Self Esteem: Finding it When it is Lost

Have you ever woken up and looked in the mirror and wondered “Where am I”, “Who am I”, “How did I get here”? We often get so caught up in taking care of family, friends, and others that we fail to take care of our most important investment: OURSELVES. We go through the day just doing what needs to get done. Our self esteem plummets without really even noticing. Do you even recognize that person in the mirror? Does it resemble you at all? NOW is the time to reclaim YOU. It is time to start living your life and on your terms. Using the tips below you will be able to get yourself unstuck and moving forward into the New Year while raising your self esteem so you can live life on your terms. 1. Self Reflect: Find a quiet space and claim it all to yourself. Turn off the cell phone and get out your pen and paper. Think real hard back to your childhood dreams and fantasies. Write those down. Think about your high school dreams and fantasies; have you made those come true? Write them down too. What about your college dreams? What makes you happy? Right it down. Self reflection should bring warmth to your heart and nudge your brain on what you want to do with your life. 2. Dream: Dare to dream new dreams. They should be somewhat realistic and attainable only you know how committed you are to making them reality. Make a list of things you would like to accomplish this week, this month, and this year. Make another list of things you would like to accomplish with the next 2, 3, 5 years and so on. Remember this is your list not someone else’s and not a list of things you should do. It is your list. You own it. 3. Design a MAP: Now you need to design a Master Action Plan. This will be your roadmap on how you are going to get yourself from where you are today to where you want to be by the end of the week, month and year. You will also design a roadmap for the upcoming years also. Designing your MAP will take time but it is time well spent or how else are you going to know you are headed in the right direction? 4. Take Action: Now you need to put action behind those dreams so they are transformed into reality. Taking action is probably the hardest step. Often you don’t know how to get moving. But remember you have your MAP. Pull it out and read the first step. Use your Map to get you moving in the direction of completing your first dream by the end of the week. Rome was not built in a day. Your dreams will not come true ove ight. You must take baby steps and sometimes big steps to get you moving so you can turn your dreams into reality. But at least get up, get moving forward so you can succeed. 5. Reward Yourself: As you accomplish your goals and dreams reward yourself. You may want to predetermine a reward prior to beginning to work on your MAP. This way you have a carrot dangling over you that you want; it will motivate you to work hard. The reward can be as simple as buying a new bottle of nail polish, going to the library to check out new books, or splurging on your favorite coffee. You can also have larger rewards for when you have accomplished several smaller goals. This could be something such as a facial, massage, or mini weekend vacation. Rewarding your self is not being selfish. It is rewarding yourself for a job well done it is taking care of you. Women often fail to reward themselves and others often take them for granted and fail even say thank you. NOW IS THE TIME TO INVEST IN YOU! 6. Jou aling: Record your progress or lack of progress daily in a journal. After a period of time of using this tracker daily you will begin to see where you are wasting time or someone else is sabotaging your time and efforts. As you learn to focus on you and work toward your dreams your self esteem will begin to be lifted. You will have renewed confidence in yourself and your abilities because you will see that you are taking action because you have plan; you have focus and clarity and purpose. Remember get up at a set time each day. Get dressed with a purpose. Keep your chin up and eyes pointed forward so you can see where you are going! Have a great transformation journey.