5 Tips to Boost Your Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence

When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Someone you love and respect? Someone whose talents you admire? Someone you care for and cherish? How you answer these questions is an accurate measure of your level of self-esteem.

When we go through a life-shaking transition like a big career change, layoff, divorce, separation, or relocation, it’s natural for our self-esteem to take a hit, so it’s a good opportunity to examine what’s going on with our self-esteem and self confidence.

Your level of self-esteem comes from your self-image. How you see yourself determines how you act, and your actions affect every aspect of your life and work. Self-esteem holds more power over the course of your life than most other influences. After all, if YOU don’t love and respect yourself, how can you expect anyone else to love and respect you?

Here are 5 tips to help you boost your self-esteem.

1. Make peace with your past. Concentrate on what’s right about your life, and let go of past hurts. Clear out old resentments and forgive those who have wronged you. Think of mistakes as learning experiences and stop judging yourself—and others!
2. Use visualization when you are faced with a challenging situation and imagine how you will handle it successfully. What will you do, say, act, feel?
3. Do something special just for yourself. Each day, do one activity that shows you love and care for yourself. Once a month, splurge! Get a massage, treat yourself to a meal at your favorite restaurant, spend time doing something you really enjoy.
4. Use affirmations to trick your subconscious into believing that the statements are already true. Affirmations are present tense, strong, positive, feeling statements about yourself, your life and your business. Repeat them with conviction and feeling several times a day.
5. Silence your internal critic. Do you carry on a monologue with yourself about how unsuccessful, untalented, un-anything you are? Begin to listen for these and other negative statements and immediately stop them when you become aware of them. Then make an affirmative, positive statement about yourself.

Summarize these tips on an index card and post it somewhere visible where you will see it every day and remind you of the importance of self-esteem. Doing so will go a long way toward boosting your self-confidence.