13 Exciting Teenage Confidence Building Activities

Are you looking for some creative and fun activities to boost your teen’s self-esteem?

These activities are focused on and designed to build trust and belief in your teen’s own abilities and capabilities. Confidence is the trust and belief that someone has in their own abilities and capabilities. Self-confidence is the main activator of self-assurance; it encourages someone to take risks, set goals, and refuel for success.

It is the belief that pushes you forward even after several failures, and you get up to face your fears without any fear.

Why is it important for teens?

Confidence is especially important for teens in four ways:

• It serves as an important foundation of their growth and development 
• Teens are able to make better decisions, take more risks, and strive for their goals 
• It helps them build a positive self-image and gain the courage to stand up for themselves in difficult situations 
• It helps teens become independent and take charge of their own lives 

Teenage confidence-building activities:

Let’s discuss 13 teenage confidence building activities one by one.

Activity 1: Establish a positive self-image

This activity is focused on developing a positive self-image in teenagers. Unfortunately, in the age of social media, it is a difficult task. The constant comparison of our real selves to others artificial and fabricated show-off can lead to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.

• Self-doubt development
• Unrealistic view of life 
• Unrealistic visuals of body image
• Promotion of materialistic goals
• Feelings of insecurity

Idealistic image:

The increasing intrusion of social media into our lives can bring about the following changes in mind’s subconsciousness:

1. How should a person look like?
2. How should they act?
3. How should they live their lives?

If someone does not meet these fabricated standards, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy.

Activities to develop a positive self-image

A number of strategies can be applied to help build and maintain a positive self-image. Parents and teachers should step forward to facilitate their children.

• Practice self-care 
• Reject negative thoughts
• Surround yourself with positive people 
• Practice positive self-talk

By using these strategies, it is possible to build and maintain a positive self-image.

These types of thoughts can lead to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. It’s important to be aware of these thoughts and practice positive self-talk instead.

Here is a free resource file about developing positive self image in pdf format.

Download and save it to use with your teens.

Activity 2: Set goals and practice assertiveness

Identify Goals and Prioritize them

Start by making a list of all the goals you want to achieve.

Then, prioritize the list by ranking the goals in order of importance.

The SMART goal-setting framework

This framework encourages goal-setters to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Specific goals provide clarity and direction, making it easier to know what needs to be done and when. 

Measurable goals provide tangible progress tracking so that progress can be seen. 

Achievable goals should not be overly ambitious or unrealistic

Relevant goals should be relevant to your values and objectives

Time-bound goals should have a specific deadline so that progress can be tracked.

Most people set goals somewhere in their lives, but most of them can’t achieve their goals. Do you know why? Because they quit. They don’t commit and stick to them. They compromise on their dreams.

What does it mean? It means setting goals isn’t enough, right? Then what else is required? Your commitment!

Read this related article: SMART Goals for teens; (5 exciting activities and examples)

Activity 3: Learn to express emotions

No one knows the heart until it is told. If you don’t express what is going on inside you, how will you convey your message? But how will teens be able to express their emotions? In a constructive way, in such a way that what you say touches the heart of the other person.

1. Verbal expression

• Talking to a trusted friend or family member: Create an environment with your teens where they can easily share their hearts with you.

• Talking to a therapist or counselor: If you notice that they are facing any kind of problem, don’t hesitate to take them to the therapist or counselor.

• Writing their thoughts and feelings: Ask your teen to write something about themselves. When they put that picture into their own words, it will be easy for you to understand their emotions.

2. Creative expression

• Drawing activity: Ask your teen to draw two different portraits that contain all of their personality traits. On one portrait, write “I’m,” and on the other portrait, write “I want to be.” See the difference and help them accordingly.

• Painting activity: Ask your teen to draw a picture of himself on paper to show what he looks like. Seeing an image in a mirror and drawing an image on paper are two different things. A picture of yourself on paper reveals many deep and hidden secrets and veils of your personality.

Related article: 10 Focused Emotional Regulation activities

Activity 4: Develop effective communication skills

Participating in activities that promote communication skills is an excellent way to sharpen these important life skills.

The following activities can facilitate young adults communication skills:

1. Role-playing:

Role-playing can be a fun and exciting activity for people of all ages. 

As the name implies, playing someone else’s role. In which you artificially cast yourself in another role and truly get to see the other person’s perspective. You are able to see things from other people’s points of view. Which increases your confidence.

Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Create a Situation: Decide on the conflict or situation your characters will be faced with. This can be anything from a treasure hunt to a fight with a monster.

2. Take Turns: Each player will take turns. Act out their characters and decide their actions.

3. Roll Dice: Many role-playing games involve dice rolls to determine the success or failure of certain actions.

4. Resolve the Conflict: The group will have to come up with a way to resolve the conflict or situation.

5. Have Fun: Most importantly, have fun with your role-playing activity and be creative with your characters and story.

2. Public speaking:

Public speaking is the best activity among teenage confidence-building activities.

Ask your teen to prepare a speech on a suitable topic and speak for two minutes in front of you. Don’t find his mistakes; just appreciate him and encourage him. Try to make it fun for both of you.

Apart from this, debates, storytelling, and active listening can also be very beneficial.

• Debates are a great way to practice verbal communication and build confidence.
• Storytelling is another wonderful way to practice communication. It involves sharing stories that are meaningful to you. 
• Active listening means listening to understand. is a key skill in communication and involves being present and paying attention to the speaker. 

These activities can all be used to build communication skills and increase confidence.

Activity 5: Practice positive body language

Things to consider in this activity:

1. Always keep a smiling face

Encourage your teen to practice smiling in the mirror and give encouraging feedback. Make sure to remind them to keep their mouth relaxed and let the smile naturally emerge from their eyes.

Make it a game. To keep it fun, try to have competitions with your teen to see who can smile the most in a day or who can make someone else smile first.

2. Make eye contact

1. Ask your teen to look in the mirror and practice making strong eye contact with his or her reflection. Have them practice different facial expressions and body language while making eye contact.
2. Have your teen practice making eye contact with family members and friends. Ask them to explain how it felt to look someone in the eye and how it changed the conversation. 
3. Role-play: as I explained earlier, have your teen practice speaking to an imaginary crowd while making strong eye contact. Ask them to express how they feel.

3. Use gestures

Teach your teen to use different gestures.

1. A nod or smile is used to show appreciation.
2. A hug or pat on the back is used to express empathy.
3. An extended middle finger is a sign of disrespect.
4. A thumbs-up is a sign of approval.
5. Waving is a sign of greeting someone or saying goodbye.
6. Shrugging is used to express confusion or uncertainty.
7. And making facial expressions is used to communicate a range of emotions, such as happiness, sadness, surprise, or anger.

4. Avoid crossed arms

Regularly remind your teen to keep their arms unfolded and not cross your own in front of them. Crossing arms can give off the impression of being closed off or guarded.

Activity 6: Keep a journal

It is a personality trait of the most successful people. It can help your teen.

• To process and reflect on your thoughts and feelings 
• To make decisions
• To stay organized
• To remember important events
• To track your progress on goals
• To reduce stress and anxiety

Two Types of journals are important for teens and students.

1. Gratitude Journal

A gratitude journal contains all the things you are grateful for in your life. Think for a moment! How many precious things in your life have been given to you without effort and without doing anything? Without whom you cannot even imagine life. 

Help your teen to:

• Write down five things each day that they are grateful for 
• Reflect on past experiences that they feel proud of 
• Write down positive affirmations

2. Goal Journal

Encourage your teen to write down:

• What they want to accomplish 
• Set a timeline for success 
• List all the steps needed to reach the goal

A Gol journal is actually a progress calculator. It is used to reflect on successes and failures. It is the best tool to keep an eye on your mistakes and corrections.

By writing down goals, teens can better visualize their objectives. They visualize their destination coming closer.

Steps for Keeping a Journal

1. Find a comfortable writing space
2. Choose the writing tool (i.e paper or a laptop)
3. Make it a habit to write at the same time each day
4. Make it enjoyable (i.e approach it with the right attitude)
5. Include photos, drawings, and other creative elements in your journal.

Activity 7: Participate in volunteer work

Helping someone without expecting anything in return is very satisfying. Volunteering is actually making a positive impact on others lives. Any kind of positive impact on others lives, is one of the main reasons to increase confidence. It is a proved way to instill inner satisfaction. 

Encourage your teen to be involved in:

• Helping out at a local animal shelter
• Planting trees at a park
• Assisting the elderly in their homes
• Participating in beach or park cleanups

Volunteering not only benefits society and the world, but it is also a source for young people to learn many important life skills.

Activity 8: Practice mindfulness

Your self requires some time from you. Assign him this time so that he can perform better. What you have to do in this time is to say yourself, “I will be present in this moment!” Just think about yourself with closed eyes. Think about your existance.

It is just like clearing the cache and residual files from your brain’s software. You will see these few minutes will have a positive impact on your overall well-being.

Help your teen follow these five steps:

1. Set aside a few moments each day to practice mindfulness.

2. They will need a quiet and calm corner in your home.

3. Setting an intention is necessary for your practice befor starting.

4. Focus on your breath. Feel how your body and mind feel as the air comes in and out.

5. Observe the thoughts that come into your mind.

Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness

It can help your children to:

• Reduce stress
• Improve emotional regulation 
• Boost self-confidence
• Improve physical health
• Improve sleep quality
• Regulate reactions
• Make healthier decisions

Activity 9: Try out new experiences

This activity involves three things:

1. When you take risks: Whenever you challenge yourself, you will notice a growth in your personality, in your confidence, and in your resilience. You just develop a courage to push yourself out of your comfort zone and do something you never thought you could do.
2. When you make a mistake: Whenever you are learning, you are growing. Mistakes are an essential part of learning. When you reflect on your mistakes and then try to learn from them, your success comes automatically.

Each mistake you make will make you a better, more resilient and updated version of yourself.

3. When you celebrate success: Success celebration is a source of motivation, encouragement, refueling and recharging a person to get ready and embark for the next destination. Your every accomplishment boosts your self-confidence and you perform even better in the next move.

Activity 10: Take part in physical activities

Healthy body and healthy mind, both are equally important to embark on the jurney of success. It is scientifically proved that physical activities reduce “anxiety” and “depression”. Do you know, these two are among the major contributors in lowring self-esteem.

On the other hand, physical activities boost energy levels, enhance focusing ability, and improve improve self confidence. 

Here are some tips for teens to get involved in physical activities:

1. Find an activity that you enjoy. Don force your teens to do somtning they don’t want to do. Just involve in what you really enjoy. Whether it’s playing basketball, running, or swimming. Something that you enjoy will make it easier to stay motivated and committed.

2. Exercise with friends. Friends are a part of support system. Make good friends and keep good compny. Remember that physical activities are not just physical exercise but they are a complete source of learning various life skills. They teach patience, self-control, teamwork and hence contribute in high self-esteem.

3. Set realistic goals. Teach your teens how to be realistic and not imaginative. We have thoroughly covered this topic in SMART gols for teens. This will help you stay on track and gradually increase your physical activity level.

4. Take breaks. Taking regular breaks is necessary. Its because the human brain is like a complex machine. It releases energy while working continuously. It needs to be refueled, refreshed and recharged after short intervals. Thus breaks can help you stay motivated and prevent overworking your body.

Activity 11: Write and perform affirmations

Our mind starts believing in what we keep telling it about ourselves. Self confidence belongs to the stories of ourselves we have crafted in our minds. Our belief system somehow based on the “CRR” rule, which is: “Continuous Regular Repetation.”

Affirmations are positive statements we repeatedly say to ourselves. After a specific time, these affirmations turn into beliefs that shift our thinking. They are designed to influence our subconscious.

Here are 10 examples of positive affirmations for your teens. Help them to transform in their own ways.

1. I am strong and capable of overcoming any obstacle.

2. I am worthy of respect and kindness.

3. I am capable of making wise and informed decisions.

4. I am capable of making positive changes in my life.

5. I am enough, and I am worthy of love.

7. I believe in myself and my abilities.

8. I am capable of creating my own success.

Tips for making affirmations a part of your daily routine:

Here are some tips:

1. Regularly start your day with a simple phrase such as “I am worthy and capable” or “Today will be a great day.”

2. Write down your affirmations in a notebook or on sticky notes and post them around your house.

3. Take some time each day to sit in a comfortable position and repeat your affirmations to yourself.

4. Speak your affirmations aloud.

5. Each day do something that makes you feel good.

6. Share your affirmations with others to reaffirm your beliefs.

Activity 12: Create an inspirational wall

When your teens are feeling down, when they seem unmotivated, or when they just need a little extra push in the right direction, inspirational wall serves as a great tool inspirational wall. Its because it contains:

• Positive affirmations
• Quotes
• Pictures
• Artwork

Even on this wall, teenagers can add things of their choice that help motivate them, keep them focused and supportive to their dreams. 

Steps to create an inspirational wall:

1. Identify a goal on wich you will focus on the wall.
2. Gather some inspirational quotes, motivational images, and trinkets that related to your specific goal.
3. Gather some encouraging words and statements from family, friends or even your inspirational figures.
4. Use your creativity to create the wall. The design that is unique and reflect your individual style.

Activity 13: Build a support system

Teenagers need a safe and supportive environment for their mental development. Parents and teachers are responsible for providing an environment in which they can express their feelings, establish their believes and set their life goals.

Support system is a resource that provides this type of environment. Its main purpose is to facilitate communication between teens and their parents, mentors or friends.

Teens can also join peer support groups or online forums. Don’t hesitate to help them finding emotional and practical support. Understand their feelings, comfort and encourage them whenever possible. If you don’t understand their feelings behind the words, who else will?

Conclusion:

To build self-esteem in children, it is important to participate in activities that build self-confidence and there are many activities in society, in which children can become confident citizens by participating.

These activities not only develop them physically but also play an important role in their mental development.

In addition, family members, siblings, classmates, and communities also play their role in developing self confidence in teenagers.

e have mentioned various research backed activities to facilitate and boost confidence in your children. Now, it’s your responsibility to help them find which activity suit their personality best, and include them in their daily routine to get the best out of it.

References:

1. Zhao, Y., Zheng, Z., Pan, C., & Zhou, L. (2021). Self-Esteem and academic engagement among Adolescents: a Moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.690828
2. Students experiencing low self-compassion or low perceptions of competence. (n.d.). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/primer/self-esteem
3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201306/adolescence-and-self-confidence