Have you tried and failed to lose weight, quit smoking, or break another bad habit? Perhaps your self-esteem—how you think of yourself—could use a boost.
These strategies can help you build your self-esteem and confidence in your ability to achieve your goals and break bad habits.
- Love and accept yourself for who you are. Do you find it easy to belittle yourself or your accomplishments? Make an effort to turn that view around by noting your positive characteristics and qualities.
- Accept compliments graciously. Shrugging them off puts down the person who offered them. It also tends to reinforce your own negative view of your accomplishments.
- Disassociate your “self” from failure. Remind yourself that you may fail at a task, but that doesn’t mean you are a failure. You may make mistakes, but your mistakes are not a part of you.
- Learn to see mistakes or lapses as opportunities to learn. Every time you fail to reach a goal, take time to find out what held you back.
- Silence your inner critic. Notice the inner voice that insists you’re not good at seeing things through or achieving goals. Then refute that negative claim by making a positive statement about your abilities.