SELF-BELIEF

FAST-TRACK YOUR

Tap into one of these hacks for a quick confidence boost

- 1 MIN

Power up your posture

Put both hands on your hips, says psychotherapist and coach Deborah Maloney-marsden. ‘Your shoulders are back, making you feel and appear strong. Often, when you’re nervous, your body becomes rigid and you may stoop or shrink, leaving you looking – and feeling – less confident. But, according to Harvard Business School research, adopting an empowering pose like this communicates a sense of strength.’

2 MINS

Make a hype list

‘In a notebook, write down three to five reasons why you’re grateful to yourself first thing in the morning. This can increase both your confidence and your ability to focus on things you love about yourself throughout the day,’ says Dr Sara Botto, developmental psychologist at Emory University in the US.

5 MINS

Take a bounceback breather

Not much self-belief in the tank? Psychotherapist Toby Ingham recommends taking a short, quiet break away from your phone or your inbox to regroup. ‘Confidence slips tend to coincide with events that elevate your stress responses, during which you’ll lose your sense of settled emotional and psychological stability, something increased by your endocrine system pumping out the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline at a higher rate than normal. These hormones take time to be processed and metabolised – so take a break and you’ll be more confident and effective when you return.’

10 MINS

Trigger happy memories

‘A simple way to trigger feelings of happiness and confidence is to create an album on your phone with pictures and videos of times when you felt that way,’ says transformational coach Audrey Zeitoun. ‘Look at it when you’re feeling low in confidence because it will reinforce the idea that you can build those feelings of self-belief and accomplishment – you’ve done it before and you can do it again.’