The other day on Twitter I saw the following statement – “An unconventional sign of strength and power: Not being easily offended.”

Then today, I found this picture on Pinterest:

This one made me laugh…maybe cause it’s true!?! 😛

Both got me to thinking about how much we all tend to compare ourselves and worry about what others think of us.

And it also made me think about how it honestly DOESN’T MATTER what anyone else thinks.

You have to be HAPPY WITH YOURSELF.

If you can’t be happy and confident with who you are, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks EVEN if someone else thinks you are amazing.

Because no matter how often others may tell you that you are wonderful/beautiful/smart/AMAZING, it won’t make you happy if you aren’t already happy with who you are.

Flaws and all – you have to accept who you are.

The question is, “How do you become confident and happy with who you are when you want to keep improving, learning and growing?”

How can both wanting to become better yet being happy with who you are currently go hand-in-hand?

What I think it all boils down to is appreciating the tools you have and knowing that those tools and your drive to become better, learn more and grow are what also make you amazing.

Perfection doesn’t make you more confident.

Heck there are a ton of people out there that we see different forms of perfection in that don’t see it themselves.

We will find flaws even if no one else sees them. Even if they don’t really exist.

And we can either focus on those flaws and let them bring us down or we can accept them and even appreciate them.

Sounds weird right? To appreciate our flaws?

But appreciating doesn’t mean you just sit back and let them go. It means realizing that you have something to work on and taking steps every day to get better and then APPRECIATING the growth.

A lot of self-confidence comes from acceptance and also pride in knowing that you are strong enough to make your life into whatever you want it to be.

Self-confidence comes a lot from knowing you are in control of where your life goes and FEELING IN CONTROL.

When we FEEL in-control, we don’t really worry about what other people think or say.

Because we know we can change and improve and we know that who we are, we fought to become.

And we are proud of it.

So stop and think today about how you can TAKE CONTROL of your life.

What can you do today to take control of your health? Of your fitness? Of your job? Of YOUR LIFE?

What have you done in the past to help you take control? What advice would you give someone looking to become more self-confident?

Here is what I’ve found works to help you take control:

• Develop Positive Self Talk
• Whether You Think You Can Or You Think You Can’t, You’re Right
• Take Pride In Your Strength
• Fake It Till You Make It – Your Brain Is Really Kind Of Stupid (I link out to a few other great posts in this article too!)