Simple Steps to Improve Self Esteem
Self esteem, the esteem you have for yourself is a subjective
appraisal of yourself. Self esteem is nothing but your own
opinion of yourself. As this implies, self esteem is not
something outside of you, but something internal. It is the
self, the you, and does not come from anyone or anything outside
yourself.
So many people "suffer" from low self esteem and blame it on
lack of respect, a bad childhood or negative influences on them.
Intellectually this all makes perfect sense, but the challenge
is in resisting the external influences that can, and sometimes
do, eat away at our self esteem. Fortunately there are some very
simple steps to improve self esteem.
One of the easiest steps to improve self esteem is to make
yourself do "difficult" things. This breeds a sense of pride.
Pride in yourself and your accomplishments will give you a
higher opinion of yourself (the esteem you have for yourself).
We all have things we are procrastinating about; certain actions
we are putting off even though we know that if and when we do
them our lives will be greatly enhanced. By using your willpower
to actually do some of these things, your self esteem will grow
and along with it your perception of your own abilities. This in
turn will create a momentum in your life where success breeds
more success.
The key is to take small steps to improve self esteem. Realize
that your self esteem or self worth is not something that
happens overnight. You work at it constantly and it is exactly
that which builds higher self esteem. Your self worth or your
opinion of weather you are worthy to be, do or have something is
nothing but a conscious decision you make daily.
Most people have low self esteem because they focus on what they
don't have. They focus on their shortcomings and the so called
failures of their past. One steps to improve self esteem is to
clean up your past. It's never too late to have a happy
childhood! Think on all your past achievements, think hard and
soon you will realize that you have done some amazing things in
your life. Write them down and add to the list as you remember
your great achievements. Never compare yourself to other people,
especially siblings.
Realize that it is not what happens to us but what we do with
what happens to us - how we interpret or represent it on our
inside worlds, in our minds and emotions. Appreciate yourself
and know that you are a miracle of nature and that your current
conditions do not reflect your ultimate ability. Focus on what
you do have and what you do want from life instead of the
"terrible" things you did.
If you grew up being told that you are worthless, no good
chances and that you will never amount to anything, then know
this: YOU and ONLY YOU get to decide who and what you are. Other
people's opinions of you are only that: opinions. People with
high self esteem are people who decided what they are. They know
deep down inside what they are and what they want to be and it
is that image of themselves that they focus on. The made up
their own opinions which are the only opinions that count.
By being focused on that instead of what other people said about
them they have a high esteem of themselves. They learned to be
true to themselves and their beliefs about themselves.