Have you ever felt like you don’t hold a lot of confidence in yourself? Perhaps you think negatively of yourself, feel inadequate in an area of life, or don’t like the way your life looks compared to others. Maybe you even doubt yourself or have a hard time acknowledging your strengths. If any of this resonates with you, it’s likely you could benefit from boosting your self-esteem and improving the confidence you have in yourself.
In simple terms, self-esteem is like a house plant. In order for your house plant to thrive indoors, it has to be nurtured with sunlight and fed water to grow. The same is true with our self-esteem. We must nurture it and feed it what it needs, or it will suffer.
Having confidence in ourselves and feeling we have high self-esteem is not an automated process. In fact, we have to consciously think in certain ways and engage in certain behaviors in order for our self-esteem to stay healthy. When we have healthy levels of self-esteem, we are more likely to feel confident in ourselves, carry a more positive mindset, and overall feel more content in our lives.
Here are 20 ways to boost your self-esteem:
- Stop comparing yourself to others.
- Start identifying your strengths/things you are good at.
- Increase time spent engaging in hobbies/activities that make you feel good and/or you are good at doing.
- Stop talking down to yourself.
- Start accepting compliments.
- Spend more time outside doing activities.
- Remove yourself from people/places/things that trigger your low self-esteem.
- Increase your positive support network.
- Ask a friend/family member to tell you something they like/value about you.
- Learn a new skill/hobby.
- Start eating more nutrient dense foods by reducing/eliminating processed food consumption and sugar intake.
- Start reframing negative thoughts you have about yourself.
- Stop using alcohol/drugs.
- Start saying “no” to things you don’t like/don’t want to do.
- Increase your activity level by moving your body more.
- Challenge self-defeating beliefs you hold about yourself.
- Volunteer your time, help someone in need, and/or donate things you no longer use.
- Set small, realistic goals to work towards.
- Seek support from a counselor or therapist to help you identify what is negatively impacting your self-esteem.
- Start celebrating small successes/achievements.
By intentionally engaging in these activities, you are creating more positive experiences in your life that will naturally boost your self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
