5 Steps to Improve Self Esteem

Have you ever walked passed the mirror and felt less than satisfied with what you saw? “I’m fat, I can’t believe I look like this, or I don’t even know who I am anymore!” Life is full of changes, and that can mean changes with our appearance, demeanor, and self-esteem. It is easy to think about change, but change can be difficult without motivation. Self Esteem not only affects the way we feel about our image, but can also affect the roles that we hold in life. Have you noticed that when your self-esteem is down you are easily frustrated at work, home, and in relationships? Negative self-esteem can lead to depression. Check out these 5 ways to boost self-morale.

1. Say stop to your inner critic- We need to start with combating that inner critic. Our inner voice can be very loud with thoughts or sayings of destruction; you are lazy, you look horrible, you are not good at this job. These are thoughts that we have, but they do not have to have the final say. Work towards changing the negative thoughts into positives. For example changing the thought of, “I’m too lazy to get this done,” into “I wasn’t able to fit it into my schedule, but I can reexamine some priorities.
2. .Focus on Positive Self Traits- Instead of finding everything you can that is wrong, focus on those characteristics that you do like about yourself. This can be your skin tone, your nose, your body shape, your career etc. Look at your accomplishments rather than failures.
3. .Smile- Through the hardships of the day, we forget the very simple task of smiling. It has been shown that those who smile more typically have happier demeanors. Smiling is a confidence booster as well as a way of helping boost self-esteem.
4. .Keep a Victory Log- Keep a log of the successes that you accomplish throughout the course of the day, whether big or small. Keeping a log can be a morale and confidence boost. This also serves as a positive journal that you can go back and look into when feeling down.
5. .Mirror Talk- As mentioned before, we can be our biggest critic. When waking up in the morning or before going to bed, try looking in the mirror and telling yourself, “You are beautiful,” or “You are handsome.” We cannot expect for anyone to love us the way we want to be loved until we find that love within ourselves.