10 tips to Kick Start Your
Self Esteem!
by Julie Plenty
If you're tired of feeling "less than", afraid
of making and
achieving your desires and goals, feel that no matter what
you do it is never "good enough", then your self esteem
could do with a boost!
Having low self esteem takes an enormous toll on the
quality
of your life. You take fewer risks, which limits your
opportunities, both personally and professionally. You are
reluctant to voice or acknowledge your needs. You are
probably also haunted by past mistakes and making future
ones.
It doesn't have to be like this, the tools you've used
to
(unconsciously) lower your self esteem are the same ones you
use to raise it. The following article gives you ten tips
to raise your self esteem and improve the quality of your
life!
1. Stop comparing yourself to other people. If you play
this game, you're likely to compare yourself in a negative
way and set yourself up for continuing to have low self
esteem. Why continue to play a game where you've set the
rules against yourself, so that you're less likely to win!
2. Don't keep putting yourself down! You can't develop
high
self esteem if you constantly repeat negative comments about
your skills and abilities. Other people will pick up on it
and take on board the negative way you view yourself. How
are they likely to treat you? Also don't beat yourself up
over "mistakes" that you've made - learn how to reframe
them
so that they work for you.
3. Using affirmations is an excellent way to raise your
self
esteem. It's the opposite of no 1. If you can programme
your mind to repeat negative phrases about yourself (and see
how effective that's been!), then you can certainly get into
the habit of continually thinking (and saying to yourself)
positive statements about you. When you do, allow yourself
to experience the positive feelings about your statements.
Also use inspirational quotes to assist you.
4. Accept all compliments graciously. Don't dismiss
or
ignore them. When you do you give yourself the message that
you do not deserve or are not worthy of praise, which
reflects low self esteem. It also means that others will
become more reluctant to praise or acknowledge your
abilities, if you don't.
5. Take advantage of and use life coaching programmes,
workshops, books on how to raise your self esteem and
develop a more positive attitude. Whatever material you see,
read acts as subliminal learning, which means that it will
plant itself in your mind and dominate your behaviour. Talk
about food for thought - what diet is your mind on? Is it a
nourishing one?
6. Mix with positive and supportive people. Who you
associate with influences your thoughts, actions and
behaviour - another form of subliminal learning. Negative
people can put you and your ideas down and it lowers your
self esteem. On the other hand, when you are surrounded by
supportive people, you feel better about yourself, which
helps to raise your self esteem. Learn how to develop your
positive personal support network.
7. Acknowledge your positive qualities and skills. Too
many
people with low self esteem constantly put themselves down
(back to no 1 again!) and don't appreciate their many
positive attributes. Learn how to truly affirm and value
your many excellent qualities. If you find this difficult,
ask others to tell you. They'll come up with things you
would never have imagined!
8. Stop putting up with stuff! Not voicing or acknowledging
your needs means that you are probably tolerating more than
you should. Find out what you're putting up with and zap
those tolerations. By doing so, you're giving yourself the
message that you're worth it.
9. Make positive contributions to others. This doesn't
mean
that you constantly do for others what they could be doing
for themselves. But when you do make a positive
contribution to others, you begin to feel more valuable,
which increases your sense of your own value and raises your
self esteem.
10. Involve yourself in work and activities that you
love.
So many people with low self esteem stop doing those
activities that they most enjoy. Even if you're not in a
position to to make immediate changes in your career, you
can still devote some of your leisure time to enjoyable
hobbies and activities.
and..............................
Start taking action! The universe rewards action. Backing
away and avoiding challenges means that your self esteem
muscles become weak and flabby. When you start to take
action - regardless of the outcome - you will start to feel
better about yourself, develop your self confidence and
raise your self esteem.
Julie Plenty is a Personal and Business Coach who suffered
from low self-esteem for years. She developed tips and
techniques to raise her own self-esteem and turn her life
around and now wants to help others do the same.
For more tips visit:
http://www.kickstartyourselfesteem.com
and also sign up for
the free ecourse: "5 ways to not improve your self-esteem",
by sending a blank email to:
selfesteemecourse@spearhead.par32.com
