Boosting Your Self-esteem for a Brighter life

24th May 2021

What is self-esteem, why does it matter and why are we writing about it?

Self-esteem is defined as ‘an individual’s subjective evaluation of their own worth’. This includes your beliefs about yourself as well as your emotional states; such as being proud of yourself, feeling triumphant etc. It can also be explained as how much you appreciate and like yourself regardless of the circumstances.

It matters to Martin Personnel and our clients as much as it matters to you that you have a healthy self-esteem – too low or too high can be problematic. Self-esteem shapes your decision-making, impacts your relationships, and affects your wellbeing, including your emotional health. It can also impact your behaviour such as your levels of motivation…as you have probably figured out, this has a bearing on how inspired you are to get up for work each day, your reliability and whether you put in the effort expected of you. Ultimately self-esteem contributes to your overall feelings of happiness and sense of meaning in your life.

There are many factors that can influence self-esteem, some of which you may have less control over such as age, illness, physical abilities etc. There are, however, plenty of factors that can be addressed to shift self-esteem. For the purposes of this article, we are only looking at ways to raise low self-esteem because at Martin Personnel we have observed this as a common issue amongst candidates.

The topic of self-esteem is vast and therefore below is a simplified list of ways to boost your self-esteem that you should spend some time reflecting on. Take a moment to consider whether these are areas you could benefit from focusing on for self-development. Self-development is a very important life-long journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Start with where you are at now and as long as you are making progress in the right direction, no matter how small, that’s what counts. In future articles we will dive into each of these factors and provide some practical tips that should make a real difference if they are applied consistently.

Ways to boost self-esteem

Surround yourself with encouragement – put yourself in a position and environment of positivity with words of encouragement from others as well as yourself. This includes practicing self-compassion
Monitor and massage your thoughts – thoughts become things and you have the potential to ‘create’ your life...this involves being in touch with your thoughts and being able to master them
Speak up and express your needs – be specific; your needs are more likely to be addressed if they are communicated effectively and silence won’t get you far
Stand up for yourself and what you believe in – this includes saying no when you want to, setting boundaries and being comfortable in your own skin
Give things a go and keep trying to try – getting out of your comfort zone is how you will experience new things, expand boundaries, and develop resilience that will serve you well when life gets challenging
Accept yourself for who you are and avoid ‘comparisonitis’ – be proud of your uniqueness and strengths; accept your weaknesses. Compare yourself to you – to see how far you have come, rather than comparing yourself to others
Be responsible, have integrity with yourself as well as others – stick to your word and commitments and be honest, don’t lie…not just with others, but to yourself too because it affects your self-worth
Practice gratitude daily – take a moment every day to appreciate things in your life, no matter how small and you will soon notice the positive impact on your mood

Some inspiring self-development content

Depending on what kind of media you like to consume, some of these resources mentioned below can be found across multiple platforms/mediums including YouTube, podcasts, books etc. A quick search online using keywords like ‘self-esteem’, ‘mindfulness’, ‘self-integrity’ will help you uncover lots of resources to continue your self-development journey, in the meantime, here is some helpful content to explore:

Jordan Peterson – https://www.jordanbpeterson.com – check out his book ’12 Rules for Life’
Shawn Stevenson – https://themodelhealthshow.com – podcast covers wide range of wellbeing topics with some renowned guests and check out his book ‘Sleep Smarter’ for some great insights on why you may not be functioning at your best
Melissa Ambrosini – https://melissaambrosini.com – check out her books, particularly ‘Comparisonitis’ and ‘Mastering your Mean Girl’