ARTICLE

Why Confidence Is So Important (and How to Improve Yours)

"Have confidence!" is one of the most essential pieces of advice you'll receive in life that makes no sense if you've never done it. You know what confident people look like, the advantages they get, and that it's something worth emulating. How do you get there, though?

What is Confidence Anyway?

In the purest sense, confidence is knowing what you're good at, the value you provide, and acting in a way that conveys that to others. Contrast this with arrogance which typically involves believing you are better in a particular area than you are, or low self-esteem which involves believing you're less valuable than you think. The closer your self-assessment is to that reality in the middle, and the more you behave accordingly, the closer you are to displaying healthy confidence.

Why does this definition matter? Because if you want to raise your confidence to a level that helps (rather than harms) you, it's important to know what you're aiming for. Blindly thinking positive won't necessarily help, and it's possible to go too far. In some cases, the latter is referred to as the Dunning-Kruger effect. Namely, it's when someone overestimates their own abilities, displaying more confidence than their skill level deserves.

What Does it Matter?

Confidence is one of those traits that can become an ethereal ideal that we all think is good, but ask us to point to the specific reasons why anyone should want it and we can only point to vague hypotheticals. Fortunately, science has our back. Here are just a few ways that tangibly improving your own self-confidence manifests in real world benefits:

Confidence Can Be More Important Romantically Than Physical Attractiveness

 A study published by the International Journal of Cosmetic Science showed that giving men some cologne improved their confidence enough to be rated as visibly more attractive in photographs. Similarly, researchers at Webster University found something as simple as a confident, direct smile from a woman was enough to catch the attention of a potential date.

The importance of confidence in romantic relationships doesn't end at the dating phase, either. Research published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that men in particular can have a tendency to feel worse about themselves or their relationship when their partner has a higher level of success. Of course, the moral there shouldn't be that women should succeed less, but rather that, in those situations, men must work harder on improving their own confidence level.

Confidence Early In Life Can Mean Upwards Mobility at Work

It shouldn't be a surprise that being more confident at work can mean more promotions. However, a pilot study at the University of Melbourne found some correlation between confidence levels as early as primary school and success in the workplace as adults.

This doesn't just apply to the workplace, either. A study by the University of Texas showed that students who received some expression of confidence in their ability—even while receiving criticism—performed better later on than those who were simply told to aim for higher standards.

Even Being Overly Confident Has Its Benefits

The Univerisity of Edinburgh and the University of California-San Diego found that in a standoff over a particular resource, unless you were sure you'd lose the fight, and as long as what you're fighting for had value, being overconfident was most often to result in success. Even if you weren't right, being confident can help you get what you want.

The Real Things You Can Actually Do to Improve Confidence

Talking about confidence is about as useful as explaining quantum mechanics via interpretive dance. It takes a minute to understand the difference between confidence and arrogance. If you have a confidence problem, what can you actually do about it? "Be better," isn't practical advice, so what can you do to practice?

Work out: The effects of working out on your confidence are so overwhelming that it can't be understated. When you exercise, your body releases a cocktail of endorphins that make you feel pretty good as is. When you're done, you have tangible proof that you've done something constructive and everything in your body is programmed to second that response. If you keep at it long-term, the results of a healthier body become more and more visible.