8 Ways to Boost Your Self Esteem

8 Ways to Boost Your Self Esteem

Morgan Lathrom

June 10th 2021

As summer is approaching and you are in and out of quarantine, you may be starting to get down on ourselves. Maybe because you didn't look the same before quarantine, or maybe you just are lacking self confidence because of recent events, could it be that you are so consumed with social media posts since COVID hit that you have started to get down on yourself? Or maybe you just haven't had any self confidence in a long time. Whatever the case may be, I have been feeling the lack of self-esteem too. It is not fun at all, to not feel good in your own body, for whatever reason there may be. This is a process, it won't happen overnight, but little by little your self-esteem will come to you! So I have collected 8 ways to be able to help boost that self-esteem and I want to share them with you!

1. List all your accomplishments

This can be in your notes on the phone, you can write them down, say them aloud in the mirror whatever the case may be. No matter how small or big of an accomplishment it is, write it down. By writing these down you will start to feel proud of everything you’ve done well. Review your list when you need a reminder and a confidence boost!

2. Learn to accept compliments

When someone compliments you on anything, it makes you feel good. Your initial reaction on hearing a compliment might be something along the lines of “This is a joke, right?” or “Is this person serious?” This is because of your lower self-esteem and now you yourself don’t believe in the compliment. But if you say “thank you” everytime it someone compliments you, it helps correct that inner critic, and allows your brain to believe in the compliment.

3. Eliminate self-criticism

When your self-esteem is low, you are likely to damage it even further by being self-critical. Whenever your self-critical inner voice kicks in, ask yourself what you would say to a friend if they were in your situation and direct those comments to yourself. Doing this will avoid damaging your self-esteem even more, and will help build it up instead!

4. Healthy Habits

By exercising, eating right, and performing self-care these can all contribute to a positive self-esteem. By exercising it can release endorphins which contribute to happiness and can help you boost that self-esteem. By eating right, you can feel better about yourself and not have that inner critic hurting you. With self-care it can help you relax, and show that you need time to help yourself, your mind, your body is what matters at the end of the day.

5. 3 things

Everyday, say at least 3 things that you appreciate about yourself. This can be in the morning, in the mirror, at night, throughout the day. Whatever the time may be, write it down and say it aloud. That way you can compile a list that you can look at, and can help give you that extra boost of confidence for the day!

6. Accept your flaws

Hannah Montana once said “Nobody’s perfect.” and that is the most truthful piece of advice ive ever heard. No one is perfect. You may think some people are, but at the end of the day everyone has flaws, and in order to help your self-esteem go up, you have to embrace those flaws. Turn your imperfections into your favorite characteristics about yourself. Your imperfections are what make you, you.

7. Build positive relationships

By having positive people in your life, it'll make all the difference. If there are people in your life who are negative, people who have nothing positive to say, or people put you down or take advantage of you.. LET THEM GO. The only way to improve your self-esteem is to surround yourself with supportive positive people. These people are the ones who value you and will admire you.

8. Know that failure is a part of growth.

It is easy to be hard on yourself because you have failed. There is a quote that I really love and have always stuck to, it is “Failure is not the opposite of success, it's a part of success.” Meaning, you may fail once or twice, but to keep going because the more you fail the more you learn for the future. You think everyone has just always succeeded in everything they have done? No, people like Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, ETC. have failed many times, but they pick themselves up, and when they reach that success, it feels 10 times better than if they did it the first time, and they gained knowledge. Failure is a part of life, and so is success. Don't let your failures hurt your self-esteem and prevent you from your dreams.