How to Overcome Low Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem means that we are not feeling good about ourselves – low self-esteem is seeing ourselves as incompetent, inadequate, unworthy and/or unlovable.
What’s more, these negative, self-critical thoughts affect our behavior and our life choices and usually lower our self-esteem even further.
However, there are some great strategies available on how to improve self-esteem. Learning how to boost your confidence can help you take a different perspective about yourself, other people and different situations in your life…
…in other words, learning how to overcome low self-esteem may improve your quality of life and overall well-being.
How to overcome low self-esteem
Healthy self-esteem is described as an appreciative, realistic and well-balanced view of oneself. However, if we want to feel good about ourselves, we have to do things that will make us proud, appreciated and respected. We have to nourish our confidence.
Therefore, if you struggle with low confidence that is impacting your everyday life, consider these tips on how to improve it.
- Practice Mindful Meditation
Mindfulness is a basic human ability to be completely present and aware of the existing moment. It represents our ability to fully attend to what are we experiencing or doing, without judging or interpreting it.
Practiced through meditation, mindfulness enables you to become aware of your negative, self-critical thoughts.
In addition, mindfulness exercise can help you increase optimism, improve your mood and upturn your self-image.
Focusing on your breathing and staying completely still for a few moments every day should help you will feel more relaxed. When you find yourself starting the usual self-criticism, note what is happening and remind yourself that those are just your thoughts, not facts.
- Don’t be Judgmental
We tend to be our toughest critics. Accept that you deserve love and recognition as much as anyone else. Accept yourself and recognize that inner critic of yours.
Strategies like cognitive behavioral therapy can help you identify and acknowledge your negative, dysfunctional thoughts and take productive steps towards their correction.
- Practice Gratitude
If you wonder how to improve your self-esteem, try practicing gratefulness. Gratitude exercise is one of the most powerful ways of boosting confidence, rising optimism and improving our overall mental health.
Different studies show that counting your blessings can increase your assurance, help you experience more positive emotions, have deeper relationships and be more productive….
…in addition, simply writing down the three things you are grateful for every day for three weeks will significantly increase your positive attitude, self-respect, and happiness.
Thus, start and finish your day counting your blessings. It doesn’t take much, yet it might give a lot in return.
- Exercise
Both science and experience proved that physical activity is beneficial not only for our bodies but for our mental wellbeing as well.
Physical exercise promotes a variety of changes in our brain that trigger feelings of composure and happiness.
Additionally, exercise can serve as a sort of distraction, giving you a break from negative thoughts that feed your low self-esteem.
- Visualize yourself as you Want to Be
To establish self-confidence, you need to see yourself as a person you want to be. Concentrate on your successes. Set clear and achievable goals and work towards reaching them. Start setting small goals that are easier to achieve first.
Creating visual boards may help. Visual boards are a great way to clarify your goals and strategies to accomplish them.
They can help you focus on your strengths and talents and therefore teach you how to build self-esteem and picture yourself as a person you want to be.
- Affirm Yourself
To install desired beliefs about yourself, you need to constantly affirm yourself. Affirmations are positive statements about ourselves. We tend to behave accordingly to our own self-perception…
…so, try saying out loud what you appreciate about yourself repeatedly in order to get your brain accept your positive self-statements.
- Set Boundaries
Boundaries we set towards everyday experiences help us recognize what we are or are not comfortable with.
Learn how to implement boundaries in your life and respect them…
…moreover, request other people to respect your boundaries as well. Learn how to say ‘No’ and how to express your feelings and needs in an assertive way. The more you feel in control of your life, the greater your self-esteem will be.
- Help Other People
Another effective way to overcome low self-esteem is to help someone else. Take your time to volunteer in your community or some of the local organizations.
Helping others may help you redirect your negative thoughts and focus on someone else’s needs instead…
…in addition, helping other people will make you feel good about yourself. As a result, your confidence will grow.
Learning how to improve your self-esteem is a process. Once you set your mind to overcome low self-esteem, you will learn how to recognize your strengths and accept yourself.
Remember that self-respect already exists in each of us, we just need to recognize and embrace it.
Thank you for reading the article “Hot to overcome low self-esteem”
-Bob Castle-