5 Ways To Boost Your Self-Esteem

Self esteem is the ability to appreciate yourself.  Self-esteem imbues you with the ability to accept yourself for who you are:  The good and the bad.  Knowing who you are and what you have to offer while having confidence in yourself gives people a sense of self esteem, and it's not a static condition - It's always changing.  Sometimes, different people that we meet can influence how we feel about ourselves, and life circumstances can impact the way that we see ourselves in relation to where we think we "should be" according to our own standards or the standards of others.  For example, if you receive a negative comment from your boss or a negative evaluation at work, your self esteem can be negatively impacted if you agree with their assessment.  Likewise, your self-esteem may rise if your boss gave you a compliment or a good evaluation.  The way in which you interpret the events in your life will directly impact the degree to which your self-esteem rises, falls, or remains steady. The key is in learning to no longer be dependent upon the exterior environment in order to give you a positive sense of self - You must learn how to manage your mind.

The Benefits of High Self-Esteem

High self-esteem can impact multiple areas of your life, where those with good self esteem tend to feel they are worthy of being loved and accepted, and they feel they have a right to be appreciated and to be given respect and dignity.  If somebody doesn't provide them with appreciation and respect, they don't interpret that to mean that they are unworthy of positive treatment - Rather, they will believe that they are not being treated correctly. In contrast, those with low self-esteem may accept mistreatment from others and hold the belief that they "deserve" to be treated poorly, whether they like it or not. Meanwhile, those with high self-esteem tend to have an overall sense of happiness and are able to maintain good healthy relationships through thick and thin, and they are able to see the good in others and practice forgiveness more easily.

How To Boost Self-Esteem

1.  Think Positive.

Having a positive outlook can improve your self esteem, because when you see the glass as "half-full", you also believe in yourself.  This can help you to see small steps of success in yourself and in others. 

2.  Identify Your Abilities, Skills, and Accomplishments.  

People with good self esteem are able to recognize the positive characteristics of their personality.  In addition, they can accept the negatives and look at them as challenges to overcome.

3.  Accept The Things You Cannot Change.  

You will have some flaws you can correct, but there are other flaws you cannot change (skin color, birth-parents, the past, etc.).  Identify your most positive traits, and learn to focus on what you can change rather than what you can’t. 

4.  Set Achievable Goals and Make Plans.  

Setting goals will help you to feel as though you are making progress in your life, and it can help you to stay focused on what you want to accomplish rather than any other "negative" events in your life - See these "negative" events as a necessary challenge that comes with making progress toward realizing your goals.  Creating a plan on how to accomplish your goals is critical - Take your dreams, and turn them into your reality.

5.  Identify Something Positive In Your Life Every Day.   

Finding positives about yourself and about your life can help increase your self esteem, where being aware of your strengths and attributes can help promote good feelings.  Seeing the positive aspects of life can help to boost your mood and increase your self-esteem.  

Why Develop Good Self-Esteem?

Having good self esteem can positively affect all areas of your life, and negative self esteem can also affect all areas of your life - Which one do you think will produce the greatest level of happiness?  Of course, it's high self-esteem and positive regard for yourself.  Good self esteem can help with friendships, relationships, employment, family life and even finances.  Yes, finances.  If you feel good about yourself, you will feel more confident, and if you feel more confident you may take more positive risks to secure a promotion or beneficial career change.  This would lead to increase in financial independence.

Self esteem can be affected by many variables until you learn to take control of your mind - People, situations, and circumstances can positively or negatively affect self esteem if you allow yourself to be subjected to the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune".  Self esteem can be improved through inner work and mental training, which will take time to cultivate over time.  The more you practice these skills, the more likely you will improve your self esteem.

Remember to identify if there is a situation that is causing a decrease in self esteem, and take action to correct your thinking processes and behaviors in order to give yourself a boost.  Understand that building strong self esteem takes time, and taking these 5 steps will help to shift your thinking.

- Kim B.