How Can You Improve Self-Esteem? 10 Simple Strategies 

Feeling confident about yourself isn’t always easy. Sometimes a voice inside your head makes you feel unworthy. You may have gained this perception from past experiences, especially during your childhood. However, having self-confidence allows you to better succeed in life. So, try these five ways to improve self-esteem. 

Why Does Self-Esteem Matter?

First, having an unfavorable opinion of yourself doesn’t make you look good to others, either. You want to like yourself at least a little, so other people see the light in you and want to get to know you. You want to be able to advocate for yourself and your abilities, which can open new pathways for you.

Choose to look on the bright side. Low self-esteem has been linked to having a negative view of life and the world as a whole, which can be tiring for both yourself and the people around you. Developing using these 5 ways to improve self-esteem can help you take yourself seriously and love the person you are and who you will become.

How Can You Improve Your Self-Esteem?

If you need a confidence boost, try these 10 strategies for improving self-esteem.

1. Lean Into Positive Affirmations

Use these to drown out the negative thoughts. These are positive statements you repeat to yourself to challenge self-sabotaging beliefs. Although, you want to use this technique properly. Instead of saying something broad, like “I’m going to be a success.” Say something like, “I’m going to stay strong until I succeed.” 

This puts less pressure on yourself. It’s also easier to believe than the first statement because you already told yourself that you can’t do well. Repeat these positive affirmations daily, especially when you need to pick me up. You can also have certain ones tailored to a specific l area in your life, such as your career or relationship. Here are a few positive affirmations to say each day:

• I am at peace with myself.
• I am a valuable human being.
• I appreciate who I am.
• My future is bright.
• I deserve to be happy.

2. Write Down Your Skills and Develop Them 

Start by creating a list of all the things you have accomplished. Note anything you are particularly proud of or thought you did well. This could include things like leading a project at work or helping out a friend. 

This process can force you to be more introspective and think positively. It also gives you a visual reminder of your accomplishments. Keep this list handy for one you’re having a rough day. Hang it on your bedroom wall to look at when you wake up each morning. 

Then use the list to identify the skills you used to achieve these tasks. Once you know what you’re good at, find opportunities to showcase them. For example, if you’re a good cook, volunteer to host a holiday dinner. Showing off your talents can make you feel better about yourself and affirm your value. 

3. Learn a New Skill

Mastering a new hobby provides a sense of competency. It can prove to yourself that you are more talented than you believed. Plus, it’s one of the fun five ways to improve self-esteem. While taking on new challenges can be scary, they can help you grow. 

At first, you may be hesitant because you believe it will affirm your negative beliefs. But once you complete the task, you will have proven yourself worthy. Just keep in mind it takes time to learn new things. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t succeed right away. Take everything as a learning experience. 

Find new things to learn based on your hobbies and interests. For example, if you like to cook, tackle a new recipe or go to a cooking class. You can even bring your friend along for extra support. Also, try things that center you spiritually, like yoga. 

4. Be Willing to Accept Compliments 

This is one of the five ways to improve self-esteem that involves changing your mindset. Often when you have a negative view of yourself, it’s harder to accept genuine compliments. This is because you may not believe them yourself. So, set a goal to tolerate compliments even when you get uncomfortable. Also, try not simply dismiss them or convince someone why they’re wrong. 

This creates a bad habit that can even annoy friends and family. Instead, have prepared responses to good feedback, like “Thank you.” So, you can train your brain to say “Thank you” automatically in place of your initial reaction.  

Then, stop yourself at “Thank you” and not counter with a dismissive remark. Another important thing is not to evaluate the compliment. Don’t overthink and wonder if it’s genuine or not. Just accept it and move on. Then repeat it yourself the next day to help reaffirm your strengths. You can even write down compliments you receive to look over when you’re feeling down. 

5. Create Positive Relationships 

Hanging with the right people boosts your mood and reaffirms your positive attributes. So, spend time with people who value and respect you. They should encourage you to grow as a person instead of judging your flaws. Also, remove negative people from your life who make you question your self-value. 

While forming these relationships, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s okay if you get nervous sometimes and feel more awkward. Allow yourself not to be perfect. To help challenge negative thoughts, talk to yourself like you would a friend. This encourages you to be more compassionate towards yourself. Also, learn to say “no” when necessary. Often if you have low-self esteem, it’s harder to stand up for yourself. 

However, this can cause you to take on too many responsibilities at work or home. Over time you can become overwhelmed, impacting your overall health. So, you want to be more assertive and put yourself first. The more you do this, the more valuable you will believe you are. To become more confident in saying “no,” determine your priorities and write down a list of your goals. Then you can only accept requests that help you achieve these tasks. 

6. Find a Purpose

When you know what you’re meant to do and you can perform your tasks well, it’s easy to feel fulfilled and have greater self-esteem than if you don’t feel like you’re contributing to anything. A purpose can help you understand what you’re good at and what you love to do.

Your purpose doesn’t have to make you money. It’s okay if you don’t find your purpose in your job and instead see it elsewhere, like in making people smile or creating something to release into the world. As long as it makes you happy, it’s enough. From there, you can hone your skills and grow happier by contributing to what you love to do.

7. Practice Affirmations

Affirmations are words and phrases you repeat to yourself, preferably in front of a mirror, that can help you understand your worth and empower you to reach your fullest potential. When you look yourself in the eyes and say that you matter and you’re talented, you’ll eventually start to believe it. When you practice affirmations, you’re capable of achieving more things simply because you believe in yourself. It’s an easy way to reach your goals while growing in your love for yourself.

8. Learn to Say No

Learning to say no to something takes more strength than anyone can realize. If you have low self-esteem, you may find yourself saying yes to more things and allowing people to cross boundaries with you that you’ve previously set. Loving yourself means understanding your own limits and learning when to say no when it’s better for you. 

The people who love you will understand when you can’t do something or go somewhere. You need to look out for yourself because no one else will be able to prioritize you as highly as themselves in every situation. Learning to say no means looking out for yourself, which means prioritizing yourself and showing your brain that you have worth.

9. Give Yourself Rewards

Treating yourself with kindness isn’t easy. Sometimes, at the beginning of your journey, you may need to give yourself rewards to entice yourself to be kind. When you’ve worked hard, whether at school or in your career, you can reward yourself with a small purchase or a sweet treat. 

It might be hard to see yourself as worthy of this kind of love, but once you practice it enough, you’ll grow outside of your comfort zone. Teach yourself to be kind and have compassion for yourself. That compassion could translate to being empathetic toward others’ struggles, too.

10. Surround Yourself With Love

Sooner rather than later, you need to find the people who will have your back and encourage you to grow in positive ways no matter what. Having a support system full of people who love you can help raise your self-esteem. You might experience this surge in self-esteem because your support system will celebrate your wins with you and help you over the obstacles that stand in your way to a better life. 

Where Should I Start On My Self-Esteem Journey?

Your self-esteem won’t change overnight, but don’t feel discouraged. Your confidence is like a muscle. You need to continue exercising it to see progress over time.

Choose one or two strategies to begin your self-improvement process. Trying to take on too many goals at once is overwhelming. Instead, focus on the tips that resonate with you most.

How Will You Improve Your Self-Esteem? 

Building up your confidence takes time, and for some people, it can be a challenge. Yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t change their mindset. Follow these tips for five ways to improve self-esteem.