Low self esteem. It’s a phrase we hear a lot, isn’t it? She’s quiet because of her low self esteem. His poor performance in the test was because of his low self esteem. A lot of times, we may know that our friends or loved ones have low self esteem and may even point it out to them as something that gets in the way of their performance, their sociability and their general attitude towards life and themselves.. but when it comes to actually suggesting ways to boost their self esteem, we draw a blank.
Which brings me to the point of this blog post. To suggest a few tips to help one challenge their low self esteem.
Think about it. It’s that simple. Sit down, either with a piece of paper and pen or with your own internal notepad and consider the manner in which you view yourself in relation to the world around you, your actions, your aspirations, your performance, your standing. Only once a person has realized their own low sense of self esteem can they start the process of fixing it.
Accept mediocrity, mistakes and failure. For everything you do, there are people that can do it better, it’s time to accept it that being perfect at everything is not possible. Instead, hold on to the positives. That compliment you got on your last assignment, the nod of approval from your boss the other day. It’s the small achievements that add up.
Accept the Possibility of Change. With every passing second, with every new thought, we become new people. This change in self should first be recognized and only based on this can a healthy sense of self be formulated.
Kill the Comparisons. It’s basic. Everyone is different, everyone has different sets of strengths and weaknesses; experiences and aptitudes. Understand this and use it to understand the reason for people’s success and failures in different fields. Try to compare your achievements to your previous ones. Compete with yourself, not with others.
Be Realistic. Understand that certain things are achievable and others aren’t, no matter how hard you try. A beach body in two weeks? Chances are that’s not going to happen. Accept this and set expectations and goals which are achievable.