Self-esteem refers to how you feel about yourself or your perception of yourself.
Everyone has moments when they feel down or find it difficult to trust in themselves.
However, if this continues for an extended period, it may lead to serious issues, including mental health concerns such as depression or anxiety.
A few of the symptoms of poor self-esteem may also be indicators of these issues.
If you have low self-esteem, you may try to alter your feelings about yourself by using the power of your ideas and beliefs.
In today’s article, we will dig into the definition of self-esteem and ways on how to boost your self-esteem.
What is self-esteem?
Your overall perception of yourself — how you feel about your strengths and weaknesses is referred to as self-esteem.
When you have good self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and believe that you deserve to be respected by others. When you have poor self-esteem, you put less value on yourself and your ideas.
Self-worth, self-regard, and self-respect are other words that are often used interchangeably with self-esteem.
Self-esteem is lowest in childhood and rises throughout adolescence and maturity, ultimately reaching a reasonably stable level.
As a result, self-esteem is comparable to the consistency of personality characteristics across time.
Self-esteem influences your decision-making, relationships, mental health, and overall well-being.
It also has an impact on motivation since individuals who have a healthy, positive self-image understand their capabilities and may be motivated to take on new tasks.
Ways to improve your self-esteem
Accept compliments
One of the most difficult parts of increasing self-esteem is that when we feel terrible about ourselves, we are more resistant to compliments – even when we need them the most.
Therefore, establish a goal for yourself to accept compliments, even if they make you uncomfortable (and they will).
The easiest approach to prevent reflexively dismissing compliments is to create a simple set of answers and teach yourself to use them instinctively whenever you get positive comments.
A simple thank you is an appropriate response to a compliment. Do not reject praise with the phrase “it’s not true.”
Embracing and being thankful for how people see you are an essential step towards accepting who you are.
Don’t be hard on yourself
When our self-esteem is poor, we are more likely to destroy it by being self-critical.
If your goal is to improve self-esteem, you need to stop criticizing yourself too much.
It’s always good to do your best. But you also need to accept the fact that it is also okay to make mistakes.
Everyone makes errors, and those mistakes do not define you as a person. They are isolated episodes in time.
Appreciate your efforts. Allow yourself to feel good about it.
Whenever your self-critical internal voice starts, ask yourself what you would say to a close friend in that scenario, and direct those remarks to yourself.
This will prevent you from further undermining your self-esteem with critical thoughts and will instead help to strengthen it.
Take a break
You do not have to be great at all times. You don’t even have to like yourself all of the time.
Self-esteem fluctuates depending on the circumstance, the day, and the hour.
Some individuals are at ease and optimistic when they are among friends and colleagues, but they are uncomfortable and timid when they are with strangers.
Others may feel completely in control at work but struggle socially, or vice versa.
Allow yourself a rest. We all have moments when we feel depressed or struggle to retain our self-belief.
Taking a break is different for everybody. Some like to spend their days sleeping, some like to stay cozy in their blank hoodies and watch movies all day, while others like to be creative and keep their bodies moving.
What’s important is taking the time to be comfortable outside everyone’s expectations for you.
Set boundaries
Creating boundaries and limits is the greatest approach to discover your self-esteem.
Know your limits and how you want to react when they are reached.
People who have poor self-esteem sometimes find it difficult to speak for themselves or say no to others.
Because they do not want to deny anybody anything, they may get overburdened at home or at work.
However, this may exacerbate stress and make it much more difficult to handle.
Don’t let people have power over you, take advantage of you, or manipulate you.
Developing your assertiveness may therefore aid in the improvement of your self-esteem.
Acting as though you believed in yourself may sometimes help you go beyond it!
Accept challenges
People who have poor self-esteem often avoid tough and demanding tasks.
Stop and confront yourself when you find yourself thinking poorly about yourself. Don’t allow erroneous beliefs to hold you back.
Taking on a challenge may be a good approach to boost your self-esteem.
This does not imply that you must accomplish everything yourself. Seeking assistance when you need it may be part of the difficulty. However, be prepared to do something that you are sure will be tough to accomplish.
By succeeding, you prove to yourself that you are capable of achieving.
This will challenge your negative beliefs and boost your self-esteem.
Takeaways
Many of us understand the importance of increasing our self-esteem and recognize that it can be hard to come to terms with our limitations.
As great as it is to have higher self-esteem, it turns out that boosting it is a difficult job.
Building self-esteem is not a “one-day fix” kind of activity. It takes time and effort to embrace and be comfortable with ourselves. So be kind to yourself, and take it one step at a time.