Making the decision to work from home and start your own online business requires some serious guts. It’s not something that is for the faint-hearted or those who aren’t serious. It requires enough confidence that you’re willing to put in the hard work. But how do you increase your inner confidence when it’s running low?

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SMILING & LAUGHING MAKES YOU APPEAR MORE CONFIDENT
Now you’re probably wondering what smiling and laughing has to do with confidence, right? But if you think about it, we’re really talking about the image you’re presenting to the world.
Let’s think about the type of people that we’re drawn to. Are we drawn to people who always appear sour and unfriendly? Of course not. Most of us are drawn to people that appear to be friendly and approachable. These are the people who make us feel like we can go up to them and we won’t be rebuffed because they’re nice people.
It really doesn’t matter how old we are, most people are hesitant to approach and interact with people who don’t put a friendly face forward.
Besides, the simple act of smiling and laughing will make YOU feel better which will them make others feel more comfortable around you.
So to boil it down, be friendly and approachable. The simple act of smiling and laughing will make you feel more confident…which will make you look more confident to the outside world.

ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO FACE THE WORLD
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make an effort to look your best. It’s always a good idea to get dressed and presentable whether you’re planning to see anyone or not.
There’s a psychological component here that plays into the inner confidence we feel.
You see, when working from home it’s easy to just dress sloppily. It’s easy to forget to pay any attention to your hair or face. After all, you justify it by telling yourself that no one sees you anyway.
The problem is that when you continue to neglect your appearance, it eventually comes out in some way.
And that way is frequently as us feeling less confident in our abilities and ourselves.
My grandmother always used to tell me that the days when we don’t feel as together are the days we should make an extra effort to pull ourselves together. In other words, these are the exact days when paying a little extra attention to our clothes and looks is called for.
Now this one may seem a little shallow or vain but I assure you it’s not.
Let’s face it…it’s not so much how we look as how we feel like we look that is important.
Now I’m not saying you need to gussy up like a beauty queen. But presenting your best self to the world makes you feel better about yourself on the inside. And that inner confidence comes through and you appear more confident on the outside.
It’s amazing what just a little effort can do for our confidence…even if we’re working from home.
SETTING GOALS INCREASES YOUR CONFIDENCE
Setting goals is a great way to increase your inner confidence! But lots of us are lousy at it.
Here’s the thing with goals…most people either set goals that are too low or they set goals that are so lofty there’s no way they can achieve them. And both of these leave you feeling like a failure rather than helping to increase your confidence.
In order to achieve our goals, we need to set goals that are achievable in the first place and then break them down into pieces.
Then as we work on the smaller pieces that make up our goals we begin to feel more confident. Seeing each piece of the goal completed is a great feeling that boosts our inner confidence greatly.
But it all starts with setting goals, writing them down, and determining what are the smaller steps that are required in order to achieve them.

BUILD MOMENTUM WITH SMALL CHANGES
This one goes right along with the previous tip. Smaller goals help you gain momentum, and do so smaller changes in your habits.
Most experts will suggest that we not try to make a lot of changes at once. Instead, focusing on one small thing at a time until it becomes automatic is the better approach.
So pick something that you want to change, and focus on that one thing until it becomes a habit. Once it’s a habit and automatic, you’ll feel better about yourself and your confidence will increase. Then it’s time to build on that positive momentum and tackle the next thing.
FOCUSING ON SOLUTIONS IS A CONFIDENCE BUILDER
A real confidence killer is to always focus on problems.
Now that doesn’t mean that our problems magically disappear, but instead of focusing on them it’s better to focus on the solutions. It’s also a more productive use of our time as well.
Focusing on solutions makes us feel more in control, which then increases the inner confidence we feel.
EXERCISE INCREASES OUR INNER CONFIDENCE
Exercising will help increase your inner confidence in several ways.
First, it will help you look and feel better. That will help you present a confident self to the world.
Second, our brain releases chemicals that increase our overall well-being when we’ve been physically active.
Both of these benefits help us feel and act in a more confident manner. Plus, we feel a sense of achievement when we’ve kept up a workout regimen and that is another way that exercising helps us feel more confident.

A SUCCESS LOG REMINDS YOU THAT YOU’RE COMPETENT
The idea of keeping a success log may seem corny, but if you struggle with self-confidence it can be a real help. In fact, it’s something I used to recommend to new teachers all the time.
Because there’s something pretty powerful about looking over a list of achievements when you’re feeling like you’re not good at anything.
So here’s what I suggest you do:
- Keep a list of things you’ve done
- Start a folder (physical or digital) of compliments or nice things people have said about you
- Write in a journal when you’ve achieved a goal, learned something new, or done something that was important to you
Then when you’re having a low day or feeling like your confidence has taken a vacation, pull out your file and remind yourself of the things you’re learned or done.
It’s a great confidence booster and a tangible reminder of your past successes!
MORE GRATITUDE = MORE CONFIDENCE
You probably hear people talk about adopting an “attitude of gratitude” all the time. But there’s a reason that it’s so widely suggested.
And that’s because becoming grateful for the good things in your life helps you realize that you’re not a failure and that you’ve got more going for you than you may realize.
Besides, it’s hard to continue to feel down on yourself once you realize how many blessings and gifts you’ve been given in your life…it makes it much harder to beat on yourself.
So take some time each day to count your blessings. Think about all the gifts you’ve been given and the kindnesses that others have bestowed on you. It’s a great way to improve your mood and boost your inner confidence.
UPLIFTING MUSIC CAN INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE
There’s a reason why people make playlists of their favorite music. Or why they make playlists of music that inspire them to work out. Music is a great mood booster which in turn makes us feel better about ourselves.
Music has a definite psychological effect on us. It can make us feel energized, it can make us smile or feel nostalgic. And when we use it to feel better it can make us feel more confident.

IMPROVING AREAS OF WEAKNESS BUILDS CONFIDENCE
It’s easy to focus on our areas of weakness. And while I would normally suggest that we focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, when we’re feeling low in confidence it never hurts to work to get better.
And I mean that literally.
If you’re not very good at something, then get to work to improve it!
Take a class, improve a skill, learn something new. It’ll work wonders to help increase your inner confidence.
Working to improve our weak areas makes us feel in control And the side benefit is that working to improve weak areas truly does give us more confidence because we have less weakness to dwell on.
INCREASING YOUR INNER CONFIDENCE PAYS REAL DIVIDENDS
Each of the things discussed above can help to increase your inner confidence. Feeling better about yourself, remembering past successes, and taking steps to become more competent will all pay off in the way you feel about yourself and in how others perceive you.
Starting small and working to improve your confidence will pay off in how you approach new challenges and in how reliably you continue to keep working towards your goals. Inner confidence gives you the motivation you need to make your online business the success you want it to be.
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I help older women get past their fear and mindset issues so they can create a plan to pursue their goals and dreams.