How To Keep Your Chin Up And Maintain Your Confidence

This post was made in partnership with Depend® brand. All opinions are my own.

With so much staying at home and all of the pressure and news from the media, it is a natural thing to feel like you’re down in the dumps. It is easy to feel negatively about the situation with the virus, the current state of the world, your personal situation, and – ultimately – yourself. Just because it is natural, though, doesn’t mean that it has to be.

We all need a little encouragement to look on the bright side right now. To keep our chins up and maintain the confidence that we had before all of this started. If you don’t feel like you were that confident beforehand, maybe these ideas will help you get there as well. 

Leave Yourself Notes 

Sometimes we have to tell ourselves things that we wish we could hear from other people. But if you do it in a sneaky, ninja kind of way, it will begin to feel authentic and make you smile. 

Grab a bunch of sticky notes or slips of paper and masking tape (approximately 15 – 20). Write compliments on them that you imagine saying to other people. You’re gorgeous. I love your pants. You’ve earned pizza! I love that new haircut (that you gave yourself). You are the funniest person I know. 

Make the notes as funny or sassy or gentle as you like. These notes are for you. Go and place them all over the house. One in the bathroom, one in the refrigerator, one by your bed, one near your favorite chair, one on the television – mix them up. 

When you walk around your house each day, read them. Really read them. They are not part of the furniture – they are talking to you. If you see that a note loves your pants, look at them, enjoy them, giggle if you’re wearing pajama pants – but let them talk to you. 

Put on Real Clothes

Speaking of pajama pants, maybe it’s time to get out of them. With so much time spent at home, many of us have forgotten what it’s like to wear jeans, slacks or a skirt (I know, a what?). Go into your closet and baby step it. Pull out your favorite shirt and a pair of jeans. Next week, schedule dinner with a friend over Zoom where you both get dressed up. 

Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that we are real, involved, living people in order to gain a little confidence. While our pj’s are comfy, they don’t represent who we are as individuals. Wear your favorite accessories around the house. Eat dinner in a suit or an evening gown. Change things up a little and have fun with it!

One of the ways that I can be sure that I have extra confidence is with the new Depend Silhouette underwear. They are sleek, so they wear really well under my clothes, and they help prevent any urine leakage. Incredibly helpful when you are managing incontinence and still want to feel great!

Make Daily Gratitude Lists 

When the world is stuck in a rut, it can be really difficult to remember to be grateful. Grateful people tend to be happy people, so help yourself into a better state of mind with a daily list of things that you are grateful for. 

Take out a notebook or a piece of paper (no computers here!) and write out five things that you are grateful for. Do this at the same time every day and you can’t repeat the same items. Nothing is too big or too small. You can be grateful for space exploration or atoms, just make sure that you don’t list them twice. 

Start a Bucket List

I know that the immediate future looks a little monotonous and grim, but it won’t always be that way. We will figure this out and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Give yourself a bit of a mental health boost by welcoming in some dreams. 

Start writing down a list of things that you’d like to do when you can. Would you like to go to a movie theater? See a play? Travel to Italy? Try skydiving? Write it all down. Keep adding to it and building those dreams. When we have things to look forward to, even if they can’t be accomplished immediately, it helps your brain remember what it was like – and what it will be like again. 

Be Honest With Yourself – With An Upswing

This time is hard, you guys. It just really, truly is. And it is absolutely okay to acknowledge it. Not only is it okay, but it is necessary. If you keep putting on a happy face when your insides are struggling, you’ll never get through to the other end. Take a few minutes away from everyone in your household and allow yourself to feel the struggle. Cry if you need to. Hug a pillow or towels if that helps. Help get those sad emotions out of your body. 

Once you have done that, give yourself a day or two to process those feelings. You’ve earned it, it’s healthy, and it’s okay. At the end of the second day, though, it’s time to tell yourself to keep moving forward. Follow the other four ideas above, talk to friends, go outside and get some fresh air. 

There is a way to feel confident and keep your chin up, even in this current state of things. It is about the small things. The things that you may have taken for granted before or never have thought of. Who would have imagined that putting on jeans might be a huge change to your day? Or going to the car or out to get the mail? Hang on, my friends. We will get there.