Finally, summer is almost upon us, leading to a rush in people booking their annual holidays and embracing spending more time outdoors. The hotter weather inevitably changes the outfits we wear - the oversized jumpers that we covered ourselves up with for months are replaced with clothing that generally shows a lot more skin.

Be confident in your own skin

Be confident in your own skin

The colourful and lightweight pieces should complement all the other changes with the season. However, for many, the idea of packing for a week in the sun or having to dress down to a swimsuit is not a pleasant one. Insecurities often lead people to prefer the colder months simply because coats and scarves become a comfort blanket, allowing them to cover up body parts they’re insecure about. Yet this shouldn’t have to be the case. We’re all familiar now with the anti “bikini body” campaigns, while body confidence advocates eagerly promote women of all shapes and sizes sporting pretty summer clothes.

Besides all the other summer essentials, self-love is the most important. Booking holidays and festivals or planning barbecues and weekends at a pub garden are all important aspects of the season but boosting your confidence will be the way to having your best summer yet.

Ben Edwards, a self-confidence expert and relationship coach, shares some invaluable tips for ensuring self-love and an all-important confidence boost.

Think about the future

If you’re struggling with body insecurities to the extent that it prevents you from doing certain things, this can then have further negative impacts as you start to feel like you are missing out. This can be particularly prevalent in the summer months, when invites often surround going to the beach or other place that might require dressing down into lighter clothes. However, your future self will thank you for it if you do push yourself to go to these events. Consider how you will feel looking back at the things you didn’t do. As you grow older, you’ll probably look back on your younger self and be grateful you got out as much as you did.

Be confident in your own skin

It’s natural for people to have issues with their appearance, everyone has something they would change and some people will feel more comfortable in a bikini than others, but making an effort to be more confident and proud of how you look will go a million miles towards helping you feel incredible. Whilst a flattering cover-up piece might help you feel more comfortable on the beach, if you feel amazing inside, this will show on the outside, giving a true confidence boost.

Click unfollow

In today’s world, a considerable amount of insecurity comes from social media. However, its vital to remember that the images of beautiful people we see on Instagram in desirable locations are not always reality. Looking at pictures of women who are naturally very slim when you have curves, or women with bigger assets than you when you are naturally petite can be extremely damaging as we can’t change our body types - everyone is different! If you feel like some Instagram accounts are causing you to compare yourself to others or to wish your body was different to how wonderful it already is, don’t be afraid to click unfollow.

Do things you enjoy

So you might not enjoy swimming in the sea or sitting in the sun for hours. That’s perfectly okay. Enjoying the summer and finding self-love isn’t only about how you feel towards your body, but yourself. Taking time out for yourself will have positive psychological impacts and spending time outdoors doing something that you enjoy can be enough to make you feel better about the summer in general. Getting active, even if just going for a walk or doing some light gardening is often what people need to feel refreshed.

Eat a healthy diet

Eating a balanced diet can only change our body and make us feel more confident in that respect, but eating well makes people feel good and will improve general well-being. Eating foods that make you feel sluggish and leave you with little energy won’t make you feel the best that you can, especially as the weather warms up. Start the day with a smoothie or something similar, you might even find that thinking of delicious summer recipes is something you enjoy doing!

For more self-confidence tips, visit www.benedwards.com