30 confidence vitamins to pump you up.

Sometimes, it feels like the entire world is designed to make us feel terrible about ourselves.

Not fit enough, not rich enough, not smart enough, not quick enough, not fresh, new, hot or “original” enough.

And sadly, there are many, many industries that profit … when people loathe themselves.

I’ve had mega-low-confidence days & weeks — just like everybody else. Hell, I’ve had low-confidence years! Like that one time I enclosed myself in my dreary concrete apartment with my laptop, my World of Warcraft account (Night Elf Rogue, if you’re wondering) and un-classy bottles of cream-flavored booze. (Dark times.)

Here’s what I’ve learned about confidence, self-esteem & the art of liking yourself.

At a certain point, you have to decide:

“From this moment forward, I am choosing to believe that I’m PHENOMENALLY AWESOME. I will eat, sleep, write, speak, work, play & conduct my affairs accordingly.”

And once you’ve made that decision, you’ve got to fuel that powerful new belief — with a potent regimen of Confidence Vitamins.

Confidence Vitamins =
little mood-boosting gems, with no harmful side-effects.
To be taken daily. Twicely. Or thricely.

Chew them. Swallow them. Crush them up & mix them into salted caramel ice cream, if necessary. But take them.

Because it’s OK to be awesome. And you know it.

— — — — —

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #1: Memorize a killer joke or parlor trick. Perform it, often. Bask in the applause.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #2: Swing on a trapeze. Or {insert-astonishing-feat-of-equivalent-insanity} here. Show yourself that you can.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #3: Do one more push-up, sit-up, or lunge than you think your muscles can handle. You’re so crazy-strong.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #4: Make a promise & keep it. Do it again & again & again.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #5: Mentor a teenager or child — even if it’s just for five minutes, at the “kiddie table” at a dinner party. (Remember: to somebody else, you’re a hero, a champion and a fountain of knowledge.)

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #6: Pull a random Tarot card from a deck & write a 60-second poem in response. (It’s a game I invented called TAROT-ETRY!). You can do it. Look, you’re practically done.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #7: Knead dough. Assemble a couch from IKEA. Make something tangible with your capable hands.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #8: Sign up for a daily IV drip of confidence-boosting reminders — like Jen Louden’s Self-Trust Kit, Gala Darling’s Radical Self-Love Bootcamp, or the #Trust30 Challenge.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #9: Sweat, stretch & holler out inspiring affirmations — “I can feel my pooooower!” — with the ridiculously foxy Erin Stutland.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #10: Send Danielle LaPorte’s classic Ask-A-Friend survey to three people who adore you. Watch the love & encouragement tumble in.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #11: Have a talented human take a gorgeous photo of you, looking your best. Frame it & look at it. Lots.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #12: Take a cue from Goddess Star Monroe and groom thyself. Thoroughly.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #13: Find a confidence wing-woman or fella. Instruct them to gently nudge you out of your security-zone (“Oh yes, you WILL sing karaoke!”). Even if you whine.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #14: Change someone’s flippin’ life. Write that destiny-altering email introduction — or send an anonymous gift, in a desperate time. Damn, you’re powerful.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #15: Throw a Self-Confidence Soiree! Gather together a few friends, form a witchy circle, and spend a few hours complimenting one another until everyone has run out of happy tears. Best. Party. Ever.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #16: Make a “So, THAT Happened…” list of everything good & remarkable you did, over the last 30 days. Good lord, you’re productive!

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #17: Steam a pile of spinach. Eat the whole plate, and imagine that every bite is filling your cells with pure confidence, Popeye-style.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #18: A very wise woman once told me, “I just assume that everyone is attracted to me & wants to ask me out on a date. All the time.” Experiment with thinking like THAT.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #19: Travel to a foreign land. Bonus-round: LIVE THERE. You’ll feel capable of anything-and-beyond.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #20: Stop. Giving. Away. Your. Finite. Time. And. Brilliance. For. Free. If. It. Makes. You. Feel. Bitter. And. Resentful. Just stop it. Saying “no” — and feeling good about it — is the Ultimate Confidence Vitamin.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #21: Choose a project & rrrrrrrreally focus on it for three hours, flat. Give it your ALL. Flabbergast yourself.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #22: Ask 10 friends to record a 60-second message for you, touting your awesomery. Create a playlist & keep it on your smartphone, for emergency playback. Make sure the final track is “The Eye of the Tiger.”

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #23: Two-ish words: Lightning-bolt panties. That is all.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #24: Four words: temporary inspirational mantra tattoo. Correct.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #25: Assume the position. (No, not the fetal position.)

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #26: Work with Erika & find your Pocket Superhero. (Mine is named Voltaic Victoria!)

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #27: Give “terror” a sexy new name, like these smart scientists recommend. “I’m not nervous, I’m just electro-beam alive!”

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #28: Sit in the front row. Raise your hand. Allow yourself to be seen.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #29: Join Kylie’s Itty Bitty Adventure Club. Do small & wonderful things, often.

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #30: Throw a faux-TEDx (FEDx?) conference in your living room. Invite your friends & neighbors to deliver a ten-minute talk on something they know TONS about. Give a talk of your own. Film it. Be amazed.

And one more, for good measure …

CONFIDENCE VITAMIN #31: If all else fails … TAKE IT TO THE DANCE FLOOR LIKE MR. ROGERS!!!

— — — — —

Feeling thoroughly pumped? Me tooooo.

Let’s keep this list rolling.

What are your favorite Confidence Vitamins?