SELF

9 Valuable Methods Proven to Increase Your Self-Esteem

boost self-esteem

You need self-esteem if you’re going to take the journey to a better self and a more extraordinary life. Luckily, anyone can develop confidence. Then all it takes is a little maintenance occasionally. You can do this and you will!

Imagine feeling fantastic every day. Being courageous instead of anxious and loving yourself even when you mess up.

high self-esteem-guy

“Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on.”

— Maxwell Maltz

No one can force you to dislike yourself. It’s your choice. But it sneaks into your mind slowly over time. So, you have the power to transform how you feel about yourself.

Now, it’s time to take back control of this life-changing ability.

It’s critical to understand how to build and maintain your self-esteem.

Here’s how to improve your self-esteem today. Use these tips for a lifetime, and you’ll be set!

1. Gain self-esteem by doing something you’ve been avoiding

Do chores for self-esteem.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Finish something that you’ve been putting off for a long time. Once you finish, you’ll feel a rush of energy and motivation to do more things! Plus, that task is one less thing for you to worry about in life.

2. Build self-esteem by getting out of your comfort zone

High self-esteem tourist lying in camping tent near shore.
Photo by Brady Knoll on Pexels.com

You have to push yourself in order to grow. So, get out of your comfort zone, even if it’s just a little bit. The more you do this, the more you’ll learn and even start to impress yourself! Prove yourself wrong because you did what you told yourself you couldn’t; this strengthens your self-esteem.

have-fun

Also, stop taking life so seriously, have fun! Besides, from birth until death, you are the only one who’ll always be there. So, you might as well be friends and have a good time!

3. Choose self-esteem boosting thoughts

smiling self-esteem lightened by neon illumination
Photo by Juan Martin Lopez on Pexels.com

To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.”

Denis Waitley

If you stop thinking negative thoughts, then you’ll have plenty of space for positivity! So, flip the script and start remembering your accomplishments and your abilities. Think about these things throughout each day. However, don’t believe that you’re superior to others; we’re all equal, just different.

4. Have morals and live by them

cheerful senior mother and adult daughter using smartphone together
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters.”
— Dan Coppersmith

Have you taken the time to find out if your beliefs are right or wrong? If you think something is “bad,” but you still do it, your subconscious notices. Moreover, you’ll lose respect for yourself, and this ultimately lowers your self-esteem.

On the other hand, if you live by your morals, you’ll build more confidence.

For example, if you believe you shouldn’t hurt anyone, but you gossip or make fun of people, it’ll impact how you think of yourself. You’re damaging others’ well-being, and it’s hurting you as well. So, strive to live by your virtues and be a joy to others instead of a pain.

5. Be solution-focused

solution-minded-self-esteem

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Complaining and whining about problems never solves anything. When you come across an issue, immediately ask yourself what you can do to solve it. If that solution doesn’t work, ask yourself again. Eventually, you’ll find the answer.

6. Forgive and let go of all grudges

leave-negative-people

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

You’ll like yourself more when you aren’t filled with anger from old grudges. Forgive the person in your mind and let go of any resentments. Anger doesn’t do any good. Besides, you’re hurting yourself, not them.

If that person continues to bring you down, then don’t be around them anymore. They’re hurting your self-esteem. Besides, you don’t want them to rub off on you! So, leave them. Even if you have to find a new job, don’t let people mistreat you.

7. Accept and approve of yourself

approve-of-yourself

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”

Louise L. Hay

Self-acceptance helps build self-esteem. But, you can’t have self-acceptance and talk down to yourself at the same time. So, choose to approve and love every part of who you are, even your flaws!

Tell yourself:

  • “I’m going to be myself and enjoy it whether people like it or not.”
  • “I love who I am, even my flaws.”
  • “I have nothing to prove to others because I accept myself unconditionally.”

8. Don’t believe everything you think

self-esteem-thoughts

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”

Mark Twain

It’s essential to become aware of disapproving self-talk. The subconscious can brew up a concoction of negative opinions of ourselves and put them on repeat. It learns from repetition so you can retrain your brain the same way. Only this time put positive, encouraging thoughts on repeat.

Otherwise, if you allow disapproving thoughts to run in the background, you’ll start to identify with them.

Then they become self-fulfilling prophecies. So, if you don’t want to become the names you call yourself, then stop negative thoughts in their tracks. Make yourself think 3 good things about yourself for every negative thought.

9. Connect to your inner awesomeness

inner-awesomeness

“To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.”

— Robert Morley

Can you remember a time when you felt truly amazing? A time when you were full of confidence? What were you doing? If you can’t think of a time like that, then ask a friend. Sometimes others can see our brilliance while we are blind to it.

self-esteem-man-coffee

In short, you’re an incredible person. No flaw or mistake can diminish your value. They’re just symptoms of being human.

Besides, you’re the only “you” we have in this world! So, don’t hold yourself back anymore, your potential is waiting, and you’ve got this!

self-esteem-success-guy

Gain motivation and useful knowledge every week by subscribing below!

About Author

Hi, I'm Sheryl Barnes the writer here at Motivated Progress. I write about productivity, goals, psychology of the mind, and ways to enhance your inner self.

(8) Comments

  1. That is an incredible way of putting it all in perspective, I am impressed! I think for me was the falling in love with myself. Even after a year of shifting my mindset, I never had any idea what true love was. Dang (shaken my head)

    1. Thank you, Ben! Yeah, you’re always going to be there so it’s best to love who you are. It’s an incredibly important lesson to learn.

  2. Thank you so much for these reminders. I know they are all so true. Seems I drift from my true self going through life things get in way an such. It’s always a good thing to find a good read to remind us who we are and get back on track !! I know no one is perfect. But nothing wrong trying perfect our selfs in areas to improve ones life. Happiness inner peace gratitude is a great goal to accomplish! Yeahhh. It is for me 😃🤟🤗✌️

    1. I completely agree. Yeah, it’s easy to drift back to our default mindsets. But if you continually feed your mind positivity and encouragement, it will eventually accept that as the new default. Keep at it though. If you subscribe then that’ll guarantee that you’ll get at least some motivation every week. 😉 That should help keep you on track.

  3. Your help in the 9 Proven Ways to Increase Your Self-Esteem would greatly be appreciated. With the low or no self-esteem that I may have. Just by reading what I have has me motivated. Thank you.

    1. You’re welcome! I have another article about confidence you should check out. Make sure you subscribe so you can continually feed your mind motivation! It will really help. Thanks for the comment!

  4. MICHAEL J M. says:

    TRULLY AMAZING,THATS A WONDERFUL WAY TO LIVE,GREAT LESSONS LEARNT ON HOW BEST TO LIVE OUR LIVES NOT FOR OTHERS.THANX A MILLION.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.