In this current age, humans are – more often than not – dealing with anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. While social media and technological developments have been a wonderful asset in our business and personal lives, it’s also a huge concern for our mental health. The constant need for ‘likes’ and validation has left many feeling low in confidence, doubting their ability to make something of themselves. People worry now more than ever about judgement from their peers and even from strangers behind a screen on the internet. So much so, that our confidence levels plummet enough for us not to chase the things we truly want in life – just in case some faceless entity out there has an opinion on it.

Image Rights: Consumer Confidence by Chris & Karen Highland, used under creative commons license.

The greatest leaders among us lack confidence at times, and this is due to pressure from those around them to be better than they were yesterday. This type of pressure stops us from grabbing opportunities with both hands. Self-development ends up halting and we question everything we do, making it harder to feel positive and confident. Those working their way through college in the current digital age are faced with this burden on a daily basis.

The constant pressure to present our lives online means that we develop social anxieties far easier than ever before. We thank online programs like the Carson-Newman University Online RN to BSN Program, because we can get to the places we want in our careers without having to engage with peers in the same way. It’s rather a sad situation that a lack of confidence can hinder self-development and therefore it’s important to know how you can build your confidence so that you can push through!

Part of building your confidence and getting yourself to a point where self-development is a normal part of your life is to fake it until you make it! You want to feel like you can be on top of the world and even if that initial confidence isn’t within you, faking it can help it to manifest.

The way you carry yourself and your body language tells everyone around you how you are feeling. Discomfort is easy to spot and if you know how to change your body language to look comfortable and happy, you can start to adopt that way of thinking, too. Hold your chin up, sit straight and look people in the eye. Don’t hide yourself away and avoid a limp handshake. All of these things can help people to believe in you, even when you can’t.

One of the best ways you can stop being harnessed by social media, is to let it go. Delete the apps. Stop posting your personal life on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and look at your life from your eyes, not the eyes of everyone else. If you want to push your education forward and make more of what you have, there is nothing out there to stop you. You can ignore the voice that tells you that you aren’t good enough, shout above it and believe that YES, YOU ARE!