At Mendip Activity Centre we believe in the life-changing potential of being active in the great outdoors. However, we fully appreciate that engaging in outdoor activities can be daunting and some might find certain activities a huge step out of their comfort zone.
For anyone who feels unsure about trying something new or is hesitant about pushing their boundaries, check out the six self-confidence tips below from local counsellor, spiritual coach and author of Being Human: The path to self-acceptance, resilience and happiness, Natalie Read.
Check Out Natalie's 6 Self-Confidence Tips
Try these suggestions to improve your confidence and motivation when trying something new.
Set Motivational Goals
'I want to exercise to improve my health, boost my mood and help me feel more confident in myself' is a very different statement to 'I want to exercise.' Reframing your goals and why you want to achieve them helps you prioritise exercise and motivates you to follow through and stay committed.
Remind yourself of the benefits of exercise and the difference it can make to you and your life. Set achievable goals to boost your motivation, and remember why you are doing to it to help yourself remain committed.
Benefits of exercise goal-setting include:
Improved brain health
Stronger bones and better joint health
Improved muscle tone
Increased life expectancy
Improved mood, self-confidence and reduced mental health symptoms
Higher energy
Better quality sleep
Develop a More Nurturing Critic
We all have an internal critical voice but the tone, harshness and frequency varies by individual. Internal thoughts like 'You look silly', 'You’re doing it wrong again' or 'You’re not as good as others' can impact our self-confidence and motivation.
In most cases, the critic is trying to help you be liked, avoid being hurt, achieve your best or something similar but it often becomes distorted and ineffective. Understandably, this can be incredibly uncomfortable and can stop people from trying something new.
If you worry about how you come across when exercising or find the experience unpleasant due to your internal dialogue, remind yourself that you are most likely your harshest critic. To help your critic be more effective, pay conscious intention to this inner dialogue, thank it for trying to help you and then reframe it in a way that you would talk to a friend.
Overcome your dialogue:
Notice your negative self-talk
Reframe your thoughts: instead of 'You're not good at this', try 'I'm new to this and that's ok, I'm still learning'
Be accountable: exercise with a friend or have someone you can update on your progress
Involving someone else in your process, like exercising with a friend, is a great way to stay committed and focused as you are accountable to each other for your attendance and progress. If you’re not exercising with anybody that you know, you could try asking an instructor for feedback.
Practise Mindful Exercise
Instead of evaluating your performance in any sport or hobby with criticism or judgement ('That was a rubbish shot', 'What are you doing?!' and the rest), try being objective. You aren't going to learn everything perfectly the first time, and a negative internal dialogue can get in the way of improvement.
Mindfulness can help you keep an objective view of your progress and positively support your self-confidence. By paying attention to what you are saying to yourself, you can redirect negative thoughts before they impact your performance. Reframe your criticisms with actionable steps that you can objectively assess and build upon.
For example, perhaps you have missed a few targets during an Archery session. Rather than getting wrapped up in rubbish thinking, take a few breaths and think about the basics. Are your feet in the correct position? Are you pulling the string back far enough? Are you holding your breath? The instructor will help you as much as you like and will probably tell you that you're doing better than you think!
By focussing on the actionable steps and feedback rather than a negative internal dialogue, you will improve before you know it and your self-confidence will soar.
How to deal with your inner critic:
Observe without judgment
Acknowledge what you have achieved so far
Focus on the practical things you can do to improve
Accept compliments and constructive feedback
Be honest if you're struggling to overcome the critic - we've all been there and sometimes we need help from our support networks to manage it
Try a Growth Mindset
Have you heard the term 'growth mindset'? It's a concept that considers attitudes towards capacity and talent. People with a growth mindset believe that, with enough perseverance, they can improve skills over time. The opposite of that is a 'fixed mindset' - one where people believe that their capacity is fixed and there is no reason to push beyond that.
If you were just starting to learn Spanish, you wouldn’t compare yourself to a native speaker or someone who’s been learning for a long time, and you would expect to make mistakes along the way. Instead of 'I’m not any good at this', try saying 'I’m not good at this yet but I am learning and growing over time'.
A growth mindset can help your confidence and performance. Acknowledging that it takes time to learn a skill or activity is part of the learning process. Often, getting things wrong is how we learn what to improve, but dwelling on things you can't change can impact your mindset.
How to cultivate a growth mindset:
Think about what went well and where you have improved
Think about what you would like to work on next time
Think of actionable steps to take next time
If possible, get feedback from instructors or friends
Help Anxiety Do Its Job
Feeling nervous is normal! It’s part of what helps you do well by preparing for something that feels important or meaningful. Excitement and feeling scared are two sides of the same coin - we get the same feelings in all sorts of scenarios. Everyone deals with their nervousness in different ways, but it helps to tell yourself that it’s a normal reaction and your brain is trying to help you. However, it can be useful to develop your own techniques so you can manage your self-confidence and keep hold of your motivation.
Develop your anxiety management toolbox
Prepare as best you can - practise, exercise and research
Read, chat, watch - learn about the aspects that are making you nervous
Try a pre-action routine like meditation, stretching or breathing exercises
Recognise and remember your courage and motivation to try something new
Imagine What You Would Like To Happen
You get what you focus on so try picturing what you would like rather than what you don’t.
It’s statistically more likely that a child will drop something if told 'Don’t drop that' than if you say 'Hold on tight'. We've likely all experienced this for ourselves; think about the last time you told yourself not to think about something, and then it was all you could think about.
Instead, focus on what you want to achieve. Every time you imagine failure or negativity, find a way to erase that image from your mind and create a new positive image instead. Imagine yourself performing well, growing from the experience and then take steps to move towards this as if it was already happening rather than acting from a place of fear.
If you would like more confidence insights and advice from Natalie, follow her at @BeingHumanByNatalieRead on Instagram or check out her book Being Human: The path to self-acceptance, resilience and happiness - a handbook to support you throughout the ups and downs of life. Reactively, this book can help with reassurance and to manage symptoms, and proactively it can inspire meaningful change.
Boost your mental health and self-confidence at Mendip Activity Centre. We have over 20 outdoor activities to discover, for all ages and levels of experience - often no experience required! Book your day out to remember here.