First off, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Are you feelin‘ the love?! As a follow up to last week’s post How to Gain Awesome Self Esteem in 6 Powerful Hacks, I want to talk about how to overcome low self esteem.
Gaining self esteem doesn’t mean much if you still have underlining struggles. Am I right?! If you’re struggling, here are some must-know tips for overcoming low self esteem once and for all. We will learn you love ourselves together.
I don’t care who you are, everyone deep down inside has at one time or another struggled with self esteem. Please know you are not alone in this. In this day of social media, we are constantly challenged to compare our insides with everyone else’s outside.
That is not fair.
Everyone is trying to post the best of themselves. Just because that is all that you see, does not mean that their life is perfect. Of course, others are going to post their wins. Everyone wants to look good. What we have to learn is how to stop comparing their bests with how we feel.
Even some of the most famous people in the world struggle with this. They have feelings of not being enough, or that they don’t fit in. Everyone has those thoughts. We are all human. We can be our hardest and worst critics.
[bctt tweet=”In this day of social media, we are constantly challenged to compare our insides with everyone else’s outside. What we have to learn is how to stop comparing their bests with how we feel” username=”frontseatryder”]
We have control over the things we think. You do not have to be consumed by negative and hurtful thoughts. In time you can learn to train your brain to replace those negative thoughts you have with positive ones.
For example: If you think you are no good at your job, find ways to counter that statement. Tell yourself you are good at what you do, that is why you got that raise a few months back.
Training your brain to think positive thoughts instead of negative take time, but you can do it! Here are a few other tips for overcoming low self esteem.
8 Tips To Overcome Low Self Esteem For Good
Remember “YOLO”
For the sake of aging myself and trying to stay hip, I will throw out “YOLO“. Remember You Only Live Once. You have one life, so make each moment count. You don’t want to look back and see you’ve spent your days struggling.
Believe me, I’ve been there. It’s not a fun realization!
Instead, get out and enjoy life. Be silly. Love hard. Hold as many puppies as possible! Yes, it might hurt sometimes (well, maybe not the puppy part) but it will be worth it. Every time I have taken a risk in life, the pleasures have outweighed the pain.
[bctt tweet=”Be silly. Love hard. Hold as many puppies as possible! Yes, it might hurt sometimes (well, maybe not the puppy part) but it will be worth it.” username=”frontseatryder”]
You don’t want to be 70 years old and look back and regret all the time and things you missed along the way. Write yourself notes, reminder, place post-its around the house. Whatever you have to do to remember. Remind yourself to live in the moment and not worry about everything and everyone around you. Just be you.
Write in A Journal
Journaling has always been super therapeutic for me. It empties my mind of all the day-to-day thoughts and clutter. It puts my heart at ease. I have fallen out of the journaling habit as an adult, but I will be picking back up shortly. Plus, blogging has helped me get some thoughts out.
Putting your thoughts and words down on paper is very cathartic. Write out your emotions and how you are feeling. Write it all! Journaling gives you the open space to express exactly how you feel without any judgment. This is a great way to release those negative or hurtful thoughts.
Your journal can also be a source of happiness. Jot down your special and memorable moments. When you are feeling down, you can open right up and read some wonderful life blessings.
Track Your Progress
Another one of my favorite outlets was my Bullet Journal. In it I would track my moods, self-care routines, and gratitude. Each day, I got in the habit of writing down how I felt that day and what I was grateful for. You can also make notes about what was going on that day.
Keeping track of these things can show you patterns in your moods or behaviors. Once you see a pattern, you can then make a plan to switch things up. If you start seeing that your mood falls to a 3 right after you have candy, but shots up to 7 after you walk the pup. Treat yourself and pup to a little stroll instead of chocolate.
Give Meditation a Try
I never really thought meditation was a thing until about 3 years ago. After trying it out a few times before bed, I became I believer. Try your hand at meditating. There are a lot of free smartphone apps for guided meditation. You can also find some on YouTube.
Learn to let go of those thoughts that race through your mind. Live in the moment, breath deep, and focus on positivity. Release any negativity that comes to your mind. This practice takes some time but it can help you to build up self-esteem and confidence.
Learn From Your Mistakes
We are all human. I can’t stress this enough. I spent years of my life sitting around wondering how life could be different. What if I hadn’t made some of the decisions I had?
But guess what? I am pretty pleased with the person I am now. And she would not be here today if I took a different path.
Don’t beat yourself up for what you think are mistakes, learn from it. Grow from it. Look at how it has changed you for the better. I am a firm believer in the fact that there is a silver lining in everything.
Take each mistake as a learning experience. You can overcome and grow from it all. We all struggle time to time, so don’t allow it to ruin your day… or your life.
Forgiveness
To follow up your mistakes, learn to forgive yourself. This was one of the hardest lessons put on my plate. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of help, but it is possible.
Forgiving yourself is a crucial part of growing and loving yourself. Dare I say, you can’t truly love yourself without first forgiving yourself for past mistakes.
Also, learn to forgive those who have hurt you. We all have people who have harmed us in the past. They seem to haunt you, don’t they?! Holding onto unforgiveness creates bitterness that will end up hurting us more than that person’s original offense.
I know, I know… what they did to you is “unforgivable”.
But do you know the secret to forgiveness?! It isn’t about them! It is about you. Holding on to what they have done to you, eats away at us. It gives them the power to keep hurting us with that memory.
Letting go and moving on from past hurts allows you to take your power back. No one can steal your joy without your permission. Do not let them dictate your life.
Talk to Your Friends
Sometimes there are days that we cannot see our own true worth. One of the best ways to overcome low self esteem is to talk to a friend. Seek out company. A real friend will reassure you of all the reasons you are worthy of love.
If you don’t have anyone close to you that you feel comfortable talking to about this. Talk to your dog. Seriously. I can’t tell you how many times the dogs in my life have lifted me up.
Love is an emotion. It needs no words. Your dog can tell you how much you deserve your own love. You just have to pay attention and “listen”. You can also join the Front Seat Ryder pack if you haven’t already. Feel free to reach out to me at any time. I want to be there for you.
Give Yourself Some Love
Making sure you give yourself self-love is important. Don’t depend on others to make you happy, find happiness within yourself. Yes, it is great to be surrounded by loved ones. But know when the room is empty that you are still okay.
Do things to pamper yourself. Find things to make you feel good about yourself. Take time to read a self-help book. Do things to heal your inner body. Maybe, it is just reciting daily affirmations. I have a list of 25 self-loving affirmation you can download.
Start looking at the world around you differently. Don’t allow words to take a hold of you. You will begin to gain back confidence. We are all unique and special and each of us has gifts that the world needs. Don’t. I repeat. DON’T compare yourself to others. Focus on what your heart is calling you to do, and you will see your worth.
Ryder and I care about you! Give yourself and your pup some extra love today and let us know what you decided to do to overcome low self esteem.
Start a Howl!