![\"eric](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/eric-kim-street-photography-Only-in-America-6-2000x1326.jpg?resize=2000%2C1326\")
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Dear friend, I think that most of us lack confidence in ourselves.<\/p>\n
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We lack confidence in our artistic abilities. We lack confidence in our ability to take risks. We lack confidence in following our own dreams, and our own hearts.<\/p>\n
Why do we lack confidence?<\/p>\n
I think a lot of us lack confidence because a lot of us grew up in societies, families, and environments which didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> encourage us.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m lucky enough to be raised as an American \u00e2\u20ac\u201d where my teachers always told me to be an individual, that failing was okay, and my parents were incredibly supportive. I thought I could never fail.<\/p>\n Whereas I know in Korea and Japan, failure is seen as (worse than) death. A lot of societies in the world, children aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t encouraged to take the path off the beaten road. Rather, children are taught to become as generic as possible, to get into a good school, get a good job, make a lot of money, buy a house, and maybe one day, travel and see the world.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be slaves to our past.<\/p>\n You might have been raised by an unsupportive parent. You might have not had any social support in school or your local community.<\/p>\n But why let the past hold you back?<\/p>\n Know that you have in your control to change your destiny. Today. Not tomorrow.<\/p>\n The first step is to change your mindset. To have supreme confidence in yourself.<\/p>\n I feel one of the best practical ways to build confidence in yourself is to build more physical strength. That can mean start doing push-ups, chin-ups, squats, going to the gym, doing yoga, doing squats, deadlifts, bench-press \u00e2\u20ac\u201d whatever. It might mean going hiking, biking, or anything physical.<\/p>\n You first want to have confidence in your body. The more you build muscle, lose body fat, the more positive hormones will flow through your body. If your body is physically strong, your mind will also become mentally strong. That might also mean getting rid of your body of toxins \u00e2\u20ac\u201d sugar, processed foods, alcohol, simple carbohydrates, starches, and anything else that causes you to feel bloated, gain fat, and make you feel tired after eating a meal.<\/p>\n A lot of the people we know in our lives hold us back. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe in our dreams. They always put us down. They are dissatisfied with their lives, so they are also trying to drag you down to their level.<\/p>\n If you were Henry Ford and you told your friends you wanted to create an automobile for the masses, everyone would have thought you were mad. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why would people want a car, when horses are just fine?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n If you have crazy dreams for your life, you need to cut negative people from your life. You need to cut away negative energy, and negative vibes.<\/p>\n For me, that practically means disconnecting myself from social media. All you will see is horror, pain, and suffering in the world \u00e2\u20ac\u201d all sensationalist news, which will discourage you. Not only that, but you will feel discouraged with all of your friends bragging about how good their lives are. You will feel little compared to them.<\/p>\n My suggestion: put yourself on the same level of the titans of history. Find those great people from history, and make them your personal mentor. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re alive or dead. Read their books, interviews, and put yourself on their level.<\/p>\n We all love comfort. We hate pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. We love the status quo. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like breaking societal rules.<\/p>\n For me, the biggest confidence boost has come through street photography. To take photos of strangers (with or without) permission is one of the strangest things. But in shooting street photography, I have built personal confidence. Because taking photos of strangers is far outside of my comfort zone.<\/p>\n Even when it comes to interacting with others \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to step outside of your comfort zone, to make small talk, or to try to understand the soul of someone else is hard. It is tough, awkward, and not typical.<\/p>\n Whenever you feel comfortable and cozy in your position in life, you need to push yourself harder. Do you want to keep lifting the same weight in the gym for the rest of your life? Do you just want to stay at the same 9-5 job for the rest of your life? Do you want to live a life full of personal greatness, or just live a mediocre life, and one day die?<\/p>\n To build more personal confidence, here are some tips or assignments you can try out:<\/p>\n I believe in you friend\u00e2\u20ac\u201d be strong, and never doubt yourself.<\/p>\n Always,Changing your mindset with your body<\/h2>\n
Cut the negativity<\/h2>\n
Push yourself out of your comfort zone<\/h2>\n
Tips to build personal confidence<\/h2>\n
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\nEric<\/p>\n