During your life, events can come and go that raise you to the peaks of excitement and motivation, and then plunge you into the depths of despair. Moods and emotions can swing backward and forwards. And confidence levels can wax and wane.
On the whole the human spirit is pretty resilient. We get up, sort out the kids, do a day’s work, shop, cook, clear up, engage with friends and family, plan our holidays – all activities that fill our time and make us feel valued.
But there always comes that time when energy flags, confidence drops, and you look around for something to give you that boost.
Here are five simple things you can do to get those self esteem and confidence levels back up to a healthy level.
- Put on your best bib and tucker, and your best foot forward.
Sometimes when we’re feeling low, it’s easier just to put on our PJs, eat ice cream and shut out the rest of the world. There’s no harm to hibernating sometimes, but make sure you have an exit strategy in place otherwise that evening of hibernation can slip into a week, and the longer it goes on the hard it gets. Go to your wardrobe, select your favourite suit or dress, and send it off to the local drycleaners. Within a couple of days it’ll be returned to you fresh and clean and waiting to be taken out.
- Make a list of 10 of your best achievements to date
Sometimes when we’re not at our best, we forget those things that we have achieved, and focus only on the negative things in our lives. Negative emotions can make you very tunnel visioned. Force yourself to sit down with a pen and paper (using tangible objects such as a pen can help to make you feel more grounded), and write 10 things that you feel positive and proud about. It will be difficult at first, but the more you do it, the easier it will become. As you work your way through the list, try to amplify the happiness and pleasure that those achievements made you feel – close your eyes and remember and feel the emotion.
- Make a positive mood board of all the things in life that excite and motivate you.
Low self esteem can stop us seeing opportunities and potential in the future. Create yourself a visual representation of your hopes and dreams by creating a mood board. Think about your list of 10 achievements while you do it – they will help to evidence your brilliance to date, and the unlimited potential of your future!
- Switch off social media
Endless ‘doom scrolling’ has long been known as a cause for the onset of emotional distress. Social media may be a source of global connection, but it is also full of vitriol, trolls, bad news, doom and gloom, that can quickly erode self esteem. There is one simple thing you can do to stop this – switch it off. If you have to use social media, then limit its use to one hour a day. Then delete it from you phone and get out into the real world.
- Stop worrying about other people
You are your own amazing, unique person. Everyone you meet in this world is their own amazing, unique person. Do not compare yourself. By all means, be inspired by other people. Be motivated by them. Learn from them. But constantly comparing yourself to other people will only eat away at your confidence.
