As a Life Coach and Owner of Red Balloon Life Coaching, Laura Hughes has trained in psychology, NLP, counselling, stress management and autism awareness. She is also a Member of the Association for Coaching.

Here she shares 9 valuable tips to help you, your team and your loved ones regain their confidence as lockdown restrictions start to lift. 

During the pandemic I have been working with clients to deal with the realities of life in lockdown.

As the restrictions are slowly lifted, one of the biggest issues I am seeing is self-confidence – or the lack of it. We were forced into a new way of living and it has taken its toll. Working from home, being furloughed, losing a job or having a limited support network, amongst many other factors, have caused major psychological impacts.

It is no surprise then that re-entering society is causing fear and uncertainty. We are out of practice with social interaction and may feel that we have nothing to offer conversation wise, as our world suddenly became very small and, for some, boring, mundane and stressful.

To help increase self-confidence here are 9 tips that you may find useful:

  1. Small steps and self-compassion are essential. This is another new situation without a certain future and needs to be considered.
  2. Reflect on a time when you felt confident and at ease with yourself. What was that situation? Try to recreate the feeling.
  3. What makes you feel good? Is it a certain outfit or item of clothing which reminds you of a happy time? Do you have a favourite colour that makes you feel confident when you wear it?
  4. Take charge of your social interactions and build them up at a pace that suits your needs.
  5. Complete a task that has been on the to-do list for a long time. Achievement is a great way to boost self-confidence.
  6. Create your boundaries now so that you can say no without feeling guilty.
  7. Think about work and imagine yourself being in control, feeling calm and acting confidently. Repeat this process and your mind will associate these feelings with work.
  8. If you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and breathe. Learn how to soothe yourself, whether through meditation, being outside or deep breathing. You will then feel confident that you can calm yourself if needed.
  9. Be open minded as things have changed. Accepting this gives you the confidence and the ability to adapt and move into the new normal.

Remember that everyone has had to modify their lives through the pandemic and will have their individual struggles. Each one of us deserves to be comfortable with ourselves and we will all be working on this at our own pace. Take small steps and celebrate every win!

Stay well

Laura


redballoonlifecoaching@mail.com
www.redballoonlifecoaching.co.uk