Last update: April, 2024
Are you extremely critical of yourself? Do you assume luck plays a key role in all of your accomplishments? Do you have trouble believing someone when they give you a compliment? You may be lacking self-confidence and possess low self-esteem. Keep reading to find out how to start increasing your self-confidence! 😊
We all need self-esteem and self-confidence to set and achieve our goals, the good news is we can work on it and increase our level of self-esteem and self-confidence.
Low Self-Esteem And a Lack of Self-Confidence Are Costing You…
Low self-esteem or a lack of self-confidence is a thinking disorder, in which an individual perceives himself or herself as inadequate, unworthy, unlovable and/ or incompetent. It is shockingly prevalent amongst teenagers and young adults, particularly among young women.
Characteristics of having a low self-esteem include: an overly negative critical analysis of one’s self, ignoring personal positive attributes and qualities, perceiving one’s self as inferior in comparison to other people, utilising negative words to describe one’s self, a lack of perceived purpose or direction in life, resentfulness and excessive anxiety, among countless more.
These negative thoughts and symptoms work in tandem and feed each other; creating a mental singularity of negativity that is hard to escape. They further have an adverse effect on one’s quality of life; potentially affecting numerous factors including, but not limited to: emotional wellbeing, self-care and even personal relationships.
How to Increase Your Self-Confidence?
So, how do we overcome low self-esteem? How do we build our self-confidence, to prevent it taking a toll over our personal lives? Let us provide some recommendations that may prove to be useful for you or a loved one. Be aware that increasing your self-esteem and self-confidence takes time and it won’t happen overnight. Patience and perseverance are key to overcoming your self-esteem obstacles.
1. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
The modern age can be defined by the interconnectivity of society, through the use of social media. All your closest friends, family members, co-workers, acquaintances and even passers-by are accessible to you on the edge of your finger tips within our smart devices. Indeed, it’s remarkably easy to view someone else’s life and draw conclusions. Social media is fueled by envy, try to minimise and avoid your time spent on them. Remember; people don’t share their struggles on social media, they only post their (often trivial) highlights.
2. Talk to Yourself Positively
It’s a simple but effective tactic that will help you overcome your low self-confidence. Ignore your inner-monologue that tells you that you aren’t good enough and challenge it with positive reassurance. To maximise the effectiveness of your positive reassurance, attempt to tell yourself a positive message every day. Acknowledge the positive aspects of yourself and your life; appreciate your special qualities that make you unique from everyone else.
3. Create Supportive Environments
A change in the surrounding physical environment can prove to be beneficial for one’s mental health. Whether that be through redecorating the room you spend most of your time or changing the physical location where you spend your time. Whether you decide to redecorate or physically move, try to avoid dark and gloomy colours like black and dark grey; elect brighter, yet calming colours like a light blue or green for example.
The physical environment isn’t the only factor to consider when changing your surrounding environment. The people within it also play a significant role. Try to surround yourself with happy, positive friends and family as often as possible, while simultaneously disassociating with people that bring you down. Happiness is often contagious; if the people around you are consistently happy, it will rub off on you.
Furthermore, we often inherent the traits and characteristics of the people we keep close; are the people surrounding you people that you respect and want to be more alike? If not, consider finding a new circle of people to associate yourself with.
4. Create Healthy Habits
Creating healthy habits is arguably the hardest method, yet it’s the most effective in the long run. Regular exercise and eating healthy are the first things people consider when the topic of a healthy habit is raised. While consistent exercise and nutritional diets are immensely beneficial both in general and in increasing self-esteem; it is not the only healthy habit you can undertake.
A healthy habit can be something simple like; minimising time spent in front of a tv or phone by substituting it with a walk outside, creating an effective sleep schedule, to ensure you are reaching your hearty 8 hours of sleep every night or by doing simple stretches and yoga routines daily.
Challenge yourself! Try to repeat previously mentioned topics everyday if possible!
5. Reaching Out For Help
You are not alone! There are always people who are willing to listen and provide advice, whether it is friends, loved ones, online communities or professional therapists and coaches. Don’t be afraid to reach out; no one will think less of you for your struggles. Getting support provides you with a fresh, unbiased perspective that will assist you with dealing with your feelings, thoughts. Additionally; it will provide you with a safe, comfortable environment that will be incredibly useful when overcoming your obstacles.
If you want to go further than the remedies and recommendations provided by our article, contact us to start your individual coaching journey to increase your self-confidence.
Your mental health matters!
If you are fearful of your mental health, or the mental health of a loved one, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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