Want to Look and Feel More Attractive? Science Says These 8 Tips Work! (3 of 5)

4. Recite Positive Affirmations

There used to be an old Saturday Night Live skit in the early 1990s in which a goofy but wholesome character named Stuart Smally looks in a mirror and states, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me.” As silly and humorous as it might have seemed, there is a lot of truth to what he was doing. This exercise raises your self-awareness and allows you to actively notice all of the positive traits about yourself. Even the act of referring to yourself in the second person (“you”) when giving these pep talks has demonstrated positive benefits. For instance, a study conducted at the University of Illinois found that it leads to better work performance in addition to higher levels of confidence.

5. Don’t doubt yourself

A study from the National Institutes of Health found that people who focus only on the negatives about themselves were more likely to doubt themselves and feel unhappy with their lives. It is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you make negative statements about yourself, you begin to believe you are worthless. We aren’t suggesting that you shouldn’t critique yourself, but take time to think about why you feel this way and ask yourself what you can do to change it.