Low self-esteem can impact on all areas of your life; relationships, home, social life, work – you can be surrounded by people but feel that you don’t belong, that you’re not good enough, or in some way disconnected to others, even those people that you’re close to. You can feel that you are constantly trying to ‘fit in’ and ‘people please’ rather than being accepted for the person that you are. Try the following steps to help you to improve your self-esteem
1. Schedule in some you-time as often as you can:
Spending time doing things that you enjoy will mean that you’re more likely to think positively. Even if you feel that you have no time for this, move your own health and happiness further up your priority list. In an emergency you would find time to deal with the emergency, so consider some you-time as your own emergency.
2. Nobody’s perfect:
It’s important to accept that perfection is an unrealistic goal that nobody can achieve, far better to strive to be the best version of yourself. If you were perfect, you’d be a robot and let’s face it, do you really want to be an android?
3. Get moving:
You don’t have to run a marathon, unless of course you want to, and you don’t have to become a gym bunny but get some exercise in whichever way works for you; go for a brisk walk, get your hula-hoop or mini-trampoline out of the garage or put some music on and shake your booty. Breaking into a sweat signals the body to release endorphins – the feel good hormones – and builds confidence.
4. We all make mistakes:
It’s not just you, it happens to all of us, its actually an important part of life; mistakes help us to learn and grow. So instead of beating yourself up, look at it as an opportunity to grow and develop.
5. Challenge your negative inner voice:
The things we say to ourselves can be so brutal, if you heard someone you care about saying these things to themselves you would immediately challenge them and tell them to be kinder to themselves. So start being kinder to yourself.
6. Notice what you do well:
It can be easy to ignore what we do well and just focus on things that didn’t go so well. You got up on time this morning – well done! you got a couple of chores done before you left for work – great! You got the report completed a day early at work – excellent time management! When we start focusing on what we have achieved, rather than what we haven’t, we build confidence and start to feel better about ourselves.
7. Keep Practicing:
The more you work at these changes, the easier they will become and if you fall off the wagon, get back on and try again.
,