As you advance in years, you may tend to lose confidence as you experience changes in your body and face health issues. Losing your self-confidence can also result from life-altering events such as retirement and loss of people you love.
Losing confidence in your abilities can make you less active and more withdrawn. It can make you hesitant to gain new knowledge and learn new skills. It can even make you fearful of doing everyday things such as cooking, driving, handling technology, and commuting.
It’s normal to feel bad about not being able to do things at the same level of mental awareness or dexterity as before. However, you shouldn’t let this drag you down, or accept that you’re simply “too old” for this or that sort of thing. Don’t let yourself fall into stereotype.
Instead, focus on the things you can do now, and continue building your life from there. To help you overcome obstacles with self-doubt, here are the top three activities you can do to regain your self-confidence and give it a boost.
Learn a Musical Instrument You’ve Always Wanted to Play
Learning to play a musical instrument such as piano or guitar can show you that yes, you can learn new skills. You can learn to read music or follow tabs, your fingers can do what you want them to do, and you’ve still got that rhythm.
Music learning provides a lot of benefits for older adults. It helps you regain your self-confidence by helping you realize it’s alright to be a beginner again and make mistakes, because each mistake can help you become a better music player. It also keeps your mind sharp and can improve your brain’s memory and processing power. Knowing that you can learn and remember things can really put a smile on your face.
And when you accomplish musical goals, such as being able to play the music you love or joining a music ensemble and receiving applause from appreciative audiences, your self-esteem and self-confidence are bound to increase as well.
Set up a Physical Challenge With Mini-Goals
Exercise is beneficial at any age, but more so as you get older. The more you move, the more opportunities for you to realize there’s still a lot you can do. So, to rebuild your self-confidence, one of the things you can do is to challenge yourself physically.
Identify a major physical goal you can realistically accomplish, such as running a 5K, doing the Ashtanga yoga primary series on your own, walking a mile every day for a month straight, climbing a mountain, and so on.
To hit these targets, you’ll need a number of mini goals to accomplish along the way, such as running 20 minutes every day, attending yoga classes three times a week, taking the stairs whenever you can, and doing regular strength and cardio training.
Each mini goal you accomplish leads you closer to achieving the bigger goal, and it also lets you experience that natural high of being able to overcome those physical challenges. When you exercise or work out regularly, you become more confident in your body’s strength and ability to be active.
Get Social and Build Meaningful Personal Connections
Socializing can be a challenge if you have low self-esteem. To regain your confidence, take small social steps. Look for people who share the same interests. For example, baking, home DIY, Vespa restorations, hydroponics, and what have you.
This is easy enough to do in the age of social media where you can quickly find community groups. Then, connect to one or two people with whom you can really talk about your interests.
You can also become a volunteer for a cause you really care about--for instance, with an animal shelter, as a math or history tutor, or as a museum guide. Choose an activity you enjoy that also allows for personal interaction and gives you a chance to share your knowledge and skills.
Getting social helps you see value in what you know and in what you can do, and how these can give you a sense of belonging and self-worth. It’s a major confidence booster.
Learning music, accomplishing physical goals, and establishing social relationships are some of the ways to regain confidence in yourself. Keep going and remember, never allow your age to dictate what you can and cannot do. After all, isn’t age just a number?
Learn more about our guest author, Ellie Mckinsey and Know Your Instrument by checking out their website.
