Put simply, your self-esteem is what you think about yourself, as what you think about your own abilities. It can be something that is off the charts, very low, or somewhere in the middle. We can all have doubts about ourselves from time to time, especially when it comes to starting a new job, for example. However, very low self-esteem is when you are unmotivated and very insecure and don’t feel worthy of what you have.Â
There may be some reasons that you know of that have impacted how you feel. You could have been bullied when you were younger or have felt very lonely and alone, so if anyone shows you attention, you just presume they are making fun of you deep down. You may not know why you feel so low and worthless. However, there are so many things that you can do to improve your self-esteem. You are worthy of everything and shouldn’t make yourself feel any other way. Here are some of the things that you can do to help yourself.
Be nice to yourself
You are the person in your head, so it isn’t going to work well if you are there bullying yourself too and telling yourself that you’re not worthy. Instead, you should make a real effort to be good to yourself and be kind to yourself. You should speak to yourself just like you would speak to any other friend, colleague, or family member. It is definitely something that can be hard to do, but when you make an effort to do it, it will make a difference to how you feel. You could start writing down some of the things that you like about yourself and then go from there.
Stop coming up with excuses
We can all make excuses for things in our life or what we do at different times in our life. But if you live your life making excuses for how you do things or how you feel, then nothing is ever going to change. For example, drug addicts can find it hard to kick a habit when they know that they have things like buying synthetic urine to fall back on. If you do similar, no matter what habit you have or thing in your life that you are trying to justify, then nothing will ever progress. Is it so important to make sure that you don’t look for excuses and start making change.
Comparison is the thief of joy
Comparing yourself to someone else is a fool’s game. The reason is because your life is not the same as someone else’s, and everyone is going through things that you don’t know about. Social media can be a real tool for this because everyone is sharing their highlights in life, when you just look at the negatives on your own. Just be happy with you and what you do. Comparing yourself really is not a good thing to be doing and it can make you feel so bad about yourself. It is hard, but remember that no one has a perfect life. Seriously, no one! There are all struggles that we face, so just do you and focus on you.
Exercise and move more
If you want to improve how you feel then there is something that is simple for everyone to do and it can make a real difference to how you feel, and that is exercise. Moving your body is something that can really lift your mood and make you feel happier each time; it can be a great stress-reliever too. When it comes to your self-esteem, then it can help massively too. For example, seeing changes in your ability, such as your strength or power can be really motivating and you can feel really proud of yourself for achieving something. You could train for something like a marathon and complete it, which is another great booster to how you feel. If you want to lose weight to improve how you feel about yourself, then that can help too. Exercise is a great thing for all of us and does make a difference to self-esteem.
Everyone makes mistakes
If you are someone who feels low about themselves, then it can be easy to take that on in different aspects of your life and let it impact the things that you do. For example, if you make a mistake at something, you can easily fall into a downward spiral and beat yourself up about it for a long time. It is important to remember that everyone does make mistakes and you will too occasionally. Just learn from it and move on and it will make a big difference to how you feel and move on from the mistakes that you do have.
Have a supportive group around you
Your supportive group may just be one friend or a parent or a whole bunch of people. Just make sure that whoever you have around you is supporting you and cheering you on, and helping to lift you up. If people around you start to get jealous or bitter about you and your life and the changes that you are making, then they aren’t really all that supportive. Cut out the toxic and focus on the positive, and it will make a big difference.
Celebrate small wins
On our journey to improving your self-esteem, there is nothing wrong with looking for some little wins to celebrate. When you feel good about yourself because you are achieving things, no matter how small, then it can make a big difference. Got yourself to work on time when normally it is a real struggle? Winning! Got yourself a new client or a new job? Party time. Just be sure to celebrate with healthy habits that aren’t going to leave you feeling worse afterwards.
Good luck on this journey to improved self-esteem. It can feel like a big mountain to climb but taking it one of these steps at a time will help to get you there.
