Learning how to improve self-esteem is incredibly important.
Not only can learning to improve your self esteem help you in countless life situations, but it can also just make you a much happier person in general.
With that being said; let’s take a look at the best ways to improve self-esteem according to experts.
Before we talk about building confidence and self esteem, it would first be a good idea to give you the definition of self esteem.
The definition of self esteem is this; having confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect.
This definition is incredibly important, and it gives us a few key insights into how self esteem works and how we can improve our own. But this is something that we will talk about shortly.
What we want to let you know in this section is this; improving your self esteem is possible, no matter how impossible it may feel. However, the methods to do so might not be what you would expect.
This is not some self-help article that is just going to tell you to love yourself.
No, we are going to give you some practical tips and tricks that will allow you to improve your self esteem once and for all, and we may even be able to change your entire perception on self esteem within just a few minutes.
Now that that’s out of the way; let’s take a look at a few of the best ways to improve your self esteem.
Confidence Follows Action
Many people assume that self esteem is some intangible thing, just appearing out of thin air. This isn’t the case.
Self esteem is a by-product of skill and experience. Without skill or experience, having self esteem is just not possible.
To give an example, if you feel like you are socially awkward around people but you very rarely interact with other people unless forced too, then your lack of self esteem makes complete sense.
You wouldn’t feel confident about flying a plane if you have never flown one before – why would any other situation be any different?
This is the truth about self esteem.
If you do not have a ton of experience in a certain area, then you cannot expect to be confident. In fact, if you were, it’s fair to say most people would think you were a little bit mad.
As this article is focused on self-esteem in the context of how we feel about ourselves, let’s take the aforementioned definition of self-esteem and put it into context.
So, how can we feel better about ourselves? Well, start moving your life in the right direction.
If you hate everything you do and regret every decision you make, you cannot expect to have high self-esteem.
To give a more specific example; if you have no job, no girlfriend, no hobbies, and no real goals, then your problem isn’t a mental one; it’s a physical one.
Be more proactive about improving your life.
If you feel like you aren’t good at socialising, then learn a little about socialising and start putting yourself in situations where you can get some practice.
If you feel like you are a “loser” because you don’t have a job, then start learning skills and start working towards some form of employment.
Of course, not every self-esteem issue is based in reality.
If a millionaire feels bad because he doesn’t make as much as his billionaire friends, then this is a mental problem that needs to be solved through self-care and philosophy rather than physical action (although physical action could be helpful too).
The same applies to any other reason why you may compare yourself to other people – you should never compete with others, only yourself.
It’s also worth noting that improving your self esteem will take time.
Gaining experience in any area means repeatedly doing something until you have an idea of what you are doing, and this means that you need to become comfortable with not looking like you know what you are doing for a while.
This is just a part of gaining self esteem. You have to be prepared to look like a fool and embarrass yourself if you want to learn.
However, as a general rule of thumb, most self esteem problems need to be solved with concrete action.
So, if you want to improve self-esteem, get out there and get some knowledge and experience.
Get Physical
The next step you can take when it comes to how to improve self esteem is to get physical.
Exercise has countless benefits, with improved self esteem being chief among them.
By simply setting up a regular exercise regime, you will notice a huge difference in your overall self esteem.
Moreover, you have free reign to choose whatever type of exercise you like. It doesn’t matter if you hit the gym, go for a run, or do some skipping, getting your heart rate up and improving your health over time is going to have a monumental effect.
It can also aid in weight loss, which is another way that exercise can help self-esteem.
Exercise can help you lose fat and build muscle, and once you see the fruits of your labour, it will be more than worth your effort.
Getting some exercise is one of the best ways to improve self-esteem, and you would be surprised at how much of a difference it can make.
Meditate
You have likely heard how beneficial meditation is countless times, but if you are like most, you have probably pushed this information to the wayside.
Meditation is one of the best tools we have to combat stress and improve self-esteem.
It also happens to be incredibly easy to get into and is accessible to everyone – virtually everyone on this planet can meditate.
All you need is a few spare minutes and voila – you have everything you need to improve your self-esteem and confidence.
While we won’t give you a full explanation of how to meditate in this article, we will give you a quick rundown to get you started.
To meditate, all you need to do is close your eyes and focus on your breath.
Thoughts will come and take your attention away, and this is to be expected.
Just give yourself a gentle nudge to refocus on your breath whenever you notice a thought taking your attention.
As for how often and how long you should meditate, just do whatever you can.
In a perfect world, you will be able to build up to two twenty-minute meditation sessions per day (this has been proven to give maximum benefit), but anything is better than nothing.
Rid Yourself of Any Negative Habits
The last factor we would like to mention that can help improve self esteem is ridding yourself of any bad habits.
Habits like drinking, gambling, or smoking can be incredibly harmful, and they can also diminish your self-esteem substantially.
It can be hard to feel good about yourself when you do something that you know is bad for you every single day.
This is even more so the case if you are in the grasp of addiction – this can leave you feeling worthless and even weak.
Ridding yourself of these habits can bring tremendous relief, and that goes without mentioning the other mental and physical benefits that come with quitting bad habits.
Quitting your bad habits will quite literally make you into a new person.
Of course, by no means are we saying this is going to be easy.
Depending on what bad habits you have and how long you have been dealing with them, it may take you months to rid yourself of them. You may even need to get professional help.
Nevertheless; working towards ridding yourself of your bad habits is going to put you on a path to health, confidence, and self-esteem, and you are not going to get very far if you are not willing to make a few changes.
how to Improve Self-Esteem – FAQs
What is The Definition Of Self-Esteem?
The definition of self esteem is this; confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect.
It means believing in yourself and having the competence to deal with any situation.
How to Improve Self Confidence?
You can improve self confidence in many ways, but perhaps the best is to just gain knowledge and experience in a certain area.
On top of this, exercising, quitting bad habits, and meditating can all help too.
What Are The Best Self-Esteem Activities?
The best self esteem activities are exercising and meditating.
Both of these activities improve self esteem, and they can produce results relatively quickly.
Is Building Your Self Esteem Possible For Anyone?
Yes, building your self esteem is possible for anyone.
By gaining knowledge and practical experience, exercising, ridding yourself of negative habits, and meditating, you will notice a substantial increase in self confidence.
We hope this article will be of use to you! Building your self esteem does not have to be a difficult task – there are concrete steps and many self esteem activities you can make use of if you are looking to accomplish this goal.
Everyone should learn how to improve self confidence – the benefits it will have on your life will make it well worth the effort.
For additional reading, you could research the Fennell low self esteem model to find out more about how self esteem works.
You can even take a peek at the Fennel self esteem formulation PDF to delve into his work even further.
If you would like more advice about improving your self esteem or just want to better yourself in general, feel free to scour MovingForwards to view our other content.
Learning how to improve self-esteem may just be your first step on a long journey.
