Self-esteem is a person's opinion of himself. It can be healthy (adequate), underestimated or overestimated. When self-esteem is adequate or overestimated, we feel confident, able to achieve our goals and make difficult decisions; criticism from other people does not cause much damage to our well-being. On the other hand, when our self-esteem is low, we often feel incompetent, incapable, and unworthy of success. Such thoughts can cause our failures and limit us in achieving our goals. What steps to take to increase self-esteem: - Record your achievements. Someone will say, what should I record, I didn’t do anything? It's simple, at the end of each day, write down your even small victories over the past day. Perhaps you read a book, got up half an hour earlier, walked 2 stops. You can always find positive changes. This will help you shift your focus to personal success. - Take care of your health. Make time for exercise, proper nutrition and regular rest. Sport is generally the best way to relieve stress and distract yourself. In addition, if low self-esteem is associated with external data, sports will help you get in shape, which will give you self-confidence. In addition, during physical activity the body produces endorphins, which makes us feel a rush of good mood. The production of this hormone begins half an hour after the start of sports and remains at peak levels for several more hours. - Give up self-criticism and soul-searching. You won’t be able to increase your self-esteem if you don’t calm your inner critic and continue to berate yourself because of your abilities, skills, appearance and talents. The inner critic is here to stay, it is part of your personality, but try to reduce its influence on you. Become a compassionate friend to yourself, the way you would want a supportive friend to be. - Give up perfection. No one is perfect, and trying to achieve perfection is a futile and unprofitable endeavor. The main thing is to strive for the best version of yourself without being driven into the framework of perfectionism. - Avoid comparisons. Each person is a unique person with his own individual set of qualities, advantages and disadvantages. Remember that there will always be those who have achieved more, and there is no point in comparing yourself to others (you will still lose). Therefore, compare yourself today only with yourself yesterday, and track your growth, record your achievements. Accept yourself as you are. We are all different, and that's normal. - Get out of your comfort zone. There is only one way to ride a bike/car well and that is constant practice. Therefore, it is impossible to gain self-confidence without getting out of your “shell.” You'll have to face your problem. Do you feel insecure when you are in a new company? Try to visit crowded places and events more often and start a dialogue first. After the first steps, you will feel confident in yourself. - Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, it’s normal to make mistakes. It is a part of life and an opportunity for us to grow. It is important to learn from your mistakes, learn lessons and move on. - Learn to monitor your thoughts. Negative thoughts and destructive core beliefs can cause low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. Remember that you are not your thoughts, and not even your consciousness or mind, you are something more, more capable of observing all these processes. Self-confidence is not given at birth, but is developed throughout life. The main task on the path to healthy self-esteem is to accept yourself, to believe in your own strength, which is only possible through daily work on yourself. To get through this path faster and more efficiently, ask for help. With respect to you, psychologist Anna Grishakova. Online consultations +7 921 988 38 50, WhatsApp, telegram.