The way we feel about ourselves goes a long way into defining the person we are and the person that we are becoming. People with positive self images are more adventuresome, confident, outgoing, hopeful, and have a stronger belief in their ability to realize all of their potentialities. Yet, a positive self-image is not a given for all of us. Some of us have to work on developing a positive self-image. You must be actively engaged in the process of improving your overall self-esteem. An effort must be made to recognize why your self-esteem may be faltering and then additional, prolonged effort must be made in an effort to reverse these patterns. I am a strong believer that major changes should be done in a piecemeal fashion. It is hoped the following suggestions will be implemented into your life and serve as a platform for more holistic changes in your life aimed at increasing the positive nature of your self-image.
1. Defining Self-Esteem – Before we can acquire a more positive sense of self-esteem, we must first understand what self-esteem means to us as an individual. This is likely to change from person to person according to our various dispositions. Many of us define self-esteem in two different ways; how we feel about ourselves and how we feel others feel about us. The important thing is to actually take time and think about what factors should be influencing our self-esteem. This often requires a great deal of honesty with ourselves concerning what we value, and what we truly believe we should be valuing.
2. Set Small Goals – All of us have things in our lives that we want to accomplish. These goals extend to our professional, social, and intrapersonal lives. Yet, we often few these goals as being unrealistic or unattainable. Large goals are not obtained via the results of a single action. A much more practical method is to set up a small goals that can be accomplished in the short term. This accomplishes a number of different things. First, we simply feel better when we see ourselves attain goals we set out to accomplish. Secondly, we move one step closer to accomplishing large, seemingly unattainable goals.
3. Recognize the Value of Your Ideas – Many of us shy away from ideas, preferences, and opinions because we don’t think they’re valid, or worthy of consideration. This is a problem I face personally in college as developing your own voice under the judgment of professors whose intellectual ability you respect can be quite intimidating. It has to be understood though that these people were also once struggling to find the strength behind their opinions. While it is true that some of us may differ according to our intellectual capacities, everyone has the right and ability to develop opinions and ideas. As long as your truly thinking about an issue or a piece of art and listening to your inner voice as to what you really believe, your opinions and preferences are just as valid as anyone else’s.
4. Get Healthy – People are, overwhelming, most self-conscious about their physical appearance. While a great deal of this worry is unjustified (we were endowed with what we were endowed with) there are steps that can be taken to improve a more positive body-image. Daily exercise is likely to have a number of unexpected side effects including improved energy levels, mood, and sleep patterns. Eating healthier is also likely to have similar effects including reduced weight, more energy, reduced acne, and a stronger immune system (meaning more time spent health rather than sick).
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