Hello
Have you ever wondered if you can feel better in yourself? If there are ways to improve your self-esteem? Be kinder to yourself, feeling more secure in different situations. In this article we discuss:
- What is self-esteem really?
- What can low self-esteem look like?
- Where does it come from?
- What are 5 tips how to improve the self-esteem?
Dive in for some tips and inspiration on how you can feel better and improve your self-esteem with some simple tips. You are worthy of feeling secure and good in your own skin.
Unlocking Self-Worth: Effective strategies how to Improve Your Self-Esteem
What is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the overall sense of self-worth or personal value that an individual possesses. It reflects how much a person appreciates and likes themselves. It can look very different for each individual. I´d like to see low self-esteem as the little voice in your head that thinks you are less than, not worthy of. The kind of thoughts that makes you feel lack of love for yourself. That says you are not good enough, or just a sense that something feels off. It´s not always possible to know where it comes from, but the good thing is you can help yourself feeling better, feeling worthy and happy.
What causes low self-esteem?
Self-esteem looks different for everybody, and there are so many things in life that can make you feel less than and affects your self-worth an self-esteem. Some of them could be:
* Loosing your job
* Failing at or not making as good results as you think you would, etc in school, at work, in sport. It could be anywhere.
* Being bullied or teased
* Worrying about how you would look or present yourself to people
* Relationship problems, divorce etc.
* Childhood upbringing, things that happened in school, at home or other places as a child
* Pressure from society. Unseen but felt. You should be like this, look like this, do this, ie.
How to Improve Your Self-Esteem
It’s important to work on building and maintaining a healthy level of self-esteem, as it plays a crucial role in overall mental health and well-being. Activities such as setting realistic goals, engaging in self-care, seeking positive social interactions, and practicing self-compassion can all contribute to improving self-esteem.
Improving self-esteem is a journey that involves both internal reflection and external actions. Here are some steps you can take to boost your self-esteem:
1. Become aware of your own thoughts about yourself.
Often we are not aware of the constant chattering in our heads, most of in on autopilot. Take a piece of paper and a pen and write a lite about things you think about yourself every day. It might be in different situations during the day, or things that just come up.
When you are aware you can first start to acknowledge when these thoughts pop up in your head. Now when you do see the thought coming you have become aware of your pattern. Start to reflect when it pops up and then chose to say: Is this really true? No, these are thoughts in my head. I now choose to see and change this thought to a positive one. Instead: I am capable, I am worthy of love, I do have things to contribute to.
This is a start in how to begin see your own patterns, to first acknowledge them. If you don´t know they are there it´s hard to change them. So, write a list and then start to become aware during your days. You can even have a self esteem journal where you write your thoughts and progresses.
2. Follow your own heart instead of trying to follow other peoples expectations.
Sometimes it feels like life just happens to you. Like you are not in charge and not taking your own steps or following your own dreams. There might be people you consciously or subconsciously tries to satisfy. What you orally hear them say to you. That you should do this or that, or things you think they wan´t from you but that you make up in your head that are not true.
Ask yourself: Am I following my own journey or am I trying to impress or satisfy people around me? You are the only person in your life that knows inside what you are interested in, what makes your heart sing. Take some time for self-reflection to see what your dreams really are and if you are following that strategy. If not, how can you start taking steps towards that dream, towards those goals? No matter what other people say to you. It is one thing to take advice fro someone. It can resonate with you or not. Learn to trust yourself and your way.
3. Work out affects you more than you think
It is scientifically proven that physical exercise affects the body’s reward system so much that the exercise itself makes you feel better about yourself. If you get your body moving more, you’ll gain more self-esteem – and create a foundation to build an even better one.
You can start slow and adapt to what feels good for you. If you can´t start running, try walks. If you hate walking and running try something else. Look in your community or city what there is. Maybe you would like to try dancing, badminton or something else.
4. Measure and face your fears
Everyone is afraid of different things. It can be big things or small things, but that feel overwhelming or not even worth a try kind of feeling.
If you write down what you are afraid of, you can also grade the fears. Do it from 1-5 where 1 is a little scared and 5 is very scared. Once you’ve written down your fears, it’s time to start working on them. Start by facing your fears at level 1 and make it your job to overcome them at least five times before moving up. This is a good way to see that you can handle a lot more than you think. Write down how you felt when you completed a task. That’s good because you forget about it otherwise. And self-esteem comes with it. It can look like:
* I feel afraid to start the gym or training. it feels like a 5 (overwhelming). One step can be go there and ask the reception, or take a walk to the place, or even drive or take a bus there just sitting outside. Next time, I might walk inside. I can e-mail them asking questions. Remember that taking one small step can make you feel so much better inside. Now you know you actually have the courage to take that first step and that it was not so bad (or maybe it was, but you did it). Celebrate your wins in a diary or noteblock.
5. Who are you friends with?
Seriously – the people you surround yourself with can make or break your self-esteem. Your friends – are they really your friends? Which ones are exciting and good and which ones give you bad self-esteem? The good ones may be different than you thought at first and the same the other way around. Study and think about what your surroundings give you and try to spend more time with the good and less time with the bad.
How do you want to feel when you are amongst your friends? Are you getting that feeling? Can you bring up that subject. Maybe negative talk about life and people are not where you want to spend your time, and it certainly does not make you feel good. Or, it could be something else. Evaluate your situation and see how it can change. Start a hobby you love, maybe you meet nice people there.
Last:
Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with the same patience and understanding that you would offer a friend. Acknowledge your mistakes, but don’t dwell on them. By incorporating these steps into your daily life you can gradually improve your self-esteem. Remember that sometimes change take time. Go easy on yourself and be patient as you embark on this journey.
“Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that gal has to say.”
Conclusion
Don’t expect everything to change right away. The work on self-esteem is a process that takes time, but if you spend time on it, the change will come gradually and you will feel better and better all the time. You will notice small changes at first and as they connect and influence each other you build your self-esteem stronger with each passing day. Cool. Congratulations
