Archive for February, 2018



5 Ways To Appear More Confident

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018

It’s no secret that having confidence is the best way to get ahead in life. Whether you’re talking about landing a promotion at work or finding that special someone. Confidence is the key to unlocking almost any doorway. But how do you fair when you don’t have any confidence? You can always learn how to be more confident. It takes time and consistency. You can take courses online or in person to help build your confidence. Or you can follow the old adage: Fake it until you make it. It’s a lot easier to fake your confidence. This can even help you to build real confidence in yourself. Let’s take a look at 5 ways you can appear more confident:

1. Learn to balance conversation.

Many people who are nervous tend to talk a lot more than they should. Many others choose to be absolutely silent. These are two indications that someone lacks confidence in their life. Instead of doing either, learn when it’s appropriate to talk and when it’s best to listen. You don’t need to be the wallflower and you don’t need to babble nervously. When you choose to speak, make your voice heard. Be commanding and bold and always follow through on anything you say.

2. Don’t fidget.

Another habit that nervous individuals have is excessive fidgeting. You need to learn to sit still. Now when most people think of fidgeting, they think of hand gestures. Fidgeting can also mean gently shaking your leg and even looking around the room excessively. Instead of allowing yourself these mindless actions, consciously make the effort to stop trying to distract yourself. That’s really what fidgeting is: Keeping your mind otherwise occupied because you’re nervous or anxious about the situation you’re in.

3. Maintain eye contact.

When it comes to talking to people you’re nervous around, it’s tempting to look in different directions. However, improving your confidence starts with making solid eye contact. This can be tricky to do initially, so pace yourself. Start by looking just over the shoulder of the person you’re talking to. This can make it appear as though you’re making eye contact. Then make the effort to look directly at the individual and try and maintain eye contact. You’ll find it comes naturally after a while.

4. Stand tall and be proud.

Confident individuals always stand tall. This is both physically and mentally. By doing this, they tend to command the attention of the room. To stand tall physically means to stand with your shoulders straight, looking ahead and making direct eye contact. To stand tall mentally means to be proud of yourself and the things you’ve accomplished. If you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything, set your goals a little lower. You’re allowed to feel proud of getting out of bed in the morning if that’s all you’ve done. You don’t need to win awards to be validated.

5. Pace yourself.

The biggest way to appear confident is by not overdoing it. Whether you’re learning confidence or trying to fake it, you need to be realistic. This means that you can’t overexaggerate how confident you are. You can’t pretend to feel like you’re on top of the world. You need to maintain a balance between who you are and this person you’re trying to become. You don’t want to take on more than you can handle and then have people find out this isn’t who you are. So take baby steps until you feel confident to start taking leaps.

The Secrets Behind Happy Couples

Wednesday, February 7th, 2018

We’re all likely to see those happy couples. Whether out and about or people we know personally. They are always laughing and seem radiant, no matter how long they’ve been together. If you’re not in a relationship like that, it’s gets you thinking: what makes them so happy? What do those couples know that you don’t? Why can’t you be that happy with your partner? The good news is that you can. You can start today to build a relationship that will always flourish. You just have to learn the secrets behind happy couples.

Listen & Respond

One thing that these couples do is communicate effectively. They feel comfortable expressing their thoughts to one another. They don’t worry about the reception because they are open. Being open with your partner increases your likelihood of staying together. But communication is more than just talking about your problems. It also means that you’re listening to their problems. You’re responded to them in an effective manner. It’s often easy to jump into “defensive” mode when you’re feeling attacked. But you have to remember that expressing their feelings about something is not meant to be a direct attack on you.

Be supportive & understanding of each other

Following an open communication, you have to learn to be supportive and understanding. This means that you’ll have to drop the defensive mechanisms you’ve learned over the years. You should never have to be defensive with a partner. Supporting each other also means giving each other space when it’s needed. Your partner could be having a hard time because of work or other personal issues. You can’t pressure them into talking or even being intimate. They shouldn’t pressure you either. You need to be able to give each other what is needed at the time.

Maintain intimacy & be attentive

Being attentive is a good way to give each other what is needed. This also means being observant enough to know what your partner might be looking for. Doing this is a great way to make your partner feel appreciated and understood. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in your own world that you forget to make time for each other. Please don’t confuse intimacy with sex. Being intimate with your partner doesn’t always mean sex. Although, a healthy sexual relationship is a key element to maintaing a thriving connection. Intimacy can be as simple as holding hands or cuddling on the couch. Sometimes silence and hand-holding is the best way to be attentive to someone’s needs.

Kiss & Make Up

One of the reasons someone feels underappreciated is because small things get taken out of context. This can lead to misunderstandings, which can lead to arguments. The original point gets completely lost in the heat of the moment and nothing gets resolved. It’s important to know which fights are worth having and when it’s time to step down. Knowing this can be the difference between a thriving relationship and a failing one. In order to know whether or not it’s important, you’ll have to follow the steps above in being attentive and communicating effectively. You need to stay focused during any disagreement so that the problem actually gets resolved and doesn’t need to come up again in the future.

Learn to laugh together

Finally, happy couples are the ones who can laugh off unimportant arguments. Learning to laugh with your partner is beneficial is so many ways. Firstly, laughter is a health boost. But it also signals that your love for each other is more important than petty problems. Laughing alone makes you seem inconsiderate and like you don’t care, but laughing together signals a oneness. Every relationship should have that oneness.

That’s not to say you’ll always be on the same page. These couples aren’t happy 24-7. They argue. They disagree. But they know how to communicate and work things through. That’s how happy couples stay happy.