30 Ways To Boost Your Self Esteem

Self esteem is a funny thing. It can be hard to feel good about yourself when you’re surrounded by people who are confident, successful and attractive. And it can be even harder to feel good about yourself when you’re struggling with your weight, feeling unconfident about your career, or struggling in some other way.

Self esteem is a tricky thing because we can’t always control the things that happen to us, but we sure as heck have influence over how we react and respond. That’s why it’s so important for you to develop self esteem in ways that are healthy, positive, and sustainable.

What Is Self Esteem?

Self-esteem is your overall internal sense of worthiness or value as a person. It’s also sometimes referred to as self-respect or confidence. When people talk about their “self esteem”, they’re usually referring to how confident they feel about themselves in general, not just one specific thing like the way they look (although this can be part of it too).

Having high self esteem has many benefits, including:

• Improved mental health and wellbeing
• Greater ability to achieve goals
• Increased happiness
• Better relationships with others
• A more fulfilling life

Meanwhile, having low self esteem has many negative outcomes:

• Depression
• Social isolation
• Poor decision making skills
• Less motivation to do things you enjoy doing
• Lower quality sleep patterns
• Higher risk of substance abuse
• Difficulty maintaining healthy relationships
• More stress related illness
• Lower work productivity
• Reduced job satisfaction
• Worse physical health
• Fewer opportunities for success

As you can see, building up your self esteem to a healthy level is essential to living a good life. But what if you don’t know where to start? What are some easy ways to boost your own sense of worthiness or value as a person? Here are 30 quick tips you can try right now.

How Do You Build Self Esteem?

Building self-esteem can be done through positive affirmations, setting goals and accomplishing them, practicing self-compassion, making meaningful connections with others, and committing acts of kindness among other things. Which technique you find the most success with depends on you as an individual.

If you’re not a very spiritual person, for example, then practicing yoga or meditation to build self-esteem probably won’t work as well for you as logging your accomplishments in a journal every day might.

The point here is that there isn’t one single method that will magically make everything better all at once. The process takes time and effort and requires patience and perseverance along the way.

And it’s okay if it doesn’t always go perfectly! Remember, recovery is never linear. Sometimes we’ll hit plateaus, have setbacks, and even slip backwards before we finally get back on track and keep moving forward again. That’s totally normal and expected and it’s how we grow and learn from our mistakes.

30 Ways To Improve Your Self Esteem:

1. Realize That Your Opinion of Yourself Matters Most of All

Accepting that your opinion of yourself matters most, allows you to take the spotlight off other people. You validate and appreciate yourself for who you are instead of looking at what others think about you.

2. Quit Comparing Yourself to Others

When you compare yourself to others, it is easy to focus on all of the ways that you are not as good as they are. This can lead to feeling inferior and having low self-esteem. If you focus on your own qualities and accomplishments instead of comparing yourself to others, you will feel better about yourself and have higher self-esteem.

3. Work on Achieving Smart Goals

This will improve self esteem because it gives individuals a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Achieving goals helps people to feel good about themselves and their capabilities. Additionally, pursuing goals can provide a healthy outlet for stress and anxiety. Finally, accomplishing objectives can serve as evidence that one is competent and capable, which boosts self-confidence levels.

4. Challenge Your Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts can lead to low self-esteem, so it’s important to challenge them. When you catch yourself thinking something negative about yourself, stop and ask if it’s really true. If not, counteract the thought with a positive one. For example:

Negative thought: I’m not good enough at anything. Positive counterthought: There are things I’m good at and things I’m not so good at – that’s normal. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

5. Build Positive Relationships With the People Around You

If you have positive relationships with the people around you, it will improve your self-esteem because you’ll feel supported and appreciated. Additionally, if you feel like you’re a good friend or significant other, it will boost your confidence.

6. Dress Sharp & Take Good Care of Your Appearance

Taking care of your appearance is not vain; it’s being respectful to yourself! It tells the world that you respect who you are and hence feel confident—a key ingredient in having high self-esteem.

7. Get Regular Exercise & Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle

Regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle will improve self esteem by making the individual feel better about their physical appearance and increasing their energy levels. Additionally, these healthy habits will lead to positive biological changes that can help protect against mental health problems such as depression.

8. Try Out CBT or DBT Techniques

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) can help people learn to reframe negative thoughts about themselves. This can lead to improved self-esteem by increasing positive self-talk and improving feelings of worthiness.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It’s most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but it can be useful for other mental health difficulties as well.

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is another type of talking therapy. It combines traditional behavioral techniques with an emphasis on accepting yourself as you are while still trying to improve yourself.

9. Talk to a Therapist

Engaging in therapy can help to improve self esteem as it allows an individual to explore their thoughts and feelings in a safe and supportive environment. This process of introspection can lead to a greater understanding of oneself, which can ultimately boost self-esteem. In addition, therapy can provide guidance on how to effectively manage negative thought patterns and cultivate a more positive outlook on life.

10. Keep a Gratitude Journal

By taking the time to write down things that we are grateful for, we can shift our focus from negative thoughts and experiences to positive ones. This in turn can help improve our self-esteem as we appreciate all the good things in our lives. Additionally, gratitude journaling has been shown to reduce stress and increase overall happiness levels – both of which can also contribute to improved self-esteem.

11. Accept Your Flaws & Learn From Your Mistakes

This will help to improve self esteem by accepting that everyone has flaws and no one is perfect. It is important to learn from mistakes in order to grow and become a better person. By recognizing your own imperfections, you can work on them and become more confident in yourself.

12. Innovate & Be Creative

Working on your self esteem can be a really fun and creative process! By exploring new activities, trying out different hairstyles or makeup looks, and dressing in clothes that make you feel good about yourself, you’ll start to see improvement in the way you view yourself. As your confidence begins to grow, so will your self esteem. Soon enough, you’ll be feeling amazing about yourself both inside and out!

13. Raise the Bar for Yourself — Set High Standards & Expectations That You Can Accomplish

There is nothing more empowering than setting high standards for yourself and then actually achieving them. When you set your sights high and go after your goals with determination, you will naturally feel good about yourself – no one can take that away from you. And as your self-esteem grows, so too will your ability to attract what (and who) you desire in life. So don’t be afraid to raise the bar for yourself – know that you have the power within YOU to make all of your dreams come true.

14. Get Rid of the Toxic People in Your Life

When you cut the toxic people out of your life, it automatically improves your self esteem. You no longer have to deal with their negativity and drama and can instead focus on yourself and your own happiness. This creates a more positive outlook on life overall, making you feel better about yourself in the process.

15. Practice Random Acts of Kindness

Practicing random acts of kindness is a great way to improve your self-esteem. It feels good to help others, and in turn, you’ll feel better about yourself. Plus, it’s a great way to meet new people and make friends.

16. Set Boundaries With the People in Your Life

Setting boundaries with the people in your life can help improve your self-esteem. You will be able to feel better about yourself when you know that you are not letting others take advantage of you or control you. Instead, you are in charge of your own life and destiny. Additionally, standing up for yourself and setting limits will give you a sense of pride and empowerment. When your self-esteem is improved, it can have a positive ripple effect on other areas of your life as well – such as work, relationships, and even physical health!

17. Volunteer & Give Back to Others Less Fortunate Than Yourself

Don’t do this to get an ego boost. Do this because you want to help people. If you’re looking at people who need help as lower than you or worse than you, you’re not doing this step correctly.

18. Educate Yourself on Mental Health & Learn All You Can About Self-Improvement

Taking the time to learn all that you can about mental health and self-improvement will do wonders for your self-esteem. You’ll start to feel better about yourself when you have a greater understanding of how to take care of your mind and body. Furthermore, making an effort to improve yourself will show yourself that you are worth caring for even if the negative vibe gremlins in your head say otherwise.

19. Attract Success Into Your Life by Visualizing What You Want

When you take the time to visualization what it is that you want in your life, whether it be success in relationships, your career or anything else – you are opening yourself up to attracting those things into your life. By believing that you can achieve whatever it is that you set your mind to and holding firm in this belief, even when challenges come along – eventually they will fall away as well and leave only successes behind.

When we spend time focusing on all of the negativity around us instead of looking towards our dreams, we block out any chances for abundance and skew our perception so that happiness seems unattainable. So change your mindset today by starting to visualize exactly what type of success YOU want in YOUR life – and watch as it comes flooding in.

20. Read Motivational Books & Biographies of Successful People

Reading motivational books and biographies of successful people is a great way to boost your self esteem. By reading about other peoples’ successes, you can learn what it takes to achieve your own goals. These stories also provide inspiration and motivation to keep going when things get tough. As you read, you’ll begin to believe in yourself and your ability to reach any goal.

21. Find a Positive Role Model That You Can Emulate

One of the best things you can do is find a positive role model to emulate. Look for someone who seems confident and happy with themselves – maybe even someone who exudes sexiness! Watching how they carry themselves and interact with others can give you some great ideas about how YOU can start feeling better about yourself.

22. Join or Create a Support Group for Likeminded Individuals Seeking Self-Improvement

Finding a support group can help so much in terms of improving self esteem. When we feel more connected and supported, our sense of worthiness skyrockets. Knowing that there are others out there desire the same things in life can be insanely motivating. It becomes easier to see ourselves as part of a community instead of feeling alone in our struggles. This newfound perspective gives us permission to stumble and make mistakes- something that is essential for personal growth. The best way to improve self esteem is by surrounding yourself with people who will lift you up!

23. Give Yourself Compliments & Positive Affirmations on a Daily Basis

Giving yourself compliments is like giving your ego a little pat on the back- it feels good and boosts self esteem. Positive affirmations help to condition your mind to think more positively about yourself, which in turn can improve how you feel about yourself overall.

When you take the time to give yourself positive reinforcement, either through words or actions, it can change your outlook and increase your confidence. If you’re not used to doing this regularly, it may feel awkward at first, but keep at it and pretty soon it will become second nature!

24. Listen to Relaxing Music or Guided Visualization Exercises

Relaxing music or guided visualization exercises can improve self esteem by helping to reduce stress and anxiety. These techniques can also help to increase positive thinking, which can lead to improved body image and a better outlook on life.

25. Spend Time Outdoors in Nature As Much as Possible

There’s nothing like spending time outdoors in nature to boost your self-esteem. Surrounded by the beauty of trees, flowers, and wildlife, you can’t help but feel good about yourself. The fresh air and exercise are also great for your physical health, which further contributes to a positive outlook on life. So get out there and enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer!

26. Get a Pet

There’s nothing better than coming home to a furry friend who is always happy to see us. And no matter what kind of day we’ve had, their love and innocence can make everything feel better. Having a pet also means having someone to talk to – even if they don’t say anything back! – which can be really therapeutic. Just being around them is bound raise our spirits and boost our self-esteem.

27. Give Up Social Media for 30 Days

When you give up social media for 30 days, you are giving yourself the gift of time. Time to be present with your life and to experience everything that is happening around you without digital distractions. This will help improve how you view yourself as well as others. You will become more aware of the present moment and learn to appreciate all the small things in life that we often take for granted.

You also won’t be bombarded with people to compare yourself to or the constant stream of negativity that can often be found on social media. This will help improve your self-esteem and make you feel better about yourself. You may even find that you don’t miss social media as much as you thought you would!

28. Travel Solo

Solo travel can be a great way to improve your self esteem. When you embark on new adventures alone, you’ll likely feel a sense of accomplishment and pride that can be difficult to find elsewhere. This confidence-boosting feeling can help you in all areas of your life, from work to relationships. So if you’re looking for a little pick-me-up, consider planning your next trip as a solo adventure.

29. Learn a New Skill or Trade

Learning a new skill or trade can be incredibly beneficial for your self-esteem. Not only will you be challenged physically and mentally, but you’ll also have the opportunity to learn something brand new that can help improve your confidence in other areas of your life.

30. Be Selfish for Once

If you learn to do things purely because YOU want to do them, your self-esteem will improve drastically. You’ll no longer feel like you’re constantly being controlled or pressured into doing things that you don’t really want to do. Instead, you’ll feel confident and empowered knowing that YOU are in control of YOUR life and that YOU are making decisions based on what YOU want. This newfound confidence will be reflected in all areas of your life, from your relationships to your career. You’ll finally feel like you’re living your life instead of just going through the motions.

Learning to love and appreciate yourself is one of the most important things you can do in life. By following these 30 tips, you’ll be well on your way to improving your self esteem and confidence. So go out there and start living YOUR best life!

And if you know someone who suffers from low self esteem, send this to them or post it on social media. You never know if you might save someone’s life by sharing some of my advice with them today.