If you wish you were a little more confident - you aren’t alone.

Confidence is one of the most desired personal attributes - though it's also one of the hardest to obtain. After all, while it may seem that some people are simply born with an in-built sense of confidence, this often isn’t the case. It's something that you’ll have to work on throughout your life.

With that in mind, here are six ways in which you can build your self-esteem and confidence in 2024! 

Reduce social media usage. 

There are many reasons why your social media usage could leave you lacking in confidence. 

If your social media feeds are full of edited pictures from models, celebrities and influencers, it's hard not to compare your life to their own. This happens, too, on a smaller scale among people you know in real life. For example, if an old school friend were to announce their engagement while happy for them, you may begin to question why you are yet to reach this milestone. 

As such, it's hardly surprising that “53% of young adults in the U.S. say that seeing other people’s lives on social media has negatively impacted their self-esteem.” However, you have the power to control the impact that social media has on you. While you do not have to deactivate your accounts or delete the apps, try to be a little more mindful when scrolling. Remember that what is posted on Instagram or Facebook is not a reflection of real life. 

You should also be sure to unfollow (or mute) accounts that make you feel particularly bad about yourself. Your social media feeds should be full of content that you enjoy, and that brings a smile to your face, not those that leave you feeling down! 

Go for a daily walk.

Regular exercise is often key to elevating your self-esteem and confidence. For example, it can facilitate healthy weight loss, which helps you to tackle any body confidence issues you are dealing with. However, it can also work wonders for your mental health, making you naturally more positive and confident as a result of this.

However, if you are just returning to the world of fitness and do not feel confident at the gym, it can be hard to know where to begin. Going for a daily walk is a great starting point - as it encourages you to get up and get moving, but it does not necessarily have to be all that strenuous. Ideally, you should aim to walk between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day - though walking for any amount of time is beneficial! 

Consider surgical treatments. 

Surgical procedures can also be great confidence boosters, as they allow you to tackle a specific area of the body. For example, if you didn’t feel comfortable wearing short sleeves or taking photographs because of the appearance of your arms, you could look into surgery to fix untoned arms.

Before pursuing this route, do plenty of research to ensure that you’re working with only the best of the best. This will allow for optimal results while also ensuring that you understand what the procedure entails and what the potential recovery time will be like. 

Counter negative thoughts. 

According to a recent study, 80% of our thoughts are negative. While this is something that should be tackled in all areas of our lives, it's particularly important that you address any negative thoughts you have toward yourself. After all, the way you think about or talk to yourself matters - and you should not be the cause of your low self-esteem.

Each time you catch yourself thinking negatively toward yourself, try to stop the thought in its tracks. Simply turn your attention to something else. Alternatively, try saying three positive things about yourself outloud instead. While this may be difficult to begin with, especially as we don’t often complement ourselves, it is a great way to “train” your brain to become more positive!

On a similar note, work on accepting compliments from others without trying to minimize them. For example, when a friend tells you that you look good, don’t reply saying, “Oh no, I don’t.” Accepting a compliment does not make you appear cocky or conceited, and nobody will think any less of you for accepting one!

Celebrate your achievements. 

There are many different ways in which you can go about building your confidence, though not all of them are related to your physical appearance. For example, you can also build up your self-esteem by celebrating your achievements, big or small.

In doing so, you’re reinforcing the idea that you’ve done something great - whether you’ve been offered a new position at work or reached a new personal best at the gym. As a result, you’ll naturally begin to feel a little more confident, as you know that you can achieve anything you set your mind to! 

Cut out toxic friends. 

The people we surround ourselves with have a profound impact on our overall well-being. For this reason, it's important that you are mindful of who you spend your time with and that you’re able to cut the cord when necessary. For example, if you find that one friend is constantly trying to drag you down, whether that be through rude comments or insults, it's time to confront them about this.

Doing so gives them the chance to apologize and change their behavior moving forward, which can help to save your friendship. However, if they continue to act in this way, then you may need to spend some time apart or to end the friendship altogether. Remember, you deserve to be surrounded by people who lift you up, who shower you in compliments, and make you feel good about yourself - not those who seem intent on tearing you down.

While this can be a difficult task, it is a worthwhile one, and you’ll soon notice that your self-esteem builds as a result of removing toxicity from your life and your friendships.