Do you feel more confident when there is someone rooting you on and telling you how amazing the work you’re doing is? Of course! I know I definitely do. But sometimes you might be working on something that you’re not ready to share with others yet or maybe you know you’re loved ones might not completely get what you’re doing.

I’ve been there. Actually, I was there when I started this blog. I didn’t want to tell my family or friends because I knew there would be a lot to learn and trial and error. I didn’t want the added pressure of being asked how it was going, even though I knew they would mean well. And if I’m honest I didn’t know if my family would really understand what I was trying to do with Chasing Sunday Pancakes. So, for months I had to be my own biggest cheerleader to stop myself from giving up.

Starting a blog, learning piano, writing a book, taking a class, signing up for a program, whatever it is you’re working towards, is not easy. It’s hard to step outside our comfort zones, especially when there is no one next to us rooting us on.

Sometimes in life we have to be our own biggest fans and cheer ourselves on to build our confidence and keep ourselves motivated.

We will have bad days during the process. I am not tech savvy, and I almost gave up when I had to figure out how to set up a business email address for my website. I had a ton to learn about all the technical stuff in setting up a blog. It was frustrating and made me less than several times. But using my confidence building methods, I was able to have confidence in my abilities to figure it out. Now I feel competent, meaning I’m confident in my ability to set up a self-hosted blog with an email address. By overcoming this obstacle my confidence soared. But I probably would have given up without my confidence building tools.

If you struggle with being your own cheerleader, I get it. I struggled too, but these methods helped me, and I hope they will help you too!

*If you want to gain more confidence in just one week, subscribe to my newsletter to recieve your FREE copy of the 7-Day Confidence Building Planner*

1. Listen to Confidence Boosting Podcasts: I am a big believer in what we listen shapes us. (Hello nightmares and slight paranoia when I listen to too much true crime). Listening to podcasts on how others overcame their obstacles to become successful is crazy inspiring. It starts to make you feel like if they can have the confidence to go after their goals, then you can too. And you can! My top three favorite podcasts to listen to build confidence and inspire me are (all of these are available on all major podcast apps):

1. 1. Baking for Business by Amanda Schonberg– okay clearly this is not a baking blog, but Chef Amanda Schonberg is not only motivating on her own, she interviews other bakers about their journeys. Little secret: none of them had easy journeys. They all started with almost nothing and grew it to successful businesses by overcoming challenges and believing they could overcome those challenges.
   2. Abundant Ever After with Cathy Heller – This podcast is like burst of feel good sunshine for me. I like to listen to it in the mornings when I walk my dog because Cathy Heller is great at reminding us that we all have everything we need within us.
   3. How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy by Lizzie Smiley – This podcast is fantastic for any small, creative business owner even if you don’t sell on Etsy. This one is similar to Baking for Business. Lizzie Smiley is inviting and motivating and she also interviews others about their journeys.

Read More: 33 Empowering Affirmations to Boost Self-Confidence and How to Use Them

2. Write Down Your Goal Every Morning: I learned this tip from Marie Forleo and her Marie TV series. She’s a big believer in writing things down and I have to say now that I’ve done this and journaled more, I’m a believer also. Every morning write down your goal at least once, but preferably between 10 and 15 times. I know this is a lot, but it will help it lock into your brain and keep you focused on this goal and all the steps you’re taking to achieve it.

3. Meditate with an Affirmation: Meditating every morning for at least 5 minutes focusing on your affirmation will help your brain to start replacing negative self-talk with more positive self-talk. My current favorite affirmation is I’m an artist which has almost completely replaced my old limiting belief “I can’t draw”. You can read more on meditating for confidence here.

4. Take a Class: We build confidence by being more competent in the area we lack confidence in. And we become more competent in that particular area by gaining knowledge and experience. Nowadays you can find a class on almost anything online if you live in an area that doesn’t offer it in person. Whether you want to be a better public speaker or if you’re interested in learning an instrument or wanting to start your own business. There’s a class for you! I love Udemy for classes. I have taken a dozen classes on Udemy like vector drawing, animation, and illustration. *Add a class to your wish list but wait for a sale. They have sales often and the prices will drop from over $100 to sometimes as low as $13.

5. Read Autobiographies on Inspiring People: Similar to podcasts, hearing the stories of how others overcame obstacles is incredibly motivating and helps build our confidence by showing us we can do it too. My top three inspiring autobiographies are:

1. 1. Believe It by Jamie Kern Lima (I listened to this whole audiobook in one day, that’s how good it is. Jamie Kern Lima is a wonderful confidence booster, check out her podcast The Jamie Kern Lima Show)
   2. The Third Gilmore by Kelly Bishop (I love her overall confidence and how hard she worked in dancing. When she decided to become an actor, she made it happen)
   3. Finding Me by Viola Davis (She dealt with a lot of hardships growing up, but overcame all of it to be the amazing actor she is today!)
   4. Other books I love that are more about mindset that inspire and motivate me are:
      1. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
      2. Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
      3. Atomic Habits by James Clear

Read More: How Taking Drawing Lessons Improved My Overall Confidence

6. Change Your Phone Wallpaper to Something that Inspires You: You can change it to a quote about building confidence, your personal affirmation, a digital vision board using Canva, or have an image of something that keeps you motivated. Confidence comes from taking action and seeing something all the time that inspires you to take action is a great way to build confidence. My current background is one of my first ever kawaii drawing to keep motivated on continuing my drawing journey.

7. Have a Gratitude Practice Using the Three Blessings Gratitude Practice: I go more in depth on this gratitude practice for building confidence in another post. Basically the Three Blessings Gratitude Practice helps us start to learn to have more confidence and trust in ourselves by writing down not only our three blessings from the day but also how we brought them into our lives.

8. Celebrate Other’s Success: I learned this one from Tickled Think (love this blog). We become more confident when we realize we don’t have to compete with others. Their success doesn’t take away from our own. And their success doesn’t mean we never will succeed. If anything, it just proves that it’s possible to reach our dreams because there’s a real example of someone reaching their own dreams. This one is challenging, and I get it. I used to be happy for others but still felt that twinge of jealousy and resentment. But when I started to genuinely celebrate others’ successes, I stopped beating myself up for not being at that same level or for whatever shortcomings I have. Now when I say “Good for them!” I also think quietly with a smile “One day I’ll be there too.” And then I release it. No need to fixate.

9. Reward Yourself: Rewards are powerful motivators. Whenever you finish task that leads to your ultimate goal like you signed up for a class or read a book about what you’re striving for, reward yourself. It can be a little piece of your favorite candy, a quick power nap, lighting your favorite candle, whatever little treat you want to give yourself. This will help you stay motivated and as you start to progress your confidence will begin to grow.

Being your own biggest fan can be hard. And it can be easy to give up and walk away when you don’t have anyone rooting for you or holding you accountable. But you can do this for yourself. You have the ability to hold yourself accountable and to keep yourself motivated. You can build confidence by becoming more competent in the area you’re struggling with. If you need a little boost of confidence, choose any one of these methods listed above. And know I’m always cheering for you!

Let me know how your confidence building journey is going in the comments below! I’d love to hear what confidence building methods work for you and which ones you’ve tried!