FIVE STEPS TO BUILD LASTING SELF-ESTEEM

The first step towards self-confidence is to become more aware of who you are. Your self-perception is a set of beliefs that you hold about your own persona. Identify unique characteristics that make you different, such as interests, strengths, weaknesses, and habits. Do your best to push aside external judgement of “good” and “bad” because self-perception is the acknowledgement, not the judgment, of your traits.

The next step is to fall in love with those traits and understand that the most important relationship you have is the one with yourself. Begin by accepting yourself for who you are. Know that you are a human being and you’re not perfect. In the words of author and inspirational speaker Stephanie Lahart, “Don’t feel guilty for loving yourself, first! Because you’re just as important as anybody else.”

The unbalance between low self-esteem and high self-criticism does more damage than good. Be compassionate to yourself. Whenever you are self-critical, ask yourself what you would say to a dear friend in the same situation. Criticism also comes from people around us. 

Add positivity to your goals: it will give you the determination required to fulfil them.

In order to make positive statements work, make them more tangible. For example: change “I’m going to be successful!” to “I’m going to persevere until I succeed.”

Finally, understanding the difference between who you are as a person, and the relationship you have with your circumstances are key to build lasting high self-esteem. Remember that circumstances are not always under our control, but we can be in control of how we react to them.