What is the difference between high self-esteem and low self-esteem? When you have high self-esteem, you love yourself and you believe in yourself. When you have low self-esteem, you dislike yourself and you feel disappointed in yourself. While your self-esteem can fluctuate sometimes depending on your circumstances, living with chronic low self-esteem is a challenging way to live your life and it will hold you back from achieving your full potential. If you think nothing can be done about low self-esteem, you are wrong! You CAN learn how to raise your self-esteem so you will feel happier with yourself and in general which will benefit you in every aspect of your life. Here are some of my tips for building high self-esteem that lasts:
Volunteer. Donating some of your spare time to a worthy cause or to a person in need will make you feel better about yourself than if you had spent that same time watching television or scrolling through social media. Through helping others, you will be helping yourself.
Do something every day that you are good at. When we do things we are good at, we feel accomplished and capable. Keep a list of things that you know you are good at and do one of those things every day. Utilizing your own unique talents and strengths is an instant self-esteem booster!
Celebrate your successes daily. Make a list of your past accomplishments and successes. Spend a few minutes each day reviewing your list and add your new successes to the list as they come. It’s easy to forget all the great things you’ve done when you are feeling down but now you will always have a reminder on hand.
Stop comparing yourself to others. While it is okay to admire others for their accomplishments and look up to the people that inspire you, you must stop comparing yourself to others. There will always someone that has more than you or who can do something better than you so when you compare yourself to others, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Learn a new skill. What would you like to be better at doing? What do you wish you knew more about? Learning new things is a type of self-improvement that leads to greater self-esteem. Impress yourself every day by increasing your knowledge and never stop learning!
Forgive yourself for past mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. You will never feel better about yourself if you are dwelling on the past and not allowing yourself to move forward. If you are having a difficult time moving on from a past mistake, reframe your thinking and turn your mistake into a learning experience. Write down the things you learned from that experience and you will see that because of that experience, you are better prepared going forward.
Uphold your own values. Identify your values and then ask yourself if you are living a life that is in line with those values. When you don’t uphold your own values, you will be disappointed in yourself. By understand your values and living them each day, you will feel proud and accomplished.
Face your fear. Everyone experiences fear but in order to do great things, you must learn to face your fears and push through if you want to make meaningful change and progress in your life. You don’t need to face all your fears at once. Start from the bottom by tackling the smallest fears first and work your way up. Every time you overcome a fear, you will feel your self-esteem soar!
Set boundaries and learn to say “no”. If you are unable to say “no” to others, you are ultimately putting your needs last. By setting boundaries, you are showing yourself and others that you matter. If you do not respect yourself, others will not respect you!
Start each day by choosing to be the type of person you admire and respect and practice these 9 tips daily. By building a strong foundation of lasting, high self-esteem, you will increase your overall happiness and have the confidence and the motivation to do great things!
