Confident People Don’t ........

by Alicia Rades

Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be successful? Depending on how you define ‘happiness’ and ‘success’, confidence could be the key. That’s because confident people believe in themselves, and they don’t participate in activities that degrade their spirits. Check out some of the things confident people just don’t do.

They Don’t Judge or Gossip About Others

“When you judge another, you do not define them; you define yourself.” – Wayne Dyer

Confident people don’t feel the need to engage in unnecessary drama.

They don’t talk about friends behind their backs, they don’t rush to quick judgements, and they certainly don’t participate in gossip. Confident people want others to be confident, too, and they are more interested in building others up than tearing them down.

They Don’t Act Full of Themselves

Just because someone has a big ego doesn’t mean he’s confident in himself. A person who brags about his accomplishments every chance he gets and constantly talks only about himself may seem confident on the outside, but what he’s really doing is seeking praise and approval. Truly confident people find their worth from within, so they won’t go around telling others how great they are. If they are truly great, they know that others will see that without having to point it out.

They Don’t Obsess Over What Others Think of Them

“Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

While a confident person may care about how he presents himself in a business or casual setting, he isn’t looking for other people to tell him how he should think, nor does he let those who try to tear him down affect his opinion of himself. Truly confident people only let themselves define who they are and how they should feel.

They Don’t Compromise Their Values

If you’re truly confident in yourself, that means you’ve put confidence in your belief system as well. Confident people will live by these values, and they won’t compromise them for the sake of something desirable—whether it’s a friend or a job. Defining and following your values also builds confidence as values give you a purpose (whatever those values might be).

They Don’t Focus on the Negative

“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

Not every confident person is an optimist. Many look at life through a realistic lens. Whether an optimist or a realist, you won’t find confident people in a constant state of pessimism. Confident people know that focusing on the negative won’t get them anywhere. Instead, they make use of the positive, and they don’t let negative thoughts control them.

They Don’t Need to Be Right All the Time

Someone who seems to know everything about everything may seem confident in his opinions, but he could just be looking for approval by trying to appear smart. Truly confident people are willing to admit when they’re wrong, and they know this opens them for opportunities to learn.

They Don’t Let Failure or Fear Hold Them Back

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown

Confident people are willing to push the boundaries of their comfort zone because they know that stepping outside of it will help them learn, grow, and succeed. They understand that sometimes, the thing they fear doing is the same thing they need to do, but they go for it anyway.

They Don’t Overcomplicate Things

A lack of confidence can cause us to fill our lives with lots of activities in an attempt to find fulfilment in the adrenaline-fuelled lifestyle or so that we don’t have to face our insecurities. Confident people know what makes them feel whole, and they are able to prioritize and balance their lifestyle in a way where it’s okay to say no so they can experience the things in life they truly care about.

They Don’t Assume They’ve Reached ‘Peak’ Confidence

To be confident does not mean that you’ve hit a max. You don’t have to have 100 percent confidence in yourself to live a truly confident lifestyle, and people who are actually confident understand that they still have room to grow.

They Don’t Blindly Accept That They Have to Live By All the Mentioned Attributes

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle

A truly confident person is unlikely to get offended by this post because he knows that he doesn’t have to accept a stranger’s advice to love himself as he is. Confident people are open-minded to new ideas, but they also take the time to consider whether or not they agree. In other words, don’t take my word for it; just remain confident in your confidence and you should be good to go!

(Alicia Rades is a freelance writer and blogger who has a passion for sharing practical advice to help others succeed.)