5 Ways to Boost Your Self-Esteem

Do you mean something to you? Here is how you know for sure that your answer is absolutely, positively, 100% yes:

1. Is your self-talk positive or negative?
Are you constantly talking bad to yourself about yourself? Are you calling yourself names other than your given name? Are you berating yourself for making mistakes? A simple, “I am so stupid” said in a supposedly innocent way can do major damage to your subconscious mind. Next thing you know you actually believe that you are stupid and act accordingly. Do you believe in yourself? Your self-talk must be positive whether you believe or not. Just keep talking positive until it is ingrained in you. I understand that most people grew up in family where that was the norm. However, it not the best way for you to feel good about yourself. You have children, make sure that you are talking to with positive words and teaching them self-love. It starts at an early age. This also means that you do not allow anyone and I mean anyone to talk negatively to you. You are worth so much more.

2. Do you take care of your body?
You know the mantra, good diet, exercise and a good night’s sleep. I can hear you saying, “I don’t have time for all of that.” Well, you don’t have time not to do them. Your body must be functioning at its peak in order for you to feel good. You don’t have to be a “gym rat”, just move your body. It could be walking, yoga, pilates, swimming or whatever you like to do. Just get your body moving. Then there is proper eating, I am not talking about going on a diet. I mean proper food combining and good portion size. Eat well and to the point of satisfaction not overstuffing yourself. I know we do it every now and again because the food is so good, just be mindful that it does not become a habit. We also need a good night’s rest. I know there is not enough hours in a day. However, your body needs to rest, you need to sleep in order for your body to refresh itself, for your brain to be at its best. Think about this, if you get sick, what happens to work that so all consuming to you. It is given to someone else. You come first, trust me.

3. Are you constantly learning or doing self development?
There is a saying, once you stop learning, you are dead. We should be learning something new every day. No one can ever know everything. You may be an expert in your field, however, there is always something new to learn, to discover. Not to mention learning about yourself, growing mentally. Technology is so wide spread; it is easy to be in a learning mode constantly.

4. Do you engage in quiet time with yourself?
This is my favorite part. Some people may say that is just being too unsocial. Guess what, you need to do it to keep sane. Think about it, when you are really in love with someone, you want to spend every waking moment with that person. You talk a million times during the day just to hear the other person’s voice. So, if you are love yourself, you want to spend time with yourself. Time to quiet the chatter in your head. Time to take an internal look and refocus if you need to. Time to rejuvenate, read a book, listen to music, watch a movie, or dance with yourself (you get a double bonus for this one; this could be your exercise). See, you can’t lose with quiet time with yourself.

5. Give yourself permission to play
Yes, you heard me. Give yourself permission to play. We spend our time just working and working and resenting the fact that we just work. You know what, take time to play. Play could mean many different things to each of us. It simply means give yourself a break from working constantly. Remember the saying we learnt growing up, all work and no play makes a Jack a dull boy. That goes for Jill too, okay. I know, you don’t have any money. Get creative in how you play; it does not have to involve a lot of money, or no money at all. Take a walk in the park and enjoy nature. Here comes another complain, it’s cold outside. Play with your kids, if you have any. Play a board game. Eat some ice cream at the mall. Whatever is fun for you, just do it. Buy yourself a present don’t wait for someone else to do it for you. Live in the moment, do something spontaneous. Play means you are not working and not worried about not working. If you are like me, play involves going to the spa.

These are some of the ways that we can show ourselves love. Keep adding to the list when you think of something new and drop me line tell me about it. Let us think about these things and work on improving our relationship with ourselves. One the Ten Commandments is, love thy neighbor as thyself. That means you must really love and value yourself in order for you to show love to someone else. The next time you see someone talking down to someone else, you will know that person doesn’t love themself and is projecting their self-hate unto the other person. So, in everything that you do, make sure it leads to you meaning something to you.