The 25 Best Blogs Teaching You How to Be More Confident
So, you are struggling with your self-esteem. You are tired of that hollow piece of advice to “just be more confident!” (and justifiably so). You have tried, and you have already found out that it doesn’t work that way.
You are definitely not alone.
That is why, in this post, we are not just going to give you some, but all of the best content on the internet on how to be more confident and build your self-esteem.
As you can imagine, there’s as much advice on the internet on self-confidence as there are people looking for it. So we decided to help you out by separating the wheat from the chaff and giving you only the stuff that is actually helpful. The best of the best.
Whether you are incredibly shy and lack a lot of confidence, or you simply want to work on your confidence in different areas of your life: There’s a lot in here for you.
So, let’s crown the winners.
The 25 Best Blogs and Blog Posts on How to Be More Confident
Mark Manson
We admit it: We’ve been a fan of Mark Manson’s “negative self-help” for a long time. You most likely know him from his #1 New York Time’s bestseller “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k”. But his no nonsense, straight to the gut approach to self-help is even more evident on his blog. When it comes to building confidence, he wrote a couple of articles, but this is the one we think is the most important.
Our favorite take-away: “The only way to be truly confident is to simply become comfortable with what you lack.” We have nothing to add here. Read the article if you want to know more.
Psychology Today
We don’t know if we have much to do in ways of introduction here. You know, it’s Psychology Today. The oldest media outlet in the field out there, doing the work since 1967. Their resource on confidence is as state of the art as you can imagine.
Our favorite take-away: Their resource on how to raise your kids to be confident. Because that’s where it starts.
James Clear
Here’s another bestselling author for you: You’ll know him from his book “Atomic Habits”, but we also highly recommend his newsletter. In one of his articles, he also breaks down the science of body language and confidence very clearly. Make sure to also watch Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk linked at the bottom.
Our favorite take-away: Not even something James wrote himself, but him quoting Millard Fuller: “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”
Tony Robbins
I mean, duh. If we’re talking about confidence, you can’t really have a list without the guy who has Stanford doing science on his seminars about becoming the person you want to be. We’re linking his key article on the topic.
Our favorite take-away: Like anything with Tony Robbins, he starts with “changing your state”. You can read for yourself what that means, but we loved his inclusion of taking care of what goes into your mind. Never underestimate how much of a difference that makes.
Mindvalley
If you’ve never heard of Mindvalley, think of it like a platform for all the best teachers in the world, congregating in one place to teach you self-awareness, empowerment, and every other life skill you might need. It has courses for literally anything, and a blog that features writers and coaches from the big to the small. We especially loved Alexandra Tudor’s take on “rapid empowerment”, where she gathers the best advice from fellow Mindvalley experts.
Our favorite take-away: Paul McKenna’s suggestion to practically bring the confident and the fearful parts in you out in the open. Try it out!
Greatist
Health and wellness, physically as well as mentally, are in the spotlight at Greatist. They offer plenty of information about how to find what works for you in your wellness-journey – with topics ranging from fitness over mental health, women’s and men’s health, and sexual health. They have a great article with lots of tips to get practical about building self-esteem right now.
Our favorite take-away: The V Pose – arms in the air, wide stance, two minutes. Try it out!
MindTools
MindTools is not just a blog, it’s a whole site intent on teaching you confidence and leadership skills. They do have some awesome free resources on confidence-building, though. We’re linking the best one for you here.
Our favorite take-away: Start building confidence by watching your body-language. It’s amazing how simply sitting up straight can already adjust how you’re feeling about yourself.
wikiHow
Another scientifically sound resource, wikiHow have been in the business of trustworthy information for 18 years. They cover all kinds of topics, but we liked their approach to self-confidence a lot.
Our favorite take-away: Practice gratitude. A lot of the time, when we think about self-confidence, we focus too much on only ourselves and forget how helpful it can be to look away from us to the things we’re grateful for.
PositivePsychology.com
The team from PositivePsychology put a lot of effort into building a science-based learning platform – and it shows. Their articles are all written and reviewed by (different!) professional psychologists, making their content extremely trustworthy.
Our favorite take-away: How they break down the different theories on self-esteem as well as the unintended consequences of too much self-esteem education in western culture.
Very Well Mind
Just like the people from PositivePsychology, Very Well Mind works with a peer-review model when it comes to their content. We found their author’s take on the subject particularly helpful because, while it doesn’t go as deeply into the science of it as others, it’s hyper-practical.
Our favorite take-away: Putting the traits of confident vs. insecure people in a very honest side-by-side table to visualize the differences. Tough stuff.
Reach Out
ReachOut has a simple mission with a huge impact: to help young people feel better. They focus on supporting teenagers, parents, and schools navigate the troubled waters of mental health. Their take is short and to the point, which fits the attention-span of their audience perfectly.
Our favorite take-away: Get a hobby. Seriously, I can agree with that from personal experience. Whenever you find something you’re passionate about, you will become so good at it in such a short time that a confidence-boost is guaranteed.
Ditch the Label
Ditch the Label is a global youth charity on a mission to help young people overcome the issues that affect them the most. From bullying, mental health, relationships, identity, or the tough stuff in-between, they provide a digital safe space, support, education, campaigns and world-class research. And they also have a world-class article on how to be more confident.
Our favorite take-away: Help out someone else. One of the things that gets mentioned way too rarely is how much it builds our self-esteem to be there for others and make them feel better.
Tiny Buddha
What makes Tiny Buddha great is their focus on reflecting on simple wisdom, and learning new ways to apply it to our complex lives. With personal stories, tips, and insights from readers of all ages, there’s something here for everyone. Simple and to the point. Just like their take on building self-esteem.
Our favorite take-away: Write yourself a hand-written letter. There’s a reason we have incorporated it in our product as well. You won’t know how much of a difference it makes until you’ve tried it out. When was the last time you wrote something by hand, anyway?
The Brave Hearted
If you’re a woman or someone who identifies as one, and looking to become more confident, The Brave Hearted by Diana Malerba is a wonderful source. Confidence is her main message. She has many insightful articles surrounding self-esteem, and ultimately: more self-love.
Our favorite take-away: How low self-confidence can keep you stuck in the wrong job. This is likely applicable to more people than even we know.
Scott H. Young
Scott H. Young is an author, programmer, and entrepreneur who has been writing about learning, and productivity since 2006. His collection of articles is impressive, and there are some really interesting takes on confidence in there.
Our favorite take-away: The one about not just building confidence, but rebuilding it after it has been taken from you. Because that’s something hardly anyone speaks about.
PsychCentral
The team from PsychCentral really take their job seriously, and it shows. With a focus on breaking down stigma, embracing diversity, and sparking compassionate understanding, they’re all about freeing the mental health conversation from it’s connection with shame, which it still has for so many people. That’s why we’re especially grateful for taking a women-centric perspective on how to be more confident.
Our favorite take-away: To acknowledge the role abusive relationships have on women’s self-esteem – at any age.
Understood
Understood is a nonprofit that wants to support people who feel like they’re different from the norm. They provide profound resources and support for people who learn and think differently, so they can thrive in all areas of life. Building confidence is one of their main goals.
Our favorite take-away: The piece we linked is especially dear to us, because of it’s diversity perspective. It’s easy for us to forget that building confidence can require very different things from you, depending not the least on your skin color.
Healthy Place
As you might guess from the name, Healthy Place supports people with mental health concerns, no matter what those might be. They offer insight into psychological disorders, medications, treatments, and provide their users with online tests and articles to navigate their mental health. They have several pieces on confidence and self-esteem, but we're linking the one we liked best.
Our favorite take-away: How a lack of self-esteem generates from a lack of other, more basic needs not being met. You can’t put a roof on a house without building the walls first.
Psychology Tools
Even though Psychology Tools is more directed towards professionals and provides them with evidence-based resources to help them deliver great therapy, it also offers a host of support for individuals through free, high-quality mental health information. One of those high-quality materials is their take on how to become more confident.
Our favorite part: The personal stories showcasing how it feels to have low self-esteem. We love a good story, and so much stuff stays on a theoretical level that it feels good to hear a real person’s voice.
Personal Excellence
Over 600 articles, podcasts, manifestos, and other free resources on self-improvement, personal growth, productivity, love, family, and more – that’s quite a lot for one person, but Celestine Chua has built her blog over 15 years, and it shows. It’s a cohesive collection of stepping stones on the journey we all take. Check out her article called How To Be The Most Confident Person In The World
Our favorite take-away: That before you can start out to acquire something that boosts your self-esteem, you have to question your beliefs about what those things are truly worth.
live purposefully now
I mean, here’s someone who was good at putting their mission in their name: Live Purposefully Now already pretty much sums up what Elle Sommers wants to help you achieve: to start living the life you want. Her take on confidence starts with her own story, and we love her for it.
Our favorite take-away: Forgiveness. Especially for yourself. If you suffer from low self-esteem and think it’s hard to forgive others, wait until you’re required to forgive yourself. But you’re the most important person in your life who needs it.
The Fabulous
The Fabulous is a community/app/resource platform to help people create lasting habits, get coaching, and connect with others. They have an award-winning self-care coaching app, but we’re really here for their blog.
Our favorite take-away: Looking at confidence through the lens of self-love. Their advice: Treat yourself like you were dating yourself. The level of care and attention you bring to the needs of someone you’re trying to romance is something you should bring towards yourself as well.
Positivity Blog
If you want to get a perspective on personal development that’s not US-centric, take a look at Swedish blogger Henrik Edberg. He’s been immersing himself in the topic for the last 14 years and has his own course on how to be more confident. But first, check out his articles. They’re absolutely fantastic.
Our favorite take-away: Courage comes after facing the thing you’re scared of. Similarly, confidence comes after you’ve put yourself out there. You may want it to be the other way around, but in the famous words of Nick Miller: It’s how the world works.
Help Guide
Between all the bloggers, we didn’t want to overlook this amazing nonprofit. Help Guide is all about mental health. That’s why their approach to confidence isn’t as straightforward as many others’. Instead, they look at shyness – not completely the same thing as low self-esteem, but similar – and how to overcome it. We love their gentle yet rational approach.
Our favorite take-away: Switch your focus from yourself to the person you are interacting with. The more you do so, the less you will feel self-conscious.
Lifehack
Leon Ho’s story is pretty impressive, but the community he’s built at LifeHack is just as much. Over the last 28 years, him and his team have been trying to offer the things he’s learnt to become more productive and fulfilled to the public. Their article on building confidence has by far the most comprehensive list of possible advice. Check it out – we promise, there will be something in it for you.
Our favorite take-away: Shifting from “I deserve this” to “I can be this person”. The language of entitlement has rarely helped anyone. The language of potential, on the other hand, has.
And That’s a Wrap
That’s it! The 25 best blogs (in our opinion) on how to be more confident.
We’re sure there’s something in here that will help you, just as we’re sure not everything will be your favorite. That’s the beauty of choice. Let us know which one you liked best!
One last word at the end:
Wherever you are on your journey to become the person you want to be, it’s never too soon to start practicing self-awareness, and more importantly, self-knowledge.
And we know of no better place to fast-track your self-knowledge than the Enneagram. It’s the one system of examining your hidden beliefs and unconscious motivations that will help you discover who you really are.
Grace and Peace,
Greg and Chris
I want to express my deepest gratitude to the site owner for publishing this excellent piece of writing on their site.