Evaluating and Increasing Self Esteem

How do you feel about yourself? That is the question that needs to be asked and answered before embarking on any journey designed for increasing self-esteem. Never mind what others may think of you; it doesn’t matter. All that matters is how you perceive your own self worth and personal value. Only then can you begin the process of increasing your self esteem to the point where you feel confident and self-assured in every situation.

The first step, then, is to evaluate how you currently perceive yourself. Be completely honest during this self-discovery process, as it will establish a baseline from which to work. You may want to start by answering the following questions:

• Do you feel worthy? People with low self-esteem often feel inferior around other people, causing them to refrain from personal interaction.

• Do you feel comfortable and confident sharing your opinion? Poor self-esteem can make you feel like your opinion doesn’t matter.

• Do you stand up for yourself? Often people suffering from low self-esteem admit to feeling like “doormats,” always letting others walk all over them.

• Are you confident in your appearance? People with low self-esteem are often critical of their own appearance.

These are just a few evaluation questions to get you started, but if you answered “no” to any of the above statements you may be suffering from a lack of confidence. Increasing self-esteem will require that you turn those negative responses into affirmative ones.

To give you an example of how you can increase your self-esteem, we will assume for the purpose of this article that you answered “no” to question number one: “Do you feel worthy?” Here is a step you can take to improve how you feel about yourself and increase your confidence:

• Write a short autobiography. If your self-esteem is low, you may have forgotten that, over time, you have undoubtedly developed many positive qualities as a result of your life experiences. Take some time to write a short autobiography highlighting your achievements. It can be as simple as thinking back to a time when you lent a helping hand or offered a kind word to someone who was down. The more you concentrate on the positive things you have accomplished, the less time you will have to focus on your faults.

Increasing self-esteem is not necessarily a process that depends upon outside affirmation. You needn’t waste your time wondering and worrying about how others may perceive you. The only thing that matters is how you feel in your own skin.