Celebs are more than just glamorous, fascinating, fashionable icons. They’re also huge examples of what it takes to exude killer amounts of confidence. We’ve profiled some of the most confident celebrities walking red carpets around the world today so you can steal their secrets and become a more confident collegiette!
Channel your inner Kanye, and focus on yourself first and foremost.
Let’s face it – Kanye may be one of the more controversial celebs to crop up in tabloid headlines every now and then, but he’s definitely among the most confident as well. Take a few pages from his book, and learn how to build yourself up to generate oodles of confidence.
A lot of negative energy that feeds into lowered self-confidence is based in how you see yourself, and how you think you appear in your friends’ or family’s eyes. Erica Avesian, a senior at the University of Michigan, says, “You have to stop constantly worrying about what others think or fearing that you will make a mistake in whatever it is that you’re doing. When you’ve got this part down, the rest comes easily.”
You know Kanye doesn’t sit around the Kardashians’s pad wondering what Lamar Odom or Scott Disick are thinking about him at any given moment. Follow Mr. West’s fabulous lead, and don’t worry about what your friends think of every little thing you say or do. Remember why YOU wanted to do something in the first place and why you’re super qualified in the situation – be it your awesome flirtation skills that will help you chat up the cutie a few rows ahead, great speaking skills honed from hours of debate practice that will come in handy for a class presentation, or what makes you interesting when trying to meet new people on campus – and confidence will follow! If you believe in yourself, others will too. Erica knows how to copy some of Kanye’s swagger, and adds, “Speak up, be bold, be brave, and stand up for what you believe in. Every time you walk into a room, you should hold your head high, smile, and own the place.”
Follow in Oprah’s footsteps and build yourself a positive support network of friends.
There’s a reason Oprah is so cheery all the time – she constantly surrounds herself with amazing people!
She’s not the only one who’s found this strategy super helpful in building confidence, though. “Confidence comes a lot from within yourself, but having a great support system around you does help tremendously,” says Sora Hwang, a collegiette at Northeastern University. “You need people who won’t tear you down, but help build you up. You can carry that energy to things you may not be as comfortable in, like job interviews or first day at work.” Through getting involved in multiple areas of your campus and meeting people involved in a whole host of activities and niches at your college or university, it’ll be super easy to find a great, positive network of people, and you’ll know exactly where to go when you need an extra boost of confiden-spiration!
Think like Kristen Wiig and sell it!
Who hasn’t Kristen Wiig played on SNL? Wiig built a career playing a host of crazy roles every Saturday night, ranging from the Target lady to hilarious impersonations of other famous personas like Suze Orman and Kathie Lee Gifford, proving that she has a killer sense of confidence. How else could she have created these wild characters that stood out week after week on SNL? While you don’t need to turn into some half-crazed collegiette, a little acting never hurt anyone. Even if you’re not feeling super confident about something, fake it!
Not sure how to start? Think about what someone who comes off as confident (like Kristen!) would do in your shoes, and just go with it. Talk like they do, sit and speak like they do, and imagine what they’d do in your position. You might have to step a bit out of your comfort zone, but if you can convince others you know what you’re doing or are comfortable in a given situation, you might find that you’ve convinced yourself as well!
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Take it from Lucille Ball – learn to deal with criticism and rejection.
By now, there’s barely a person who doesn’t love Lucy. That wasn’t the story early on in Ball’s career though. Before winning her iconic role as Lucy, most directors and Hollywood execs had already written Ball off as a failure, doomed to strike out and begin a different career.
Ball was successful though because she learned to deal with feedback, no matter how discouraging it could be, and use it to improve. It’s a bummer, but it’s also one of those cold hard truths about life – you will not succeed in everything you try to do. Don’t let that hurt your confidence, however! Constantly ask for feedback on what you can improve, be it a grade in a class, your resume or job performance, or anything else you feel is holding you back. Rather than get upset over a rejection, use it as a learning experience instead. Don’t forget to check out an HC intern’s advice on how to deal with criticism, both good and bad.
Transform yourself a la Jennifer Hudson.
In case you don’t remember how Ms. Hudson first appeared on the celebrity platform, she started waayyy back in the 2000s as a contestant on American Idol. That’s right – she had to sing in front of Simon himself. Talk about a major confidence killer! Even though she didn’t win, Jennifer moved on from Idol and is now a huge star, with tons of awards and accolades to her name.
Hudson gives a lot of credit for her transformation to physical changes she made as well. Making your body more toned and seeing a positive physical change that results from some killer gym sessions can be a huge confidence boost! Sarah Casimong, a senior at Kwantlen Polytechnic University agrees. “When it comes to body-related confidence, I find that going to the gym helps. I try not to focus on losing weight, instead, I focus on how much longer I can run or how many more reps I can do. This helps me take the focus off of how my body looks, instead putting the focus on how my body works. It also lets me know that I can do something if I set my mind to it, which helps me feel confident in other areas of my life as well,” she says.
Don’t feed into the negative, just like KStew and RPatz.
This controversial pair is well known for keeping their relationship – the good and the bad – out of view of the prying public eye. While scant juicy details suck for those of us rooting for the couple or hungry for news on a possible reunion, keeping yourself from becoming the next day’s news is a good move in terms of confidence maintenance.
Sometimes, words hurt, and can be a major confidence killer. Keep this in mind, and don’t feed into the negativity! Refrain from gossiping and judging others, even if those around you are. If you’re feeling brave enough and want a mini-confidence booster, speak out the next time you hear a friend or classmate slamming a rival sorority, dissing on her roommate, or spreading negative comments around.
Get involved and give back like the golden couple themselves, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
One of the best things you could possibly do to build and maintain your confidence is to get involved and see how your efforts can make a difference! Mega-stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are great examples of this. Despite being super-busy people, the couple makes time to donate to many charities, established a foundation in their names, and worked to raise awareness about causes they heart, including re-building parts of New Orleans and funding other charities that work with disaster relief.
Getting involved, be it with extracurriculars, a class study group, volunteer opportunities on and around campus, or any other way you can find is a great way to grow your confidence. By meeting new people and sharing new ideas and energy with them, as well as finding a way to make a difference on campus or in the surrounding community, confidence will soon follow. It’s an awesome, easy way to feel great about yourself!
Confidence is one of those vague, confusing buzzwords that’s easy to toss around, but hard to understand and know how to build. But if you believe in yourself, figure out how you fit into a larger campus and community context, you’ll already be off to an excellent start!