subject: Seven Steps On How To Improve Self Esteem [print this page] Self esteem is practically how we feel about ourselves. Our self esteem develops as we live everyday; it is not something that we innately have the moment we are born. We all want to live a happy and successful life; but this is easier said than done, particularly for people who suffer from low self esteem. Good thing there are things we can do to better our self esteem. However, your esteem cannot be changed in just a snap, it would require time and a great deal of effort--determination. To guide you on how to improve self esteem, below are 7 simple steps:
Step One
Have a realistic assessment of life's problems. You have to have a realistic assessment of your problems so you can find the perfect solutions for them. Life events like traffic or a bad hair day aren't problems unless we assess them as such. You have to accept the fact that life is and will never be perfect--it will always come with troubles, dilemmas and challenges. If our evaluations are realistic, we're better able to respond to day-to-day life events with a sense of proportion.
Step Two
Don't compare yourself with other people. In this world, there will always be someone better than you, in the same way that you are also better than someone. If you play the comparison game, you will run into too many "competitors" you can't defeat.
Step Three
Find out which things actually trigger low self-esteem. Pay attention to what your triggers are and try to avoid them or better yet, learn ways to better cope with them. If the way you look is causing you to feel bad about yourself, then work on improving it--exercise, eat well and dress sharply.
Step Four
Stop criticizing yourself. You cannot develop high self-esteem if you repeat negative phrases about yourself and your abilities. Instead, repeat positive affirmations. Positive affirmations have the capacity to make you feel good and motivate you to become even better. Whether speaking about how you look, your career or your finances, avoid belittling yourself, or running yourself down. If you don't like and believe in yourself, chances are, no one else would!
Step Five
Be in a social circle of people who makes you feel important and happy. When you are surrounded by negative people who constantly put you and your ideas down, your self-esteem is lowered. On the other hand, your self esteem is sure to improve if you are constantly in the company of people who encourage you all the time and accept you for who you are.
Step Six
Do something! If you just keep worrying about your self esteem issues, you will never get anywhere near a healthy level of self esteem. When you act, regardless of the end result, you will Feel Better About yourself. If you let your fear and anxiety hold you back from taking action, you will end up feeling disappointed, sad and discontented with yourself.
Step Seven
Don't be hard on yourself when you don't accomplish exactly what you want to. All of us falls short sometimes, but rather than focusing on the negative aspects, learn how to adjust your goals so that you have a better chance of meeting them. Just look at each failure as a stepping stone towards reaching your goal.
