When it comes to evaluating self-worth, your opinion is the only one with any significance. Self-esteem is based on how we feel about ourselves, our abilities, our mannerisms, and our personality overall. Unfortunately, we are often our own worst enemies, criticizing ourselves far more harshly than we would our family or friends. When self-criticism and negative self-talk become restricting, it typically leads to low levels of self-esteem, which often begins to manifest itself as insecurity. Over time, insecurities may cause lasting negative feelings, which can linger and affect various areas of a person’s life.
On the other hand, a person with good self-esteem is more resilient, less sensitive to fear and criticism, and experiences less stress overall. While the benefits of having good self-esteem are clear, improving your self-esteem can be a challenge. Many people find relief in self-care, therapy, and counseling in their endeavor to become positive and develop higher self-esteem. Though it may be difficult, enhancing your opinion of who you are and what you stand for is possible. If you’re ready to venture down the path of positive psychology and change, consider these three tips and habits to help improve and sustain your self-esteem.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
When self-esteem levels are low, it is common to begin comparing yourself to others needlessly. However, the truth about comparing yourself to others is it has nothing to do with the superiority of the people around you. Rather, this behavior is a manifestation of one’s own insecurities. Instead of viewing other people as competition, regard their skills and strengths as motivating forces that inspire you to explore a new topic or build upon your skill set.
Care, But Don’t Worry
People establish their feelings about themselves based on the way others treat them. This gives them no control over how they think and feel about themselves. It usually causes people to spend too much time worrying about making a good impression and how others see them. The only way to overcome this is to acknowledge that while you may care about what others think of you, you don’t have any control over it. Rather than relying on others for self-worth, consider your intentions to determine how you feel about yourself. When you do what you think is the right thing to do, you will begin to value your honesty and bolster your self-esteem.
Recognize Negative Thought Patterns
Determine the accuracy of your thoughts by learning to discern facts from feelings. Consider whether your thoughts and beliefs about yourself are logical and aligned with facts or if they are a result of mental filtering, focusing on the negatives, all-or-nothing thinking, or jumping to conclusions. Remember, feeling like a loser does not mean you are a loser. Even though deep-rooted negative thoughts may feel more factual than mythical, the truth is that many of them are simply your beliefs and opinions. It is important for you to begin questioning the validity of these beliefs to reduce inaccurate thinking patterns and achieve further clarity.
Additional Resources:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253898
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/self-esteem/art-20045374
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