When you first start the college year, you might feel a lot of pressure on your shoulders. That’s something that’s pretty normal. After all, it’s a new environment with new people and new challenges so it’s not going to be easy. So how can you build up your confidence at college and really get the most out of the experience, both from an academic and social point of view? Keep reading to find out.
Silence Self-Criticisms
The first thing you need to address is the way in which you critique yourself. If you’re far too harsh on yourself from day to day, you’re likely to suffer from a lack of confidence, so you should try to silence that inner critic if you can. Of course, a little self awareness is important but that doesn’t need to become constant self-criticism because that’s often unhelpful.
Make Friends and Realize You’re Not Alone
If you’re new to college and you’re in a town that you’re not familiar with, it’s in your best interests to put yourself out there and to meet new people. Doing this will help you realize that there are plenty of people out there in the same position as yourself and that you’re not alone as you might initially feel. Making friends helps to build confidence, so that should be your number one priority.
Take On Board Your Academic Feedback
For people struggling with the academic side of college and they feel as if they’re not keeping up with their studies, listening to feedback is important. And if you haven’t had any feedback from your lecturers, you should ask them to give you that feedback. When you do, you’ll start to get a better idea of what you can do differently and how you can keep up with your studies better.
Open Your Mouth and Talk
Sometimes, you just need to put yourself out there. That applies to dating and practicing talking to people in real life and via places like Thechatlinenumbers.com. And it also applies to meeting new people at college and taking part in seminars. Simply putting yourself out there and talking, even if you’re a little hesitant to do so is something that will definitely help to build your confidence over time.
Reward Your Achievements
When something goes well for you and you notice yourself making real progress, you should reward those achievements. There’s nothing at all wrong with celebrating your successes because simply focusing on the negative will end up getting you down and making you feel as if you’re not good enough. The positives are more important than any negatives.
If you’ve been lacking confidence in recent times and your college experience is suffering as a result, it can be tough. Getting yourself out of these kinds of situations isn’t easy and it isn’t always obvious which direction you should take. But the tips outlined above will definitely help you get started with that.