Confidence

You are the number one person you have to deal with everyday of your life. Because you are you. Make sense? Consequently, of course you will have worries about your life and how "good" it is. For this reason, we all have our own "magnifying glasses". We all want nice lives, haha! We all look closely with our magnifying glass to improve different aspects of our lives. However, sometimes our magnifying glasses are too large. Or we hold them too closely to our flaws. Then, we see ourselves in a way that no one else around us does.

Have you ever complimented someone and they rejected your compliment because they didn't think it was true? People do it all the time. I watched it in my math class once. A girl told her friend, "Your hair is always so perfectly straight!" The friend said, "No it's not! It's always frizzy!" As a observer of the scene (look at me - eavesdropping on people), I thought her her was straight. She was, in fact, analyzing herself too harshly. Using that magnifying glass. Try to find even the smallest thing you like about yourself. Think it to yourself... "Hey, my hair is smooth today." Emphasize it. Little things like this will help you hold on. It will slowly help build confidence.

Confidence is not a one-time installment. It's something you have to work at. The more you think something, the more you believe it. If you encounter a negative thought, negate it with a positive thought. If you start think, "I hate how my eyes look," think, "Yes, no homework in social studies today!" or "My cat is so adorable." Distract yourself from the negativity.

Self Vs. World

Comparing yourself to anything can be detrimental to your confidence. Too often, we may look at others appearance, personality, or creations and think little of ourselves.

Also, take the time to really look at what you're comparing yourself to. Do you really see perfection? Trust me, there are flaws. Really & truly study their flaws. Accept them as a part of life. If you overlook others' flaws, accept overlooking your own. Look at the big picture and stop looking under the small lens of a magnifying glass.

Would you ever call a night star ugly? You can compare all of them, can't you? Their color, size, luminosity, and twinkle all vary - don't they? But we see each one as beautiful, don't we? Yet, we appreciate the variety because they all compliment each other. Being unique is beautiful. You wouldn't want to look the same as everybody else. Take a necklace for example. You can have one emerald necklace. It's gorgeous. Now put a bigger diamond necklace to it. Is the emerald necklace now ugly? No, nothing has changed about it. Imagine what it would be like if the diamond necklace was all a jewelry box contained - just replicas and replicas of it. How boring. As corny as it sounds, the emerald and diamond pieces are special in their own way. You are too. So if you catch yourself comparing yourself, distract yourself. Remember what I said here. Tell yourself you're comparing apples to oranges. They can both be great without looking the same.