We are all humans and have flaws.  Even if your physical appearance, unique personality, or social skills aren’t what you wish they were, that doesn’t have to stop you from being confident.  Confidence translated literally from Latin means ” to have faith in oneself”.  you are beautiful inside and out so you should love yourself unconditionally.  Here’s how to believe in yourself :

1. Think for yourself.  Very confident people know what they are doing is right, usually because they created an original thought rather than attempting to reproduce from an external source.
2. Make a list of special talents you have, or things you do that are good.  focusing on your attributes helps distract you from those parts of yourself that you think are flawed.  It doesn’t have to be a specific skill or activity either; it can be an approach or an attitude that you champion through life.  Do you always stay calm, cool and collected, even in hurried situations? Are you very patient with people? Do you always see the humorous side of things? Are you always there for your friends?
3. Find your passion.  Whether it’s baton twirling, martial arts, classic cars, musicianship, or basket weaving, you will feel confident pursuing that endeavor by recognising what you enjoy doing the most.  More importantly, you’ll be enjoying your progress.
4. Choose a role model, whether someone close to you, or someone famous.  Think of the qualities that the role model displays, whether physical, emotional, moral, and spiritual.
5. Focus on others. Try not to focus negatively on how you come across or how others may perceive you . Instead, focus more on the outside world rather than just your internal world, and that will build your confidence as other people start enjoying your company.
6. Accept compliments gracefully.  Don’t roll your eyes and say, “yeah, right,” or shrug it off.  Take it to heart and respond positively (“Thank you” and a smile works well).  Know that you have important things to say and do.  When you feel strongly about something, speak loudly and clearly and make eye contact with people.  Be yourself.
7. Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet.  Don’t abuse your body, don’t overload it, and don’t deny it any of the things it needs.  Take the time to reflect on your life and do some emotional maintenance.  In order to be truly confident, you absolutely must value yourself and understand that your well-being is important.
8. Work out.  This is a real fast change.  The gym can transform even the last geek.  It will help you be who you are, and not be afraid of it.  that’s the real confidence.  Getting enough exercise can boost your confidence amazingly.  Not only will it give you more energy throughout the day, but being in good physical shape will make you feel more “worthy” you could say, to talk to others and to be yourself.
9. Stick up for yourself.  If people put you down (and not in a good-natured, joking way,) then let them know that their opinion of you is not held by everyone – most of all yourself.  This may, at first, be hard to do.  But once you stick up for yourself a few times, your confidence builds and you get more adept at it.
10. Celebrate your individuality.  If you know you’ve got something special or different, then embrace it; don’t hide it.  that’s diversity.  you may wish that you were taller, or shorter, skinner, stronger, whatever the case may be.  But you need to realise that, if you were like everyone else, then you wouldn’t be who you are.  “What am I?”  you ask; the answer’s easy : you’re a unique individual who is capable of growing and learning.
11. Take action.  It is surprising how powerful the simple step of taking an action can be.  and the action you take need not be something extravagant or grand.  It could be something as simple as tackling a task that you have been procrastinating, such as writing a letter or tidying up that corner of the garage that has been out of control for the last several months.  It could also be something as interesting as taking a class in yoga, art, interior design, anything that interest you that you haven’t done yet.  Whether large or small, action brings with it exhilaration, enthusiasm, and the confidence that other things can be done as well.
12. Make eye contact with others, especially when engaging in conversation.  Gaze into the other person’s eyes as you talk to make yourself seem interested, calm, and confident.  Avoiding eye contact makes you appear shy and submissive, while directly staring for too long may make you appear angry and scared.
13. Smile often. A smile makes you appear warm, honest, friendly, and confident.  You can also just relax your facial muscles entirely, which will make you appear calm and relaxed.

Sharing with you article from NST, dated August 11, 2010.