Having the strength to say no can be hard, but it can also make you feel good to stick with what you believe in. Explain in a calm way why you don’t want to be part of something, and you might earn respect from others and gain confidence in yourself.
Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun. Try something new, or rediscover an old interest. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving.
We need you out here in the world; don’t cheat us of your gifts by getting stuck in low self-esteem.
Healthy self-esteem requires self-understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness, plus large doses of self-compassion. It needs ongoing vigilance and upkeep until you’ve formed healthier habits of self-esteem.
Self-esteem rises when you know you can trust yourself, when you trust your own instincts and intuition over the ideas of others, and when you’ve proven to yourself that you can face disappointment and frustration without becoming destabilised.
Take time to identify what matters most to you. Measure all your choices and actions against these core values, making sure they match up.
Cultivate extra self-confidence by choosing one item from your “strengths list” and honing it further until it turns into something you can be even more proud of. Actively direct your attention to creating the kind of experiences you want in life and becoming the person you want to be.
by self-help expert Dr Pam Spurr.
I’ve got a really big problem with our society that gives the message we should all be extroverts. That there’s something wrong if you’re not the life-and-soul of the party. Simply not true!
We’re all made differently and I hate how some feel the pressure to be something they’re not.
That said, I’ve seen the devastating consequences of shyness. Where a shy person feels they can’t talk to someone they’re attracted to. Or make new friends, or put themselves forward for a project at school or work.
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.