Written by Liya Panayotova
If you feel like your self-esteem may need a boost, don’t think that you are the only one – we all struggle with some self-esteem issues, at some point of our lives, and it is only natural to need a bit of help in dealing with them.
A Good Starting Point
If you or someone in your life may need to work on their self-esteem, the best moment to start is right now! The sooner you begin working on it, the sooner you’ll feel better. However, before we tackle any specific issues, we need to understand what we are dealing with, or what self-esteem is. Next, it is important to recognize if low self-esteem is what we’d like to change.
The Roots of Self-Esteem
If you have found that you’d like a boost in your self-esteem, is surely is important to understand where low self-esteem comes from – after all, if you don’t acknowledge the roots of a problem, you can never dig deep enough to solve it.
One if the biggest influences in our lives, come from our family and upbringing, as well as from our friends and relationships. The media can also have a significant impact. Still, keep in mind that whatever has influenced your self-esteem in the past, there is no use in putting the blame on others – you are your own person now and have the ability to control your own life.
A Look into Yourself
When trying to understand ourselves and our self-esteem better, it is useful to take a deeper look into our personalities and our favorite activities. We all have things we are good at and things we still need to work on, but it is always more effective to concentrate on the strengths, rather than dwell on the weaknesses.
In doing that, preparing an elevator pitch can be very useful, as it would help you focus on the positive aspects of your personality. This experience can also help you learn more about yourself, the way you think and behave, so that you can adopt a personalized approach, for changing your self-esteem. While doing that, you will probably discover that you sometimes have negative thoughts, which do not work to your favor.
Don’t worry though, changing your negative thoughts, and other self-defeating behaviors, is easier than you might have ever thought. You just need dedication! One of the ways to do it, is use positive self-talk, which is a wonderful tool for adopting a growth mindset.
Specific Techniques
Now that you have gained a better understanding of what self-esteem is, and have reflected on your personal circumstances, it is time to take a look into some techniques, directly geared toward improving your self-esteem.
As clichéd as it may sound, one of the most effective ones is positive thinking. It is not just a worn-out phrase – it is an incredible lifestyle change, which can turn everything around. Doing this would allow you to set specific goals and follow through with them.
Setting goals may be scary sometimes, especially if you don’t believe in yourself enough, which is why visualizing success is a powerful technique to help you achieve progress. What is more, the path to a healthy self-esteem is paved with acknowledging your own rights – you might have been treated poorly in the past, but you have the right to seek a happier life.
Remember, however, that change, especially one that impacts your entire life, doesn’t have overnight. So, it is important to focus on progress, rather than expect perfection. Last but not least, remember that meditation can be a powerful tool, on your quest to a healthier self-esteem.
Having Healthy Boundaries
Whether you are reading this because of your own self-esteem, or because you would like to help someone you love, consider the relationship between boundaries and self-esteem – it can make a huge difference. Forming stable, yet healthy boundaries, can be difficult, especially if you are not used to it, but we will guide you through the process.
The first step is to establish ground rules, and stick to them. Then, make sure you come up with specific consequences, for those occasions when someone doesn’t respect your boundaries and refuses to listen to reason. Last but not least, it is vital to learn how to be assertive, without being rude or disrespectful.
Looking After Yourself
Often, people who struggle with low self-esteem, tend not to treat themselves very well. This could manifest in the way you think, act, engage with others, etc. One of the most important things to consider, when talking about self-care, is eating well. Of course, the positive results of a healthy diet need to be completed by engaging in physical activity.
Diet and fitness are only a part of having compassion for yourself, which is as important as having compassion for others. A great way to achieve that is through practicing mindfulness – this is a rewarding and calming technique that is always useful.
Last but not least, an element to consider are effective problem-solving techniques, which can help you be more confident in dealing with every situation and thus increase your self-esteem, both in the short and long term.
