Short messages on Self-esteem and body confidence issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
Write down an actual list, and refer to it often to remind yourself of your strengths. This might include your natural talents, your learned skills, your achievements, your dreams, and even your healthy relationships.
Mourn your mistakes fully, learn from them, and make amends where possible. Then forgive yourself, and let go of the past so that you can move forward, knowing you’ve done your best.
Shame vanishes when you receive support and understanding from others. We must stop trying to appear perfect by keeping our perceived flaws a secret and going it alone.
We’re often afraid to show the messy, flawed, and vulnerable part of ourselves to others. It can be a tremendous relief when you do and someone accepts you just as you are.
To heal yourself and to build up your self-esteem, take one step above being like those who’ve wronged you, by looking at yourself with compassion and understanding.
Low self-esteem can have many causes, none of which are your fault. A traumatic experience where you haven’t received the proper support, or you feel judged or blamed for the event, or you felt lonely and abandoned afterwards, can lower self-esteem.
For every one negative “fact” you’ve decided about yourself, there are other tens of positive facts about you. Choose what to notice about yourself, and value the strengths that you have.
Low self-esteem can cause you to notice and accept as true only the negative facts about yourself.
No matter how you perceive your looks, how smart you are, how wealthy you are, how many friends you have: you can build up your self-esteem because it’s up to you to give yourself value.
It’s okay to let go of everything and everyone that stops you achieving the best you. If something isn’t going well, try a different way.