Ten Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem
The best way to improve your life and earn the respect of others
is to improve your self-esteem. This is not a very difficult
task. All that it needs is good guidance. Here are ten tips that
can happen when you improve your self--esteem.
1. You should surround yourself with people who are positive
and supportive, and shun friends who are cynical and negative.
This will generate a huge swell of positive feelings in you. You
will respect yourself more, and your self-esteem will grow.
2. You should be clear about what you want to achieve in life.
Set goals, and work for their achievement. To make your task
easier, break your main goal into several smaller goals which
are relatively easier to achieve. This will make the task of
reaching your main goals seem easier. It will also give you a
feeling of satisfaction whenever you achieve one of the smaller
goals.
3. Always be positive about yourself and keep reminding
yourself about your good qualities, your accomplishments and how
you help your family, friends, others and yourself. Don't make
the mistake of brooding over negative things, and never put
yourself down.
4. Develop the ability to accept criticism about yourself,
without getting upset or defensive. This will help you eliminate
your weaknesses one by one. However, make sure that the
criticism is constructive. Don't allow yourself to be
overwhelmed by criticism that is cynical or meant to lower your
self-esteem. This will be a great mistake, and do irreparable
damage to your self-esteem.
5. We all need to accept the fact that we will fail from time
to time. We should not let it get us down or to have too much of
a negative effect on us. We should think that we have not been
successful this time and that we will succeed the next time.
This will help us to pull ourselves together and move on. Such
an attitude will help us overcome the most difficult conditions.
6. Never compare yourself with others. This is the easiest way
to feel inferior and lose self-esteem. It is much better to rate
yourself on your achievements. Such an approach will give you
self-confidence. At the same time it will make you feel better
when dealing with your peer group.
7. Never put yourself down. Failures are like parasites. If you
allow them to grow they will eat away your self-confidence,
self-respect and self-esteem. The best is to push negative
thoughts out of your mind, if you want others to treat you with
respect. This can only happen when you project a positive
exterior, even in most adverse situations. Make it a point to
filter out all self-criticism.
8. Don't give in to bullies in your place of work or in your
personal life. You must learn to stand up to them. This can only
happen if you are assertive about your rights. Of course, this
does not mean that you should pick up physical battles to make
your point. On the contrary, you should exercise restraint and
make your point in a dignified manner. This will not only make
others treat you with respect but also increase your self-esteem.
9. You may be self-conscious and because of this you may avoid
talking to groups of people. Try to approach groups of people
and introduce yourself to them. Ask them questions about
themselves and try to be genuinely interested in the answers.
Listen carefully and attentively to what they say and respond to
show your interest. Interacting with people will make you feel
more relaxed. You will realize that it is easy to speak to
groups of people and to relax by concentrating on what others
are saying, rather than on yourself.
10. Self-esteem is also dependent upon the felling of
well-being. A lazy person or a poorly groomed person will always
feel inferior to a confident, smart individual. So, you need to
take good care of your body. Remember, a healthy body is
essential for a healthy mind.