Self - esteem

“Self-belief is feeling good enough. It's the feeling that you can handle what life throws at you. It's a healthy appreciation of your talents, characteristics and abilities”

Fiona Harrold, Indestructible Self - Belief 

7 simple steps to getting it and keeping it!

What I have been making myself aware of lately is....we are conditioned by our past experiences! The reality is once we understand this and know how it affects us we will then be able to make changes to the image we have of ourselves. This will no doubt bring positive changes to our life. Our self - esteem will increase once we grasp who it is we are but most importantly who it is we want to be. 

It is paramount to understand how you see yourself. It not only enables you to feel good about the wonderfully unique person that you are but it will bring new changes in to your life that will surprise you. Because I know you will discover and radiate a new found fearlessness!

Understanding who you are is not an easy task. Needless to say, our journey is never ending and has its ups and downs. This is normal of course and simply the joy of our human experience. In our lives we have times where we can feel great, happy, confident, intelligent, beautiful, sexy and smart. However there can be a flip side to this. Yes! Ugly, silly, jealous, frumpy, skinny, fat, filled with anxiety and misery. Here are some questions to ask when you begin to label yourself in a negative way.

Do these words serve a good purpose in my life?

Do these labels make me feel better about myself?

Do I want to accept these words in to my life knowing the negative effect they have on me?

If the answer to these questions is NO then ask yourself: Do I want to do something about the way I see myself? If you do then you have taken the first step in acknowledging your current state of mind. You may not imagine it right now and you may feel it's a bit of a joke but that too is the impact and consequence of using these negative labels on yourself. Remember we can actually convince ourselves of our lack of self-worth. Surely this actually makes us quite powerful!

Now it is all well and good to read about this and find ourselves nodding in agreement but take no step in moving forward and making a difference in our life. So what will you do? Sounds simple doesn't it. Of course no one wants to feel negativity running through their entire being yet so much can happen in someone’s life that sometimes it is quite hard to see a way out. So it may well be hard to make these changes but why should you do this alone when you can ask for help. Remember there is always a way.

Here's something simple to try out to give you a positive start!

1. Contemplate

Think about who you are. Write down what your achievements are and all the positive things about yourself. If you find this hard, ask a good friend to tell you what they think. You will be pleasantly surprised. I'll give you one that I know already is a positive aspect of you and I haven't even met you!...You are a conscious being who cares about their life.

2. Change your thoughts

Listen to what you say to yourself. Catch yourself out when you put yourself down. If you mutter to yourself "I'm not that smart" then think about changing this to something more positive like "I'm a smart person who can make smart decisions."

3. Change your actions

If you are now telling yourself "I'm a smart person who can make smart decisions" then act this way!! Maybe you are the sort of person who always says "yes" to others as you live in fear of what would happen if you said "no". Break habits that you don't want to have and that does not serve your life purpose. Only you know what they are and only you can change them.

A thought from me: stop thinking everyone else is better than you. You would be surprised to know that even the most confident, outgoing and successful person has the same fears as you. We all have suffered from lack of self-esteem at one point in our lives or throughout it. That doesn't mean that is how your life should be. You can change it! I have seen it happen so look ahead and believe in the power of change.

Life is wonderful only if you believe it is...go live it with your head held high, strength within and with an open heart and mind.