4 Types of Confidence You Need To Know About Yourself

One day on my way to work, an employee remarked on the confidence she observed in me and wished to possess herself.

She expressed, “She [me] is so well put together with her heels and her purse walking down the sidewalk. One day, I want to be like her.” The admiration was music to my ears. To her, I stood out because I exuded a level of confidence in my stride that distinguished me from those walking beside me. How incredible is that feeling?

Little did she know, and something she discovered later, was that the moment she saw a confident woman strolling down the sidewalk, I was actually walking with a handbag filled with soaked items because my water bottle had leaked.

As I made my way, water was literally dripping from the bottom of my handbag, leaving a faint trail of spots behind me. My personal items were practically swimming inside my purse!

At that time, my sole focus was to reach the office as quickly as possible to prevent the flood inside my bag from damaging my belongings. Feeling or appearing confident was the last thing on my mind.

This scene is significant in my story because it illustrates how confidence is perceived differently by each observer.

4 types of confidence you should be aware of:

• Visual confidence

• Mental confidence

• Physical confidence

• Emotional confidence

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realize that my employee observed a visual confidence when she looked at me. But what exactly is physical or visual confidence?

Visual confidence

Visual confidence, which others can observe, is reflected in how you carry yourself. It is shaped by how you present yourself to others and yourself, whether consciously or unconsciously. Have you ever heard of "first impressions"?

The way you walk, the angle at which you hold your posture, the clothes, accessories, and shoes you select, and even the color scheme of your wardrobe—all these elements together contribute to the level of confidence you project to others.

Visual confidence can be somewhat superficial, as it relies on how you and others perceive you based on how you choose to present yourself each day. Believe it or not, the way you present yourself can influence your mindset as well as the mindsets of those around you. It may be an uncomfortable truth, but physical appearance and first impressions significantly impact self-confidence. Most of us, if not all, have a degree of superficiality, and visual impression is closely related.

This is intriguing because I recall a time in ballet class when my instructor shared her pet peeve about the neatness of buns. She observed that with younger students, the neatness of a bun influenced focus and performance. Students who entered the classroom with neatly styled buns tended to be more focused in their performance compared to those with messier hair. Perhaps she noticed this pattern by coincidence...or did she?

While I can't confirm the accuracy of her observations with empirical data, I can say that after considering her insights and adjusting my bun for the next ballet session, I felt a renewed sense of confidence.

This also applies to my first story. I was able to exhibit confidence during a moment of wet despair because I selected empowering accessories that affected my demeanor.

For me, comfortable heels and handbags are transformative. Somehow, wearing them injects a surge of confidence into my veins. Heels make me reevaluate my balance and become more aware of my stride. My handbags give me a "grown-up" feeling, like I'm part of a "well put together" magazine photo shoot.

Together, these accessories project a confident aura that is hard to overlook, even in the midst of a handbag overflow situation. Let's clarify one thing—my confidence boosters might not be the same for you. You need to discover what works for you and master it.

Mental confidence

Remember that self-confidence is a journey involving your perceptions of yourself and others. It also encompasses how you manage challenges and uncertainties. Self-confidence originates internally and can be quite personal. However, CONFIDENCE, in general, is noticeable to anyone who seeks it. It is like a bright jewel visible through a glass display.

To build mental confidence, you need to reprogram your mind to believe that you CAN achieve whatever "it" is. It's crucial to identify the internal voice that causes self-doubt. The voice that tells you "no you can’t" is like a drop of poison, contaminating your thoughts and spreading negativity. Don't allow it to gain strength within you.

By being aware of when that toxic inner voice says no, you can monitor it, identify the triggers, and overcome them. Your mind is far more resourceful than you realize. Start trusting it.

Let's discuss fears of failure and the unknown. Previous failures don't determine future ones, but your attitude towards succeeding in new challenges can. It's important to be open to experimenting with new techniques or strategies. This will indeed cause discomfort, as it involves venturing into unfamiliar territory.

Rather than avoiding discomfort, embrace it. Use it to drive your goals forward. Yes, productive discomfort. When you're uncomfortable, it can cloud your judgment and even increase anxiety for some. This happens because you're stepping outside your comfort zone.

When you place yourself in an uncomfortable situation and remain there, your comfort zone begins to expand, and you start to adapt. The initial discomfort you felt will start to lessen and become more familiar to you. As your comfort zone expands, you'll find yourself feeling more at ease in the situation and be surprised at how much further you can push your limits.

For me, mental confidence is tested at the gym. Often, I find myself doubting my abilities when an exercise challenges my balance coordination (which is a struggle for me due to my clumsiness). It's intimidating!

However, what's even more intimidating is the mental barrier I impose on myself regarding my ability to succeed in a new exercise. Experiencing repeated success builds confidence through the mastery of a skill. Once you've mastered a skill, whether it takes minutes or years, you've developed a competence that cannot be replaced or substituted. This is because mastering a skill demands dedication, drive, and discipline.

Achieving mastery in a skill naturally boosts your confidence. This confidence then reflects in your mental state because you know you can perform the skill. Once this confidence is evident, you will have achieved not only mental confidence but also physical confidence.

Physical confidence

Physical confidence refers to your capability to tackle physical challenges that require you to push your body beyond its usual limits.

In the gym, I demonstrate physical confidence by surpassing the boundaries of my physical condition. A prime example was my ability (before having my daughter) to squat 200 pounds of barbell weight on my back. With issues like hip flexor problems, carpal tunnel, and nerve cramping, it required extensive training and posture correction to achieve this. While many people can lift much more than 200 pounds, for me and my physical condition, this was a significant achievement.

Exerting yourself at the gym is just one illustration of physical confidence. I mention the gym because it is an experience many of us can relate to, and it's easy to lose motivation when you're not mentally prepared to tackle physical challenges.

Emotional confidence

Emotional confidence refers to your capacity to engage in intimate actions that involve personal risk, which may also evoke fear or pain within you.

Recall the part about dedication and drive that I mentioned earlier when discussing how to build mental confidence? To be dedicated and driven, you need to have faith in yourself. Although it might sound like a cliché, you really must believe in yourself. This is the most challenging aspect of confidence because it’s easier to concentrate on quick “fixes” rather than comprehensive emotional changes.

Without self-belief, it becomes easier to remain in uncomfortable situations and much harder to expand your comfort zone. This is because discouragement starts to take root in your heart and mind, undermining your motivation to improve.

A crucial tool for developing emotional confidence is accepting your current circumstances and forgiving yourself when things don’t go as planned. It’s okay if that happens!

With this in mind, we've created 6 free tools to help you reset, reflect, and restore your inner peace—without needing more time or energy than you already have. It includes:

✨ A Daily Intention Planner to start each day grounded in purpose

✨ A gentle Habit Tracker to rebuild nourishing routines

✨ A calming Gratitude Check-In Log to shift your energy

✨ A Core Values Worksheet to reconnect with what truly matters

✨ A thoughtful Relationship Workbook to deepen connection (with others or yourself)

✨ A soulful Self-Care Guide to help you pour back into you

Strive to be constructive and push yourself to grow. Avoid staying stagnant. We often use our current situations as excuses for self-pity, self-blame, or inaction, rather than using them as opportunities to move forward.

Do not create or hold onto negative, fear-based, or pain-based images of past failures, rejection, or criticism. Associating a challenge with a negative feeling increases the likelihood of imagining potential failure, accompanied by pain and discouragement.

Emotions influence your thoughts, which in turn impact your physical decisions and actions.

When you connect positive feelings with challenges or events, the link between your heart and thoughts strengthens. The more positively your heart and mind align, the more positivity will appear in your physical decisions and actions.

Conclusion

Confidence manifests in various forms, each interconnected with the others. Visual, mental, physical, and emotional confidence are linked, yet each has its unique characteristics. This blog aims to enhance your confidence by explaining the 4 types of confidence you should recognize to understand which area you are strengthening. The better you can identify each type within yourself, along with their triggers and interconnections, the more balanced you will become in achieving overall confidence.