Confidence and Self-Esteem

The two expressions 'Confidence' and 'Self-Esteem' are often linked together as characteristics that help us to project a happy and positive image to the world. However, whilst someone who has a high level of self-esteem (that is, they feel good about themselves) may also have a similar level of confidence in their approach to everyday life, the reverse is not always true. There are a number of seemingly confident people who actually have low levels of self-esteem and are not happy in themselves. In fact, many over-confident people (the ones that can come across as overbearing, brash or arrogant) are often over-compensating for a lack of self-esteem.

Although it may seem like a cliche, the advice that 'you need to love yourself before others can love you' is actually very accurate; feeling good about yourself is the key to success and happiness in any relationship. In this section, we take a look at confidence and self-esteem, with tips on overcoming shyness, gauging and improving your self-esteem and how increasing your confidence can increase your sex appeal.