Self-esteem is about how we value ourselves. These feelings are created over our lifetime, mainly when we are children. However, you can improve your self-esteem at any stage in life through dedication and work.
People with good self-esteem typically feel good about themselves and about their life. This can improve mental health and build strong relationships. People who have low self-esteem, however, tend to be much more insecure and put themselves down more often.
This can make it harder to deal with challenges in life and can lead to them avoiding hard situations altogether. Low self-esteem negatively impacts mental health and can lead to things like anxiety and depression. Here are ten ways to help boost your self-esteem.
- Identify and Challenge Negative Thoughts
If you have low self-esteem, you likely have constant negative thoughts about yourself. In order to improve self-esteem, you should try to address the negative thoughts when they arise and try to challenge them.
You can do so by searching for evidence that contradicts them or by asking yourself questions like these:
- Is this thought helping me change?
- Is it healthy to put myself down?
- Where does this thought come from?
Challenging your negative thoughts can give you the time to realize there’s little to no truth to them. It’s bad for your mental health to continually put yourself down, so try to change negative thoughts to positive ones when they arise.
- Improve Physical Health
Physical health impacts mental health and the way we view ourselves. If you maintain good physical health, you can drastically improve your self-esteem. You can maintain good physical health by eating a healthy diet, working out, and visiting your doctors and dentist regularly.
- Self-Care
Self-care can help you relax and feel good about yourself. Practicing self-care regularly can create a deeper love for yourself and help you value your physical health more. Developing healthy habits take time but can be very rewarding. The more you’re kind to yourself and take care of yourself, the better your self-esteem will get.
You can practice self-care by doing things like:
- Journaling
- Skincare
- Taking a bath
- Reading
- Doing something creative
- Create Positive Relationships
Having people around you who truly care about you, encourage you, and uplift you can help you when you’re feeling low. You may recognize certain people who make you feel great, and you can have a good time with them without feeling less than or judged, while other people can make you feel terrible about yourself and make you second guess all your decisions.
Try to avoid people who bring you down and create good relationships with people who care about your wellbeing and make you feel good about yourself.
- Challenge Yourself
A good way to improve your self-esteem is to challenge yourself more often. People that have low self-esteem tend to avoid challenges and confrontations. In order to improve your self-esteem, you have to face your fears and do things you normally wouldn’t. Try doing one thing every day that you find challenging. In the long run, you’ll improve your self-esteem and become much more resilient.
- Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
It can be a difficult habit to kick, but it’s essential you do. Stop comparing yourself to others; it’s terrible for your mental health and most definitely lowers self-esteem levels. It can be hard not to compare yourself to other people, especially with mainstream media constantly advertising what you’re “supposed to look like.”
Media and even people can place unrealistic standards on you that are impossible to reach. If you can identify the times, you compare yourself to other people, you can correct that behavior by reciting positive affirmations or mantras.
- Recognize Your Accomplishments
A lot of times, people with low self-esteem will say their accomplishments were due to luck or accident. You shouldn’t be hard on yourself when it comes to what you’ve accomplished in life. You should be able to recognize the effort you put in to get the results you did.
Accomplishing anything takes certain talents and skills that you should be proud to have. Give yourself credit where credit is due. In order to boost your self-esteem, you have to recognize that you are able to accomplish anything, and there’s proof!
- Be Assertive
If you have low self-esteem, it may be hard to stand up for yourself or say no when you need to. If you’re unable to stand up for yourself, you can be pressured into doing things you’re not comfortable with. Be more assertive when faced with things you’re not comfortable doing. Try to say no more often, even if it’s hard.
- Make A List Of Your Positive Traits
Having a list on hand of your positive traits can be a good way to remind yourself of the good things about yourself. It can be a great self-esteem boost, and over time, it will become second nature to remember them when you’re feeling low. Try making a list of five to ten positive traits and recite them to yourself daily.
- Take Mental Breaks
It can be rewarding to take breaks when you need them. Day-to-day life can be mentally draining and can take a huge toll on your self-esteem. Carve some time out of your day specifically to take mental breaks. You can do this by meditating, reading, or doing something creative. Anything that allows you to limit your focus to what you’re doing instead of everything going on inside your brain.
Final Thoughts
Self-esteem is important to maintain good mental health. If you have low self-esteem, it can be hard to find the courage to stand up for yourself or do things that challenge you.
Boosting your self-esteem can lead to a happier, more positive life. In order to boost your self-esteem, try to do things that make you happy and step outside of your comfort zone more often. Small things like physical activity, going outside, and self-care can also help give you a daily boost. If you consistently do activities like this, you can build your self-esteem over time and have a better quality of life.
This post is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered therapy. This blog is only for informational and educational purposes and should not be considered therapy or any form of treatment. We are not able to respond to specific questions or comments about personal situations, appropriate diagnosis or treatment, or otherwise provide any clinical opinions. If you think you need immediate assistance, call your local doctor/psychologist or psychiatrist or the SADAG Mental Health Line on 011 234 4837. If necessary, please phone the Suicide Crisis Line on 0800 567 567 or sms 31393.