If you haven’t dated in a while, it may initially seem intimidating to jump back out there. When you’re meeting new people, you need to be sure about yourself to project that you could potentially be a stable, dependable partner.
But often, it’s difficult to act like you’re sure of yourself because we’re all plagued with self-doubt. Though you may look at your friend and envy their confidence because they make it seem so easy, it’s important to remember that confidence is a skill that people work on and it’s not a personality trait.
Just as you have to work on any skill — like cooking or cleaning — confidence comes with practice. Check out these tips on how you can unlock your best self to achieve your dating goals.
Learn More About Yourself
Self-awareness is a powerful thing. To tackle an issue like confidence, you should think back about your past and how various moments and events impacted you. Write your thoughts in a journal and reflect on the people and things that have shaped you. Ponder these things:
- Did my past relationships fail because of something I specifically did?
- What are a few things that I think I can work on?
- Where do my self-confidence issues derive from?
- Is there someone in my life I can turn to?
Prioritize Your Physical Health
Unfortunately, four out of five men have body image issues. So, if you are suffering with body image anxiety, just know that there are many men who feel the same way as you.
You should come up with an action plan to be proactive about your fitness and nutrition. This may mean researching and perfecting healthy recipes.
You could make it into your fun, new hobby and experiment with new exciting dishes and flavors. You can make it into a social opportunity and sign up for a cooking class with some friends.
When You Look Good, You Feel Good
Poor personal hygiene can be a distraction and torpedo a first date or job interview. Especially when you’re venturing back into the dating world, you should make that extra effort to stay on top of your hygiene. Whether it’s getting a regular haircut and prioritizing your cleanliness, you will be boosting your confidence.
By doing these little but significant things for yourself, you will be increasing your self-esteem and showing others that you’re self-sufficient.
Surround Yourself With Positive People
When you’re around positive people, it’s easier to emulate their attitude and confidence. Though no one is perfect and everyone will surely go through something at a certain point, you should try your best to find people who are filling your life with good vibes.
You can ask your friends for advice on how to be more confident.
They can share tidbits of their own journey and make you feel like you’re not alone. Also, it could be good to take a break from dating and just do something fun and lighthearted with people you care about.
Once you remember how great you are at socializing, you will be able to use that sense of confidence in your romantic life. Often, we overthink romantic situations when the root of the matter is being conversational and likeable.
Tackle The Challenges Head On
Boosting your dating confidence will take some time. At the end of the day, it’s about embracing change and tackling the challenges head on. There may initially be some bumps in the road — no one said it’d be easy! Rejection is tough.
But what sets people apart is how they deal with rejection. Following a bad date, you should ask how it could have gone differently and assess whether it’s just a matter of compatibility.
We’re all deserving of love. Sometimes, it just takes a while to find someone who is a good fit for where we are at in life. Whatever you do, just don’t give up.
Dating confidence is key to a successful and happy dating life. It starts from within and it’s something that gets better over time. With these tips, you’ll be on the path to boosting your self-esteem.