Having a poor self-esteem can harm your personal as well as professional life. But there are many ways that can help you take charge of the situation.

Here go some tips to build confidence to take your life forward:

1. Groom yourself. Even a shower, a good perfume and a good hair do can boost your self image and self-confidence. Many turn their mood around completely with this one little thing.

2. Dress well. If you dress nicely you'll feel good about yourself. You'll feel successful and presentable and ready to tackle the world.

3. Empower yourself with knowledge. Empowering yourself is one of the best strategies for building self-confidence, and one of the best ways to empower yourself is through knowledge. Research, studying, travelling, networking, meeting sets of different people, books, magazines... all this can help you become more knowledgeable. It will make you build competence and prepared to face the world with loads of confidence.

4. Think positive. Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones can bring a big change in your life, it can make great things happen. Try it if you haven't.

5. Volunteer. Volunteering for a good cause, bettering other people's lives or even spreading good message can have amazing side benefits. You will feel better about yourself instantly.

6. Exercise. Exercise can be one of the most empowering activities. It makes you feel on top of the world. Brisk walking, swimming, running, yoga...all can boost your self confidence, make you feel lighter and raring to go.

BDST: 1539 HRS, December 15, 2014