my
happiness.
Until I was
around fifteen, I was constantly bullied by certain people at my school. I’m
guessing that a lot of you guys have been in the same situation, and know
exactly how horrible it feels. After years of being constantly picked on and
made to feel bad about myself, my self-confidence was at rock bottom. Not only
did I not have the confidence to go out by myself or try to meet new people for
fear of running into these bullies out with school, but I’d also started to
despise the way that I looked. I’d constantly compare myself to the ‘popular’
girls in my year and convince myself that I’d never be as ‘pretty’ or as ‘perfect’
as they were.
It got to
the point where I’d dread having to go to school every day and face these
people. I spent my first few years at high school trying to avoid these people
in the hope that they wouldn’t notice me or say anything to me – it was almost
as if I was trying to make myself invisible. That’s when I decided that things
had to change.
It took me a
long time, but I finally realised that I shouldn’t allow these cruel, spiteful
people to dictate the way that I lived my life. I’d spent so many years hiding
away and letting these people take advantage of my shyness and insecurities,
and for what? By letting these people make me
feel worthless, I was allowing them
to feel better about themselves. I realised that these people were only making
these hateful comments about me because they could, and because I let them, not because they were true. It was
time to stand up for myself!
Obviously,
my confidence didn’t grow overnight. The first time that I stood up for myself
in front of these bullies, I was super nervous, but I knew that by acting confident and speaking back to
them, they’d learn that I was no longer the easy target that I once had been –
fake it ‘till you feel it! Naturally, these bullies didn’t just disappear, but
over time they became bored of picking on me when they realised that they’d
stopped getting the reaction that they craved out of me.
Building up
your confidence, particularly if you’re super shy like I was, is never going to
be an easy journey, but if you truly believe in yourself and keep pushing
yourself towards your goals, you’ll reap the rewards in the end. In the past
few years my confidence has really grown, which has not only allowed me to feel
much more outgoing and comfortable in my own skin, but being more confident has
also made me a much happier, cheerful person! Let’s face it – no-one feels
truly happy when they are being restricted by their shyness and insecurities.
The key is not to let these things hold you back! Being confident about who you
are - and loving who you are! - is the first step on the path to happiness.
Make a list of things that you love about yourself. Whether it’s your shiny
hair, your sense of style, or even just your great timekeeping skills – learn
to appreciate these as the things that make you unique! Make sure you tell
yourself that you are beautiful and
you are special every single day,
even if you don’t believe it – never let anyone tell you otherwise!
Don’t let your insecurities get in the way of your happiness.
There will always be people out there
who make horrible comments about others just to make themselves feel better,
but that doesn’t mean that the things they say are true! Everyone is insecure
about something – it’s only natural! – but by being insecure about absolutely
everything about yourself, you’re just filling yourself with pointless worries
and anxieties! List the things that you are insecure about, and realise which
ones are just silly – by ditching these unnecessary anxieties, you’ll learn to
love yourself for who you really are.
Last but not
least – push yourself! Building confidence isn’t just about loving who you are
– set yourself goals, and really try to push yourself out of your comfort zone!
Maybe you’re nervous about meeting new people or giving speeches in front of
crowds – do whatever scares you! Not only will pushing yourself to do something
that scares you give you a huge confidence boost, but it’ll also make it so
much easier to do that particular thing again – practice makes perfect!
So, there
you have it! I really do believe that confidence is the first step towards
happiness – I mean, how can you be truly happy if you can’t even be confident
in your own skin?! I hope that you guys enjoyed this post, and I really hope
that even a few of you might have found it useful! Do you guys have any tips
for building your confidence? I’d love to hear them!
See you all
next time!
Much love,
