Accepting responsibility for your self-esteem is crucial for overcoming low self-esteem. That means taking ownership and being accountable for your own life. If you don’t take responsibility, you’re disempowering yourself. You may be self-sabotaging your self-esteem by your words, thoughts and actions that effectively shift the responsibility elsewhere. You may not even realise it. However, you have the power to change that. Accepting responsibility for your self-esteem is the key to moving forwards with your life.
Self Esteem Problems
Why should you stop comparing yourself to others? The main reason is that comparing yourself to others is destructive to your self-esteem. When you compare yourself to others, you might think they have it all together and believe you should be the same. You might treat life as a competition and base your worth in comparison to what other people are good at, their looks, personalities, what they have or what they’ve achieved. You may be too hard on yourself for not being like others and fail to see your own unique qualities. Comparing yourself to others is destructive to your self-esteem--and you can learn to stop it.
Being a people-pleaser is a sign of low self-esteem. If you’re a people-pleaser, you go out of your way to make other people happy. Your choices or actions might be based on what others think, want or expect from you. Your self-worth is probably dependent on the approval from others, and it most likely reflects your personal insecurities. It’s okay to be kind and helpful to others, but to a point. Excessive people-pleasing is unhealthy and it can worsen your self-esteem. The good news is that you can stop being a people-pleaser.
Taking things personally is a sign of low self-esteem. When you take things personally, you might be sensitive to the words or actions of others or you interpret things in a negative way. Perhaps someone says something which you take as an insult or you assume a person doesn't like you if they walk past without saying hello. Taking things personally may cause you to feel inadequate, ashamed, or even angry at yourself or the other person. It's disempowering and can worsen your self-esteem. However, you can build your self-esteem when you stop taking things personally.
Overcoming your fear of failure can be empowering but a living with a fear of failure can be damaging to your self-esteem. For example, fear of failure may prevent you from trying new activities, starting or finishing tasks, or pursuing employment or educational opportunities. It can also get in the way of forming relationships and socialising, in general. You might settle for something you’re comfortable with to ensure you succeed, rather than challenging yourself with something more fulfilling. When you do this, you’re not living to your fullest potential and can get very easily stuck in your present situation. A fear of failure is often associated with anxiety and depression and it affects your quality of life. Overcoming your fear of failure spurs you do the things you want and it helps to improve your self-esteem.
It’s easy to be ashamed of having low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is generally perceived as a weakness and it’s often stigmatized. Having low self-esteem is bad enough, but feeling ashamed can make it a lot worse. Shame may prevent you from speaking up, seeking the help you need and it can also be isolating. You may want to hide away from the world or avoid talking to others. However, you can improve your self-esteem when you stop feeling ashamed.
If you have ever felt the pain of rejection, if so this helpful post is for you. Ready to feel confident instead of insecure? Read this.
A healthy body image is vital for a healthy self-esteem. It means being comfortable with your own body and it's your own perception. A poor body image can be damaging in so many ways. It's often associated with eating disorders, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and a range of other issues. The reality is that many people don’t like, or are ashamed of, their bodies.
If you have low self-esteem, the chances are you worry too much about what other people think. You probably place too much value on other people’s opinions and overestimate how much they actually care. It's natural to care to some extent what others think, and it’s okay, to a point. It’s the excessive worry that’s the problem.
Assertiveness is important for a healthy self-esteem and for your overall wellbeing. Being assertive means speaking up for yourself, being able to express your opinions and feelings and being able to say no. Find out how to become more assertive.