How how to overcome low self-esteem and be more confident? 

Feeling low on self-esteem lately? In this article we take a look at a few ways to beat self-esteem so that you feel confident and ready to be the best you can be.

Having no self-esteem isn’t nice. It can stop us from living the life we want. Sometimes it gets so bad that we don’t even want to leave the house to see our friends anymore.

But what is low self-esteem exactly?

Low self-esteem is characterised by the feeling that you’re just not good enough. That you’re worthless, unworthy, inferior and that nobody really wants to have you around.

Anyone who has suffered from low self-esteem knows the toll it takes on our lives. We feel so worthless and inferior that we settle for second, third or even fourth best. We don’t apply for the jobs we want because we tell ourselves we’re not good enough. We don’t ask our crush out on a date because we know they’ll reject us.

As you can see, low self-esteem can ruin your life. All that beautiful potential you have goes to waste.

We’re happy to see you on our page, as it means you’re taking the first, tentative steps to overcoming low self-esteem and taking back control of your life. Here are a few ways to be more confident:

Re-evaluate The Past

Far too many of us let our past define us. We constantly dwell on past mistakes, errors and failures, and believe that is who we are.

Failed on an exam? We believe we failed because that’s who we are. We’re no better than that 68%.

Got rejected by a boy? We believe we got rejected because that’s who we are. We’re not good enough for them or anyone else. No one wants us.

You are NOT your past. Okay?

Your past is just a series of actions, events and incidents that happened. That’s all it is. But the way you interpret your past is what is keeping you enchained by it.

It’s time to re-evaluate the past. Instead of seeing failures as “game over”, see them as results and lessons.

Let’s say you got 68% on an exam. That wasn’t a failure – it was a result. The lesson? The lesson is that you need to improve and do better next time.

Life is always thawing challenges at us. We don’t always win the first time around, but with the right attitude we can come back stronger and win the second time.

Don’t be crushed by your past. Use its lessons as a springboard to improve your life. Learn, grown and become more confident with your new knowledge.

Expect The Best Results

Winston Churchill said that we spend half our lives worrying about things that never even happen anyway. And he was right.

When you’re low on self-esteem, you always expect the worst outcomes. And no one can convince you otherwise.

“The dress won’t look good on me, I know it won’t.”

All this negative thinking puts you into a negative frame of mind. Even if you do look good in the dress, you’ve already convinced yourself that you don’t.

Instead of always picturing the worst possible outcomes, picture the best. It’s much more fun and puts you into a positive frame of mind.

And when you visualise success, success comes easier.

It’s like when you approach a guy. If you’re positive about the outcome, it will affect the way you approach him, as well as your mindset. In turn, it means you’re guaranteed a much better outcome.

Act like you’re always going to win rather than lose and you will win more than you’ll lose.

Take A Risk

Don’t wanna do something because you’re scared of failing and feeling even worse?

But what if you aced it? Just think how much more confident you’ll feel afterwards.

Confidence comes when we try things. Even if you fail, all that’s happened is you’ve been taught how not to do something. You now have the knowledge how to do it. So go and do it!

Accept A Compliment

People with low self-esteem tend to find that it’s really hard to take a compliment. Example:

“Your hair looks great today.”

“Stop lying.”

Or:

“Your hair looks great today.”

“You’re just saying that.”

Or:

“Your hair looks great today.”

“So does yours!”

Each response is disempowering. An empowering response would be to actually believe what the other person is saying and to just accept their compliment.

You don’t even need to give them a compliment in return. Doing so just sounds dishonest.

Accept the compliment. Believe that the other person is being sincere. Then, you can use these as your references in the future.

What do we mean by this? A reference is something we use whenever we want to validate something about ourselves. If we want to believe that we are smart and funny, we can think back to a time when someone told us we were smart and funny. The more references you have, the more confident you’ll become.

Identify Your Strengths

We all have strengths (yes, even you. Stop denying it!), but we often don’t identity them or tap into them.

A sports coach will always identify each players’ strength and then harness them. This in turn convinces the player of their ability. They ignore their weaknesses and focus on their strengths.

This is what you need to do. You need to find your strengths (which could be anything, from people skills to empathy to writing skills to dancing ability) and then double-down on them.

Write down a list of your strengths and spend the next few weeks sharpening them.

Fake It

They say that we should fake it until we make it. And we absolutely should!

You might not realise it, but a lot of people who appear to be super confident are just as nervous as you are on the inside. The difference is that they’ve learned to fake confidence.

It can be done. Wear clothes that fit you and make you look good. Do the same with make-up. Walk with a good posture and your head held high. Speak positively and with confidence. As you do this, you’ll automatically start to feel more confident. It will flow right through you.

Stay happy!

from Beauty And Tips Magazine