HOW TO RAISE SELF-ESTEEM: 11 POWERFUL WAYS (THEY WORK) - ARTE - 2025

Self- esteem is a sense of satisfaction that comes from recognizing and appreciating our own worth, loving ourselves, and growing personally. It is not a term that includes comparison or competition. With high self-esteem we learn to recognize and experience our own worth.

In this article I will discuss 10 habits for you to learn to raise your self-esteem, whether you are a man, woman, child or adolescent. Even if you feel bad about yourself, there are a number

of actions you can take to start changing your life.

It is essential for psychological well-being and therefore certain habits and actions must be changed to recover and elevate it. Without it, life can be very painful, not all needs are met, and full potential is not fulfilled.

What is low self esteem?

Low self-esteem is a negative self-concept. Answer the question How do I feel about myself?

The key to improving self-esteem is to change the way you interpret your life: analyze the negative interpretations you make of events and create new thoughts and goals that encourage the growth of your self-esteem.

These are some of the benefits of having good self-esteem:

• You will have more emotional stability: when you have a good opinion of yourself you will not need the approval of others and you will not constantly think about what people think of you. In general, external events will not affect you as much.
• You will achieve greater achievements: by raising your self-esteem you are more likely to go after difficult goals to achieve because you will believe that you have the ability to achieve them and therefore you will act with more motivation.
• You will be more attractive: people with high self-esteem feel little needy and that is attractive. The people who interact with you will feel a pleasant experience and you can also give them more.
• You will be happy: one of the bases of happiness is having a good self-esteem. You can meet all the conditions you are looking for but if you do not feel good about yourself you will not be happy.
• You will have better personal relationships: when you feel good about yourself, you will add more value to others, you will be more pleasant and you will infect them with your well-being.

Those are some of the advantages of having a positive self-esteem. And how can you elevate and reinforce it? Here are some of the habits you will have to work on to start building appreciation and appreciation for yourself.

Habits to have a healthy self-esteem

1-Destroy your critical voice

The main culprit for low self-esteem is the inner voice with which we say negative things to ourselves.

Yes, everyone has a negative critical voice, although some people are more aware than others. This is the voice with which you say destructive thoughts to yourself, such as:

To have self-confidence, it is important not to accept these thoughts and replace them with more positive ones that help you feel better.

To do this, try to attend to your thoughts and if you notice any negative, question it.

You can also create a word to stop destructive thinking when you detect it: STOP!

In short, it is about being aware of your critical voice and not being influenced by it, replacing those thoughts with more constructive ones.

2-Do not seek approval from others

Seeking the approval of others is something that, if we are not aware, we constantly do. Examples:

So, when you go to do anything or make a decision, ask yourself if you are thinking about what others will think, if you are acting so that they feel satisfied with your behavior.

One way to work this point is to go against someone's opinion. Always assertive and polite.

3-Self-affirmations

Muhammad Ali already said:

Affirmations will help build your self-esteem and you will simply have to repeat them a few times during the day. Example of self-affirmations?

-I like myself and I totally accept myself.

-I do not seek the approval of others.

-I am a person of value and I have the right to be happy.

-I constantly experience positive feelings.

So that you do not forget this habit, you can write down the phrases that serve you the most on a card and read them in the morning and at bedtime.

4-Play sports and take care of yourself physically

Yes, it is a fact that our physical appearance influences our self-esteem. With good form, you will look better and your self-esteem will rise.

If you are not used to exercising or going to the gym, start small with 10-15 minutes a day and gradually increase the time. You will see that it will become a positive habit that you will enjoy; remember that with sports you release endorphins (well-being hormones).

5-Socialize

Social support is one of the most important buffers from stress. The people around you serve as emotional support, to give you help, to have fun and to learn from. That if they are people with criteria and positive. Negative people will probably lower your self esteem.

6-Make a list of your achievements

This action is one of the ones that works best. Sometimes we think that we cannot achieve something or that we do not have the capacity for it. For example:

-We can't pass an exam.

-We can't lose weight.

With a list that reminds you of your previous achievements, you will remember that you have the ability to achieve what you set out to do. They don't have to be great achievements like winning a championship. An example would be:

-I have passed the career / vocational training / preparatory.

-I have learned to play tennis.

-I have learned to read English.

-I was selected to work in my current position.

Put your list in a visible place and read it often. That will make you make positive representations and enter a state that increases your self-esteem.

7-Make a list of your positive qualities

Be generous and honest with yourself by listing your most notable positive qualities. If you don't know where to start, ask a trusted friend - there must be at least 10 qualities. It's normal if you feel like you have a hard time making the list because most people focus on their negative traits and forget about the positive ones. Example:

-I'm a worker.

-I know how to listen.

-I'm educated.

-I have a good relationship with my family.

-I'm in shape.

-I'm empathetic.

-I'm kind.

-I am open minded.

-I am responsable.

-I am active.

8-Stop being a perfectionist

Perfectionism is one of the most destructive traits because with it we want to be something unattainable and although we constantly improve, we are never happy.

Also, wanting to make everything perfect, you will be paralyzed when you see errors, you will leave everything for later and you will not get any kind of results. All this will lead to a decrease in your self-esteem.

How to stop being a perfectionist?

• Set yourself limits to finish things: because sometimes we try to make everything perfect, in the end it gets postponed and never ends. If you set yourself a deadline, you will be forced to move forward and get things done.
• Change your standards: perfectionism comes from the "everything has to be perfect without any flaws" thinking. However, you can also think in another way that will also lead to good results such as “I am going to do my best and do my best. If I make a mistake it is normal and I can always learn from it.

9-Take care of your non-verbal language

Here I mean both your facial expressions and your body postures. Smiling and laughing will make you feel happier and showing expansion postures (with open arms and not cramped) will make you feel with higher self-esteem.

10-Accept

Accepting yourself as you are is necessary to have a healthy self-esteem and be happy.

This is not to say that you cannot change, be ambitious, and improve your life.

It means accepting your defects, physique, abilities or aptitudes, and from there working to improve.

In any type of situation in which you feel bad about yourself, follow this process:

• Become aware of the situation: it is necessary that when you feel bad you become aware of it.
• Face it: accept the fact you feel bad, it is normal and you do not have why punish for it.
• Take Action: What can you do to feel better?

If you do not like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude -Maya Angelou.

Once we accept our limits, we cross them -Albert Einstein.

11-Trade expectations for gratitude

Having expectations can only lead you to be unhappy, to believe that you cannot get what you want, and to be continually unhappy with your results.

Also, you will not live in the present, which is essential to be happy, take advantage of your time and become aware of your negative thoughts.

Instead of having expectations about the future or people, be grateful, feel gratitude for your life, for what you have. That way you will enjoy your life and yourself much more.

What does science say about self-esteem?

I've done a research search on self-esteem and these are some of the most important:

• According to this study published in 2018, patients with congruent self-esteem improved more quickly on therapy for depression.
• According to this study, accepting personal failures makes people more motivated to improve personally. Therefore, self-compassion makes you feel better about yourself and improves your motivation to grow personally.
• According to this study, people with more narcissism and lower self-esteem show greater activity in social networks and promote themselves more in them.
• According to this study, students who experience cyberbullying, being victims or abusers, have lower self-esteem than those who have not lived the experience.
• According to this study, self-compassion provides greater emotional resilience and stability than self-esteem, assuming less self-evaluation, ego defense, and self-improvement than self-esteem. While self-esteem involves evaluating oneself in a positive way and may require feeling special and above average, self-compassion involves neither comparisons nor self-evaluation. Self-compassion treat yourself with kindness, acknowledge humanity, and be mindful when considering negative aspects of yourself.
• This research found several interesting results. 1) Self-esteem increases from adolescence to middle age, reaches its peak in the 50s, and then decreases until old age. 2) Self-esteem is a cause of the results that one has in life, not an effect. 3) Self-esteem has a medium effect on depression, a small-medium effect on relationships and job satisfaction, and a small effect on health. Together, the results suggest that self-esteem has a significant impact on real-life experiences and that low self-esteem are not epiphenomena of success and failure in important areas of life.
• This study suggests that low self-esteem acts as a risk factor for developing depressive symptoms in adulthood.

Phrases about self-esteem

• You yourself, like everyone else in the universe, deserve your own love and affection-Gautama Buddha.
• The worst loneliness is not being comfortable with yourself-Mark Twain.
• Giving people self-esteem is by far the most important thing I can do. Because then they will act -Jack Welch.
• Nothing builds self-esteem and self-concept like achievement-Thomas Carlyle.
• People Who Want More Approval Get Less And People Who Need Less Approval Get More-Wayne Dyer.
• Optimism is the faith that guides achievement. Nothing can be achieved without hope and trust -Helen Keller.
• Health is the greatest possession. The commitment the greatest treasure. Trust the greatest friend -Lao Tzu.
• Wishing to be someone else is wasting the person you are -Anonymous.
• Self-esteem is as important to our well-being as legs are to a table. It is essential for physical and mental health and happiness-Louise Hart.
• Adversity and perseverance are things that can shape you. They can give you priceless value and self-esteem -Scott Hamilton.

Pin this image on (hover over image)