What is Self-Esteem?
Well, put simply, it’s a person’s perception of their own worth, including how confident they are in their own abilities and how much they believe their opinion matters to others. If you’re suffering from low self-esteem it becomes increasingly difficult for you to believe you’ll be a success at anything.
Generally speaking, you’ll probably struggle with self confidence, lack energy and motivation, constantly believing you’ll fail at everything you try.
For some people, the dis-empowering thoughts they have about themselves can lead to depression and lethargy. For others, they’ve ‘accepted’ their fate and they’ve decided that where they are now, has pre-determined their future, so why bother trying to change it?
It’s important to remember though, that your past doesn’t affect your future, what was true for you yesterday, doesn’t have to be true for you today, or decide your future tomorrow. Every new day is a new beginning and an opportunity to be ‘different‘.
You’re probably thinking now, that it’s easy to say, but much harder to do.
So, below you’ll find 10 tips that’ll help boost your self-esteem and enhance your confidence. Work your way through them, see which ones ‘float-your-boat’ and give them a try 🙂
Although they all have benefit, some will be clearly be more suited to the way you operate day-to-day.
Pick one, three, or all ten if you like and try them out. A word of advice though; don’t try a thing once then decide it’s not working – give it a chance.
You wouldn’t go to the gym once then wonder why you weren’t now fit for ever! Everything takes time to come together, give it at least a couple of weeks of total focus. Most of these tip are easy to do, they just require some new focus. Take your time and reap the rewards.
The tips…
1. Volunteer some of your time.
When we support other people, it lifts our spirits and allows us to believe we can add value to the lives of others. Your volunteering doesn’t have to be grand, it may be something as simple as mowing a neighbors lawn, or helping out one day per week at a charity shop. As with everything in life, the more you give, the more you’ll receive.
2. Use better self-talk.
Instead of always using negative self-talk when things don’t go the way you planned, turn those negative comments into positive ones. eg. Instead of saying “Why can I never get this right?”, say to yourself, “Okay, what have I learned from this situation that will make it more likely I’ll succeed next time?”
3. Write down your successes.
Think back through your life and write down everything you’ve achieved and accomplished, everything you feel proud of. Keep this list somewhere you can look back on when you’re feeling down, or de-motivated.
4. Teach.
Not professionally, but share your knowledge and abilities with others. It could be something as simple as teaching your grandson to fish, or your daughter to bake cookies. Although little things like this seem simple and inconsequential, they help prove to yourself that you’ve got knowledge worth sharing, and it’ll do wonders for
your sense of self-worth and boost your confidence.
5. Continue learning.
Approach every situation with an open mind instead of a defeatist one and view everything as a learning experience. As long as you’re learning from a situation, you can never fail because by learning something, the experience has been beneficial.
6. Embrace your failures as a part of growth.
We all learn by our mistakes. In order to be successful, we need failures to help us grow. and become more resilient and focused.
7. Redefine your standards for success.
Don’t make your rules for success un-achievable. Celebrate all of the smaller successes you achieve and build upon those.
8. Stretch your abilities.
Try to step outside your comfort zone on a regular basis. Do things that feel slightly uncomfortable to you at the moment and use those experiences to push yourself further.
9. Set yourself smaller goals.
If you’re constantly chasing that BIG goal in life, you’re going to be disappointed on many occasions. It’s better to set yourself smaller, achievable goals as stepping stones along the way to the big goal. Success breeds success, so the more you can experience of it, the better.
10. Be grateful.
Nothing builds self-confidence and self-esteem like gratitude. Be thankful for everything you have that’s good in your life. If you find it difficult to thing of anything good, concentrate on all of the little things, that less fortunate people would love to have; a loving family, good health, clean drinking water, the ability to provide for your family, a roof over your head, etc.
These 10 things should give you plenty to think about over the coming weeks. the trick is to take small steps to the bigger picture. Try to move too fast and the future seems daunting, but small steps can achieve greatness over time.
If you have any tips that you’d add to this list, let me know in the comments.
