Success is often attributed to self confidence, and self confidence is often attributed to previous success. That’s the reason why successful people seem to be able to string one successful project after another. Success naturally breeds more confidence and success. It’s natural for the human psychology to develop a fearless attitude towards activities that one has already had success with. However, not every person has had success in the past. How can these people build self confidence? Here are some practical suggestions.

1. Build self confidence by improving your financial status.

We live in a very consumerist society. On a society where we are often judged by how much we earn and what we can afford, purchasing power is an important quality. There are, of course, other ways to develop self confidence than by increasing one’s wealth. But if you’re in debt, or if you’re finding it difficult to make ends meet, you’re confidence might be affected. Whether you like it or not, your human psychology is vulnerable to feelings of self-pity and self-reproach when you find yourself constantly having to rely on others or on charity for survival. At the ends of the day, financial independence is almost absolute independence and self-sufficiency. Wealth is power. Feelings of weakness and powerlessness can be prevented by finding ways to increase your income.

2. Build self confidence through contemplation.

Believe it or not, every person subconsciously wants to develop self confidence. Our human psychology constantly seeks reasons to be confident. Even the most primal and untamed of our emotions such as vanity, pride and envy are caused by our personal quest for self worth. Our love for ourselves causes us to become vain. Our belief that we deserve the things our neighbors have causes envy. Our insecurities about our own value may cause us to become proud.

Subconsciously, you are already looking for reasons to be confident. All you have to do is point your subconscious in the right direction. Focus on the areas of your life that you are happiest about. Focus on your ability to make friends, your skill for cooking, or your genetic gifts. You can find ways to build self confidence as soon as you start thinking about it.

3. Build self confidence by being in good company.

The truth is that there are negative people and positive people. Negative people complain all the time. They always find reasons to be angry or unhappy. Predictably, they have a habit of fault-finding. Spending time with these people is bad for many aspects of your human psychology, because they tend to be critical of whatever you do. They trivialize your achievements and focus on your flaws.

If you want to develop a healthy sense of self worth and build self confidence, seek out the good company of positive people. These people always have encouraging words when you find difficulty in your endeavors. They’ll look at your failures and tell you how the lessons you’ve learned in the experience can benefit you in the future. They never belittle your efforts and celebrate your achievements.

4. Build self confidence by being in a relationship.

One of the best boosts to self worth and confidence is spending time with a person who genuinely appreciates you for who you are. Being in a romantic relationship with someone who is attracted to your appearance, is interested in what you have to say, and supports your artistic or business endeavors is probably the best benefit you can have for your human psychology. When you find a partner in life who provides you this much encouragement, nothing can daunt you. At the end of the day, all a person really needs to develop confidence is to find someone who sincerely believes in him.

5. Build self confidence by learning how to take criticism.

People are different. People have different preferences, different opinions and different desires. There is no endeavor you can pursue, no dish that you can cook, and no opinion that you can state that would satisfy everyone.

One way to develop your self confidence is to realize that there will always be someone who disagrees with what you say, doesn’t like a dish you’ve prepared, or doesn’t think that you’ll accomplish what you set out to do. There will always be criticism. But the opinion of a person is just that – an opinion. Listen to criticism because it might help you make progress, but don’t let it discourage you from doing what you want. Just because you failed in your first try doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll never succeed. Maybe you just need a little more practice, or maybe you need to perform for a different type of audience.

One of the most common reasons why people give up on the process is impatience. You really have to train your human psychology to be patient in order to properly build self confidence. Progress takes time. Think of your confidence as something similar to physical conditioning. You can’t go from casual runner to marathon champion in a few days. While you’re in the process of building self confidence, you have to be realistic with your expectations.