3 tips to boost your confidence - TED-Ed

Learn 3 practical tips to boost your confidence by understanding its roots, adopting a growth mindset, and embracing failure.

Key Takeaways

Confidence is partly innate but largely shaped by personal choices and mindset.
Short-term confidence can be boosted with simple psychological tricks.
Adopting a growth mindset fosters resilience and long-term success.
Failure is a necessary part of building confidence and learning.
Self-kindness and perseverance are essential for cultivating lasting confidence.

What the video covers

Confidence is a combination of self-esteem, optimism about abilities, and courageous action.
Confidence is influenced by genetics, social environment, and personal choices.
Short-term confidence boosts include visualizing success, listening to deep bass music, striking powerful poses, and pep talks.
Believing in the ability to improve (growth mindset) helps overcome setbacks and promotes long-term confidence.
Neuroscience supports that brain connections strengthen with practice, supporting growth mindset benefits.
Practicing failure and learning from setbacks builds resilience and constructive responses to challenges.
Examples like J.K. Rowling and the Wright Brothers illustrate the power of persistence through failure.
Confidence develops through personal choices, mindset, and repeated practice despite mistakes.
Being kind to yourself and maintaining optimism helps sustain confidence during difficult challenges.
Confidence ultimately turns thoughts into courageous actions, leading to growth and understanding.

Chapters

What are some quick ways to boost confidence according to the video?

The video suggests visualizing success, listening to music with deep bass, striking powerful poses, and giving yourself pep talks as quick confidence boosters.

How does having a growth mindset affect confidence?

A growth mindset, the belief that abilities can improve with effort, helps people view challenges as opportunities to learn, leading to greater resilience and long-term confidence.

Why is practicing failure important for building confidence?

Practicing failure helps individuals learn how to respond constructively to setbacks, try new strategies, seek advice, and persevere, which strengthens confidence over time.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

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Translator: Jennifer Cody. Reviewer: Jessica Ruby. When faced with a big challenge where potential failure seems to lurk at every corner, maybe you've heard this advice before: "Be more confident." And most likely, this is what you think when you hear it:

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"If only it were that simple." But what is confidence? Take the belief that you are valuable, worthwhile, and capable, also known as self-esteem, add in the optimism that comes when you are certain of your abilities, and then empowered by these,

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act courageously to face a challenge head-on. This is confidence. It turns thoughts into action.

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So where does confidence even come from? There are several factors that impact confidence. One: what you're born with, such as your genes, which will impact things like the balance of neurochemicals in your brain.

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Two: how you're treated. This includes the social pressures of your environment. And three: the part you have control over, the choices you make, the risks you take, and how you think about and respond to challenges and setbacks.

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It isn't possible to completely untangle these three factors, but the personal choices we make certainly play a major role in confidence development.

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So, by keeping in mind a few practical tips, we do actually have the power to cultivate our own confidence.

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Tip 1: a quick fix. There are a few tricks that can give you an immediate confidence boost in the short term.

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Picture your success when you're beginning a difficult task, something as simple as listening to music with deep bass; it can promote feelings of power.

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You can even strike a powerful pose or give yourself a pep talk. Tip two: believe in your ability to improve.

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If you're looking for a long-term change, consider the way you think about your abilities and talents.

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Do you think they are fixed at birth, or that they can be developed, like a muscle?

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These beliefs matter because they can influence how you act when you're faced with setbacks.

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If you have a fixed mindset, meaning that you think your talents are locked in place, you might give up, assuming you've discovered something you're not very good at.

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But if you have a growth mindset and think your abilities can improve, a challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow.

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Neuroscience supports the growth mindset. The connections in your brain do get stronger and grow with study and practice.

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It also turns out, on average, people who have a growth mindset are more successful, getting better grades, and doing better in the face of challenges.

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Tip three: practice failure. Face it, you're going to fail sometimes. Everyone does. J.K. Rowling was rejected by twelve different publishers before one picked up "Harry Potter." The Wright Brothers built on history's failed attempts at flight, including some of their own,

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before designing a successful airplane. Studies show that those who fail regularly and keep trying anyway are better equipped to respond to challenges and setbacks in a constructive way.

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They learn how to try different strategies, ask others for advice, and persevere. So, think of a challenge you want to take on, realize it's not going to be easy, accept that you'll make mistakes, and be kind to yourself when you do.

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Give yourself a pep talk, stand up, and go for it. The excitement you'll feel knowing that whatever the result, you'll have gained greater knowledge and understanding.

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This is confidence.

Topics:confidenceself-esteemgrowth mindsetfailureresiliencepersonal developmentTED-Edmotivationpsychologyneuroscience

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