Ten Ways To Improve Your Self-Esteem

Achieve your goals, build your self-esteem and discover your best friend!

The following list consists of ten different steps to take that will help you to raise your self-esteem.

For all those times you need to feel good about yourself, using these methods will help you take control of the way you feel. Your greatest victory will come in knowing that it's not the way others perceive you, but rather it's the way that you perceive yourself, which can make all the difference.

Step One: Remember that without risk, there is no progress.

If you never try anything new, you will never know anything different about yourself. Learn to be a risk-taker with some aspects of your life. And by taking a class, or learning something new, you'll discover new things about yourself.

Step Two: Imagine your goals are achieved.

Of course, most of us rarely accomplish all the goals that we've set for ourselves. But if you want to own a home, start a business, have children, or travel - whatever your goal may be, you can visualize it. And at some point, that helps the dream to become reality.

Step Three: Start a Victory Wall of accomplishments.

Along the way, we all have moments in our lives that we cherish and want to remember. Whether it was a childhood blue ribbon, a photograph of a special time or place, or a memento or an award that we received, we can all use a boost from showcasing our triumphs and achievements. These can be displayed on a bulletin board or by using a wall of photos.

Step Four: Remember to thank people who are helpful to you.

You will feel better about yourself if you give other people strokes for their accomplishments too. Whether it is your child or someone else's, a friend who needs a boost, or someone you admire or who has helped you in some way, you will learn that boosting morale in others gives an important boost to you as well. It says good things about you if you are able to acknowledge strengths and triumphs in those around you.

Step Five: Make your bedtime a happy, quiet time.

We all deal with chaos around us at certain moments of our day. But everyone should make an effort to set aside some part of the evening for him or herself. You must learn to create a haven around you, to nurture yourself, and to treat yourself well. After all, if you don't create a sense of calm about you, then who will?

Step Six: Outline your personal goals.

Keep your personal goals on index cards, or use a similar system to list exactly what it is you want to do with your life. This can be easily updated and changed on a frequent basis. Our lives are constantly in a state of change, so our goals will experience similar changes.

Step Seven: Simplify your life.

When you learn to un-clutter your living space, you may sometimes find that you can prioritize other things in your life as well. You may be clinging to something that reminds you of the past. But if you learn to let go of material objects, you may find that the only thing that was holding you back was... you!

Step Eight: Don't give up!

Sometimes we goof up, make mistakes, become embarrassed, or confused in front of other people. And then... so what? Most people feel the same way.

It's a rare person who never suffers from a blooper or a social mishap. The best thing to do is to persevere when we start something. Maybe we won't like it once we are finished, but we'll still feel better about ourselves for having finished it and followed through on a commitment.

Step Nine: You may need to renegotiate some broken agreements.

If the past is stopping you from doing some of the things that you would like to do, then you may need to come to terms with a problem before moving ahead. Think about a broken promise or commitment that you may need to re-work. Or perhaps there is a simple phone call that you need to make. In any case, remember to adjust your outlook.

Sometimes things don't work out as we would like, but we can learn to control our feelings and adjust our outlook accordingly. We can't control other people or events, but by learning to change our outlook the outcome of any situation may turn out better than we had ever imagined.

Step Ten: Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent".

You need to become your best friend and biggest fan. Everyone needs a cheerleader, and if you don't happen to have one, then do it yourself!

Talk yourself up. When someone says something negative or discouraging about you, try to look at the remark in a different light. If there is a grain of truth in the remark, take the advice that it conveys.

And try to look past the criticism to understand why the person would offer it. Perhaps it's completely unfounded, and in that case, you need to realize other people have hang-ups and motives that keep them from realizing their potential as well.

Use this list to start building your self-esteem and you'll soon discover that you have a new best friend: YOU!

By Mary Johnson at http://www.intekworld.com/