How can I improve my self esteem?

I surround myself with people who I know truly value me and see my worth. In moments where I feel badly about myself, I have them to bring me back up and remind me of my significance. You can change simple things too. For eg: the way you talk to yourself. When we experience some kind of failure, we beat ourselves over it and get so incredibly critical and negatively view ourselves. But say a friend went through that and was thinking about those things. You, as the person's friend don't think that he/she is a failure or any of those things we ordinarily tell ourselves in moments of difficulty. Imagine if you spoke to yourself the same way you spoke to a friend, comforting them when they felt low about their self esteem. This exercise seemed a bit silly to be at first but it genuinely helped. I looked at myself in the mirror and I actually spoke self affirming and positive things to myself. It felt kind of fake at first but with time, I started to actually believe the things I was telling myself and trusting that my words about myself were true. Say things such as the things you love about yourself. Say things that you are truly happy for in your life. Stop comparing yourself to other people. We all have things about ourselves that makes us special in our own way. Everyone has their own different strengths and weaknesses. Comparing yourself to a whole different person will only bring you down further. You are your only competition. We are always way too harsh on ourselves. We are more special than we make ourselves out to be. Just remember that.

Self esteem can be something hard to maintain and have bad thoughts about especially with the influence through social media and the beauty industry. I went through a really rough time with my self esteem, thinking my body was ugly and fat, to the point I assumed that's what other thought about me. One day I started to make small changes to make myself feel better. I chose to make at least 2 compliments about myself every day and things i love about me. I had to change my thoughts from assuming negative thoughts from others, to thoughts about myself. I let go of this and realized other people's thoughts or opinions about me don't matter. This really help lift and boost my self esteem.

The first step to improve your self esteem is to start taking good care of yourself by being responsible and doing what you know is good for your body and mind. The second step is to be patient and kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up too much. Life and self discipline are hard for everyone and it's normal not to be perfect. You can always try again and do better next time or the following. Respect yourself and others. Educate yourself. Exercise. Sleep enough. Eat well. Take care of yourself. Love yourself and others. Help people if you have the chance to do so.

The best ways to improve how we think & feel about ourselves are: 1. Maintain healthy relationships and enjoy the good times with family and friends.  2. Learn to communicate both effectively and actively.  3. Do the right thing and treat yourself positively. Great things come your way when you do.  4. Repeat affirmations daily to boost your self-confidence, self-love, and self-esteem, which will impact the voice in your conscience. If you do these things and you think you need more help, it is totally okay to see a professional then start therapy. Therapy provides us with an avenue to find out more information about ourselves and grants us a deeper understanding of our circumstances. Additionally, it helps a lot of persons change their perspective of themselves and become better people.  At the end of the day, remember to strive to be the best version of yourself possible and to take life one step at a time. You are strong, you are brave, you are amazing, and you are loved.  Good luck!