A healthy self-esteem can have a positive impact on your mental health. Here are some expert-backed tips for boosting your confidence and feeling good about yourself.
Be your own best friend by treating yourself with kindness, encouraging yourself, and thinking positive thoughts. Also, surround yourself with people who support your sense of worth.
Practice self-care
It’s important to take care of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. This can include eating a healthy diet, exercising, meditation, or listening to music. It also involves learning to prioritize your needs and saying no to negative people or situations.
Practicing self-care can help to improve your mood and boost your confidence. You can try writing down things you admire about yourself or keeping a gratitude journal. It can also be helpful to ask for help from a therapist, who can teach you skills to manage your symptoms and improve your self-esteem. You can self-refer to talking therapies on the NHS or see a private therapist.
Practice self-compassion
Unlike self-esteem, which is contingent on the evaluation of others or meeting a general standard, self-compassion is based on your actions and feelings. Because it is more malleable than self-esteem, researchers are more confident that it can be manipulated through treatment.
Practicing self-compassion involves three components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-kindness is being warm toward yourself when you suffer or make mistakes, and not judging yourself harshly; common humanity is remembering that everyone has these struggles; and mindfulness means being aware of your painful thoughts and feelings without overidentifying with them.
One way to practice self-compassion is by writing a letter to yourself from the perspective of a compassionate friend. You can then keep this letter somewhere and read it when you need a reminder to be kind to yourself.
Practice gratitude
Cultivating gratitude may sound a bit cheesy, but it can be an effective way to boost your self-esteem. Gratitude helps to counteract the effects of negative self-talk and can help you see your life with more perspective.
Try focusing on the little things that make you smile or feel good – like enjoying a warm cup of coffee or hearing your friend’s funny jokes. Or try thinking about the time and effort that went into making something you use – think about how much work it took to design, build, and deliver that product or service to you.
Practice self-acceptance
Self-acceptance involves acknowledging both your strengths and your limitations. It includes validating your feelings and needs, avoiding self-criticism, and forgiving yourself when you make mistakes.
It also means embracing the things that make you unique and letting go of the things that don’t (e.g., your personality quirks or physical flaws). It’s a way of recognizing what you love about yourself and embracing the challenges that life throws at you.
Practicing self-acceptance can boost your overall happiness, and it’s something you can do alone or with others (like friends, family, classmates, or a support group). Try this fun activity from the SMART Recovery website to get started!
Practice self-love
A healthy self-love practice can help you reduce anxiety, lower stress levels, and boost your resilience. For example, practicing body-acceptance can help you break free of negative self-talk that takes a toll on your mental health over time.
It also involves focusing on appreciating and celebrating the functions of your physical body instead of fixating on perceived flaws or societal ideals. You can also practice self-love by seeking out supportive communities and learning to set boundaries with people and situations that drain your energy.
Remember that you’re only human, so don’t expect perfect days every time. Instead, learn to love yourself even when you fail.
Practice self-expression
Practicing self-expression is a great way to boost your confidence and help you build your communication skills. You can express yourself in a variety of ways, including journaling, writing poetry or stories, playing music, dancing, or even learning a new skill, like martial arts.
In addition to practicing different forms of self-expression, you can also work on communicating your thoughts and feelings in healthy ways by learning how to be assertive. Additionally, counseling and therapy can provide a safe and nonjudgmental environment for exploring your thoughts and emotions. You can learn more about these benefits here.
Practice self-respect
Growing up, it’s often drilled into us to respect others, but what many people don’t realize is that self-respect is just as important. It stems from internal qualities like your character, morals, values, and actions.
Practicing self-respect can boost your confidence and help you establish healthy boundaries. It also means being able to admit when you’ve made a mistake without beating yourself up.
If you have low self-esteem, try surrounding yourself with people and things that send a message of self-respect. This can include making time for activities that truly bring you joy, such as your hobbies and passions.
Practice self-confidence
The ability to feel confident is essential for a healthy sense of self-worth. You can practice confidence by spending time around people who make you feel good about yourself and establishing personal boundaries that support your sense of worth.
You may also try practicing overcoming your fears and retraining your negative thoughts by challenging them with more realistic or positive ones. This is often referred to as changing your “self-talk.”
While having a high sense of self-esteem comes naturally for some people, it’s important to remember that it takes work to cultivate resiliency, compassion, and love of oneself.
Practice self-acceptance
Those with low self-esteem often think they don’t add value to life. But they can learn to accept their unique strengths and past achievements. And they can work to overcome their tendency to be overly sensitive.
A person with low self-esteem can also learn to forgive themselves for mistakes and failures. And they can work to surround themselves with quality relationships that boost their happiness.
Finally, they can work to step outside their comfort zone by taking on challenges and new opportunities. And they can remember that people love them for who they are, not for what they do or don’t do.