You probably know plenty of strong, powerful, phenomenal women and wish you could be more like them. Well, why can’t you? As corny as it sounds, your potential is truly limitless and there’s nothing you can’t achieve if you put your mind to it. You simply have to believe that it’s possible if you want to get there. If you’re struggling with self-confidence and self-doubt, here’s how to feel more empowered as a woman. You deserve it!
- Exercise more. Exercise isn’t just about your physique. It’s about making yourself feel better physically and mentally. It’s easy to feel more empowered when you’re active — you feel like you’re accomplishing something. Plus, you melt away stress and negativity. You don’t have to join a gym, but find some form of physical activity that’s fun and you’ll stick to it. Maybe you love going for solo runs, or perhaps you’re more of a team sports person. Get your heartrate up, get a sweat on, and see how good you feel about yourself as a result.
- Stand up for yourself. This is probably the hardest thing on the list. After you’ve spent years keeping your opinions to yourself and keeping quiet when others talk about you, standing up for yourself isn’t easy. That’s especially true when women get written off as being difficult for speaking up. In reality, that’s people deflecting because you’re not willing to put up with anyone’s crap.
- Have dating standards. You should never settle for anyone or anything. If you don’t feel the person you’re dating is on your level, don’t date them. You control your love life. Stop dating any and everyone just so you’re not alone. Remember you’re not defined by your relationship status. Have standards and stick to them.
- Take self-defense courses. Every single woman should know how to defend herself. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use those skills, but it’s empowering just knowing that you can protect yourself better. Not to mention, you get to kick and punch your aggression out during class. It’s fun and empowering. Boxing can achieve a similar result if that’s more your speed.
- Say no to people. If you have natural people-pleasing tendencies, this one is a toughie. You don’t want to feel like you’re letting people down, so you end up overextending yourself and becoming exhausted and resentful in the process. Enough is enough! Learning how to say no when you can’t or simply don’t want to do something is an incredible way to feel more empowered as a woman. It’s also a great way to preserve your own mental and physical health. Make this a priority.
- Try something new. We’re all guilty of getting into routines and subsequently end up feeling stuck in our comfort zones. This leads our confidence to dip because we’re never challenging ourselves in any way. If you want to feel more empowered, do something that terrifies you or that you worry you might not be good at. Sign up for a marathon, learn another language, anything that pushes you to be better and braver. You’ll feel invincible when you accomplish it.
- Only be around people who treat you as an equal. We’ve all had people in our lives who treat us like total doormats, but you’re inferior to no one. Demand to be treated as an equal. If the person can’t do that, walk away. Those types of people aren’t worth your time. Instead, construct a social circle full of people who recognize your worth and appreciate the value you bring to the table. Those are the people you want to surround yourself with.
- Accept that you’re beautiful no matter what. Looks aren’t everything — they’re temporary, unimportant, and totally subjective. Stop caring about what others say or think — you’re beautiful. Look in the mirror and tell yourself that every single day until you start to believe it because it’s true. Self-acceptance is key to becoming one of those strong women you admire.
- Set your ambitions high and do the work. Ambition keeps you focused in life and gives you an end goal to work towards. Ask the most empowered women about their goals. They’ll likely have a list and can tell you exactly what they plan to do to be successful. Set goals both large and small and come up with an actionable plan to reach them. Achieving your goals instantly makes you feel better about yourself.
- Take care of yourself. Making yourself a priority is important. Make time to take care of yourself. Get enough sleep, eat well, exercise, and do things you love. The more you take care of yourself, the more empowered you’ll feel. After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup. You have to make sure you’re okay with yourself before you try to look after anyone else.
- Drop the chip on your shoulder. No one wants to be around someone who has a bad attitude. And even if you fake a sunny disposition, being a Debbie Downer in your own mind isn’t going to help you feel empowered as a woman, either. Negative thoughts can destroy even the strongest woman. It might seem impossible sometimes, but learn to recognize negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. You really are your best cheerleader if you choose to be. You might not always get support from others. You have to keep your thoughts positive so you always have support from yourself.
- Respect yourself. Most importantly, empowerment means respecting yourself. You will get run over in life if you don’t. Accept who you are. Recognize that you’re worthy of good things and treat yourself accordingly. The more you respect yourself, the more others will respect you too.
