Suffering from low self-esteem can be a hidden cause behind many other difficulties in a person’s life. Having a poor perception of yourself can lead to behaving and thinking in ways that don’t align with your core values. If you feel as if you don’t see yourself in a positive light and it is negatively impacting your daily happiness, take a look at these three strategies to improve your self-esteem and bring it up to a healthier level.
Why Is Healthy Self-Esteem Necessary?
First of all, it can be useful to examine why healthy self-esteem is important. A person with a realistic and positive perception of themselves can make clear-headed decisions based on their own best interests and the best interests of the people around them. However, low self-esteem can cause a multitude of internal and interpersonal issues, such as anxiety, restrictive choices, closing off from relationships, and lashing out at others. How low self-esteem manifests will depend on the individual.
Here are three useful strategies to bring your self-esteem to healthier levels and live a happier life.
1. Get to the Root of Your Low Self-Esteem
Figuring out how to build up your self-esteem can often involve discovering the reasons why it is low in the first place. When you can identify some of the causes of your low self-esteem, it is much easier to tackle them at the root and arrive at a healthier conclusion. Attending therapy sessions with a mental health professional can make this process simpler since they can guide you through exercises and thoughts in a safe environment. They can also provide you with more tools to build up your self-esteem over time.
2. Make Improvements Where Possible
Show yourself that you value who you are by taking steps towards self-improvement. Investing time and effort into improving yourself is not about denying who you are, but allowing yourself to fulfil your potential. Even something as simple as dressing stylishly and wearing a pleasant scent can go a long way to improving how you feel about yourself. Try something universally appealing, such as escentric molecules 01, if you are unsure where to start. It might initially feel superficial, but combined with uncovering the root of your low self-esteem and being kinder to yourself, this strategy can be highly effective.
3. Treat Yourself with Kindness and Patience
It is often much more difficult to treat yourself kindly compared to treating others well. Your inner voice can be extremely and unhelpfully critical, stifling your actions and causing anxiety. Learn to pause and acknowledge unreasonably negative self-talk as it occurs. A helpful technique is to hear the negative thought and then counter it with a positive argument against it. For example, if your inner voice tells you that you will never succeed, list some of your proudest achievements from the past. A good rule of thumb is to talk to yourself how you would talk to a close friend.
There are other ways of improving your self-esteem, but the above strategies should hopefully be a helpful start.
