When you experience the signs of low self-confidence, you are not fulfilling your true potential. Read on to become familiar with these signs. That is the first step to improving your self-confidence and enabling your personal growth.

We all have manifested signs of low self-confidence at various points in our lives. Have you ever wondered what self-confidence truly means? I am sure you have already heard various definitions because it can be explained in multiple ways.  

Self-confidence means trusting in your abilities and talent. You have the belief that no matter what happens, you will be able to achieve your goal or solve a problem regardless of how difficult it may seem. You know you can succeed in any situation as you have the knowledge, resources, and abilities. 

Self-confidence also means that we feel safe when we are doing our day to day tasks as we know how to execute them. However, if a new situation or problem arises, we panic or might get scared. Being able to fight this feeling and get on top of it is also defined as self-confidence.

Everyone has self-confidence. Some more, some less. Some in a particular area, while others in different fields. Self-confidence is linked to various areas of life.

What does higher self-confidence contribute to?

• Developing the ability to establish and maintain happier relationships.
• Earning more money.
• Building more satisfying careers.
• Generally, to a more successful life.

To start your journey to a more satisfying and successful life, you have to be honest with yourself and realize whether there is work to be done with your confidence level.

10 Signs of Low Self-Confidence

Think about the past two weeks. Do you recognize any of these in your behaviors?

1. You are hesitant or unable to accept compliments. Instead of saying a simple ‘Thank you’ – as you very likely worked hard for that compliment and are deserving of it – you will say something like ‘Oh, it is nothing, anybody could have done it’ and downplay it.
2. You worry about what other people think. Besides, you cannot be yourself as you always walk on eggshells and try to please everybody around you. Confident people do acknowledge what others might think about them. But they care about it on a healthy level, as they have accepted, and love themselves, as they are. They consider others’ opinions when they need it, and they constructively engage their inputs.
3. You do not trust yourself and your judgment.
   Another sign of low self-confidence is that you continuously ask for others’ opinion and judgment as a support to ensure your decision is the right one. Also, you might struggle to make sound decisions as you think others know better than you. Although, let’s not forget that at times, we all lose trust in our judgment. Self-confidence is about reaching back to past success and capabilities.
4. You make excuses or blame others. Instead of owning up to your mistakes, you blame others or make excuses. Accepting the fact that you have made a mistake might feel like a weakness to you.
5. Take constructive feedback as criticism. Due to not having a clear picture of their strengths, individuals with low self-confidence will take any negative feedback personally. This behavior makes them feel demotivated and even more unsure about their abilities.
6. You do not like being in charge.
   People with a lack of self-confidence are afraid of being in a leading position as they cannot make choices without the approval of others.
7. Accepting or giving in to blame. You often feel that you need to accept the responsibility for whatever went wrong and that it happened because of you. If you have low self-confidence, it is just easier to give in and take the blame than to stand up for yourself. 
8. Comparing yourself with others. Instead of concentrating on yourself and how you can succeed, you are always checking what and how other people do and achieve. Comparing ourselves to others is not a problem as long as we can see it as an opportunity, and we find a better way forward without feeling like a loser in the competition. On some level, we all compare ourselves to others.
9. You back down in an argument just to please others. You would rather keep your opinion to yourself, even if you know you are right, just to avoid conflict and keep up the peace.
10. Giving up too soon. You might try something new but give it up before giving it your best shot as you think ‘it will never work for me’.

If, after reading these behaviors, you may have just realized that you might be lacking self-confidence. You need to know that many different factors contribute to low self-confidence: bad experiences, cultural background, etc. You also need to know that it is not your fault, and you can build your self-confidence back up. Although your past cannot be changed, there is help out there to guide you through the process.

It is so important to understand that if you are ready to put some time and work into it, with the right help and tools, you will be able to shine and enjoy a happier, more successful life and career.

You might like the What does it take to be confident? article that we published on this topic.