Do you often doubt your own ability to do the things your heart desires? You have all these hopes, dreams and longings to create this amazingly wonderful life, but unfortunately living that life seems improbable, and even somewhat impossible. You feel that there is this incredible untapped potential locked away within, but you just don’t have the key to unlock the magic inside. You battle with yourself each and every day, but to no avail. You always lose and only barely find the strength to keep going. Things however don’t need to be this way. There is hope within the following six guiding principles to help improve your self-esteem.
1) CELEBRATE YOUR STRENGTHS AND SUCCESSES
Improving self-esteem always begins when you start looking deep within yourself for answers. However, these aren’t “how to” answers that will light the way forward, they are rather inspirational signposts that remind you of the true gifts hidden within. And yes, you have some incredible gifts that come in the form of your talents, strengths, passions, accomplishments and all those positive attributes that make you so very special and unique. It’s time to acknowledge all these parts of yourself and to show gratitude for all that you have become. Yes, it’s time to celebrate the uniqueness of your true state-of-being.
2) ENGAGE IN POSITIVE SELF-TALK
We’ve already established that improving self-esteem always begins from within. However, eventually it must find an avenue for self-expression. And that avenue of course comes through your voice and through the words you speak. Engaging in positive self-talk can immediately help you to start feeling better about yourself. For instance, use helpful language that makes you feel confident and inspired, or ask empowering questions that challenge you to see the value in every experience. Using your voice in this way will not only transform how you feel about yourself, but will also transform how you interact with the world around you.
3) STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS
Those who struggle most with low self-esteem do so because of one fatal flaw that prevents them from seeing their true value. Instead of measuring themselves based on their own merits, they choose to compare themselves to others. STOP comparing yourself! You have absolutely nothing to gain from looking at what others are doing. Instead, choose to challenge yourself to be a better version of yourself today, than you were yesterday. If you did better today, then you made progress. It doesn’t matter what anyone else did. It only matters what you did and how you grew as a result of each experience.
4) STOP STRIVING FOR PERFECTION
In order to improve your self-esteem you must let go of the idea of perfection. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that striving for perfection is hazardous to your self-esteem? Nobody is perfect, and nobody will ever be perfect! There is always room for improvement. With this in mind, don’t allow perfection to hold you back. Go out there and take a chance on yourself. Criticism, rejection, mistakes and failure are a natural and unavoidable part of life. Your objective is not to avoid these experiences, but to rather embrace them and to strive to learn and grow from every setback and problem that life throws your way.
5) FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CHANGE
We often worry, fret and stress about so many little things that are completely out of our hands. We worry about what other people think; we worry about what they might say; we worry about worst-case scenarios that may make us look foolish. Yes, we worry about all sorts of crazy things that will probably never happen. Instead of worrying about all the things that are out of your control, focus instead on all the things that you can change and improve upon. Focus on improving how you think, upon the decisions you make, upon the actions you take, and upon the stories you tell yourself about what you’re capable of doing.
6) BUILD A SUPPORT NETWORK
Improving self-esteem is of course something you can work through by yourself, however you can make progress a lot faster by garnering the support of those around you. Begin by surrounding yourself with positive, uplifting and confident people who have your best interests at heart. Use them as a bedrock to help you begin feeling better about yourself. Moreover, ask them to challenge you in new ways that will help stretch your comfort zone and break the boundaries of what you previously thought was possible. Yes, your support network can help you take those little steps that make all the difference.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Improving your self-esteem is something that can take some time. There will be a lot of ups and downs. In fact, you might even take two steps forward one day, and then three steps back the very next day. But that’s simply the “process of change” at work.
Change is never a smooth straight line moving from point A to B. It’s rather an unpredictable line that bends, knots, and curves in-on-itself.
With this in mind, you need to be very patient with yourself. Many mistakes will of course be made, but as long as you learn from them and make the necessary changes, then you will continue to make progress along your path toward improving your self-esteem.
Imagine for a moment you could develop new habits and methods of thinking where you naturally and effortlessly adopt these ideas into your life. How would that make you feel? Would you feel more fulfilled, empowered and in control?
Yes, there is such simplicity within this IQ Doodle, but of course there is a reason for that. Making positive change doesn’t need to be a complicated process. It just needs to be a consistent process where we progressively develop new habits-of-mind through repeated exposure and implementation. And that’s what these IQ Doodles are for.
We have prepared for you an IQ Doodle pack that includes several variations of this IQ Doodle that you can use for guidance and inspiration throughout the day. Use it consistently and you will begin making positive changes in the way you live, work and interact with others.
Visit the IQ Doodle Store to learn more about how to use this IQ Doodle and begin optimizing the way you live your life today.
Learn More About this Topic
Want to know more about this topic? Here are some helpful links to articles that you may find of value:
- 7 Keys to Increasing Your Self-Esteem Today @ Psychology Today
- 11 Habits that can Help Boost Your Self-Esteem @ Bustle
- How to Boost Self-Esteem: A Secret from Research @ The Week
- How to Raise Your Self-Esteem @ Psych Central
- Practical Ideas to Help You Enhance Your Self-Esteem @ IQ Matrix