Self-Esteem Fundamentals: Facts to Help You Build Confidence

Healthy self-esteem leads to positive outcomes in other areas, such as:

People who value and accept themselves, flaws and all, feel more satisfaction and happiness. Alternatively, low self-esteem leads to sadness, depression, guilt, shame, anxiety, fear, anger, and resentment.

You’ll better cope with life’s challenges when you have healthy self-esteem. Nothing is impossible or hopeless.

Self-esteem promotes healthier relationships because you attract others who are as positive and caring as you. Knowing your worth, you set healthy boundaries and standards, not tolerating poor behaviors.

Healthy self-esteem primes you to seek out and take on challenges. You don’t avoid new activities, fearing that you aren’t good at them or that others will judge you.

With healthy self-esteem, you’re realistic. You don’t care about being perfect or appearing perfect. You admit to not being great at everything. However, with your growth mindset and hard work, you have the potential to be great at anything.

You care about yourself, so you care for yourself. Too little or too much self-esteem can lead to abuses, like food disorders, self-harm practices, or substance addiction.

You are more likely to pursue opportunities and challenges because you consider yourself capable and worthy. You think positively, are motivated, and have an internal locus of control that tells you nothing is impossible. As a result, you experience greater success in life.

Try these techniques for improving your self-esteem.

The Rosenberg Scale or the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, which are widely used by researchers, provides a realistic picture of your current self-esteem measurements. Alternatively, you can write down 10 of your strengths and weaknesses.

Bottling up your emotions could make them worse, so speak up about how you feel. You don’t have to battle feelings of worthlessness alone.

​Talk to someone like a trained counselor, therapist, or trusted friend. You may be one of many in your circle with poor self-esteem.

Set aside time every day to appreciate the good in your life. Set a reminder if you have to.

Write down what you’re thankful for and include some things you appreciate about yourself. Writing works best, but thinking about them is an okay alternative for days when you’re crunched for time.

​Don’t discount the little things about yourself that you like during your mindful gratitude moments, like the fact that you are helpful, good at video games, or have an awesome name. Anything counts.

Engage in things you like to do. If you aren’t sure what that is, keep exploring until you find it.

​Try to make one of your activities a group activity with good-quality people to fuel your sense of belonging. For example, an online book club about success secrets can help you meet good-quality people while engaging in an activity that keeps you focused on positive things.

Who you keep in your circle of friends matters. You become like those around you, so make sure they are good influences and fill your cup instead of depleting or spoiling it.

You don’t have to be perfect to be worthy. In fact, no one is perfect. You make mistakes. Everyone does. Acknowledge your accomplishments and mistakes. Learn to look at mistakes as learning opportunities.

A lily will never be a rose, but it’s just as beautiful. How can you even compare the two totally different types of flowers?

​Focus on your growth instead of how you measure up to someone else. What good is comparing yourself to a completely different person?

Exercise releases feel-good endorphins. Additionally, doing something with the right amount of difficulty produces confidence, which builds on itself and extends to other areas of life.

​Junk food harms your body. Your brain and gut are connected, so a poor diet makes for poor brain health. A diet rich in whole, healthy foods fuels the body, mind, and spirit.

Social media has great aspects. However, it shows you dolled-up versions of the lives of others, leaving you with the impression that their lives are perfect. That prompts you to compare your realistic life to their unrealistic portrayal.

​Recognize when you start feeling envious and reduce your social media time. Remind yourself that you see just a fraction of what’s real.

Speak compassionately to yourself. It can make a huge difference in how you feel.

​Come up with a mantra or positive affirmation. Repeating it can make your brain believe it. It must be positive and helpful. An example is, “I am becoming the person I am meant to be. I am improving my life every day.” Say your mantra at least once a day.

Poor relationships, childhood experiences, genetics, and a host of other factors can contribute to less-than-ideal self-esteem. Stay entrenched in self-esteem boosters to retrain your brain. Continuously use growth mindset resources to help you succeed with self-esteem issues.