Earlier this week, I ran a self-esteem group with a small group of my female sophomore students. Here are a few points we discussed to help build self-esteem and confidence. I think almost everyone can benefit from being reminded of these (no matter what your age):
- Refuse to let other people fill your mind with negative stuff--surround yourself with positive people who lift you up. If you are in relationships with people who consistently tear you down, it is probably time to find some new friends.
- Eliminate all the negative stuff you say to yourself every single day--you cerntatinly shouldn't accept negative from other people, so why should you accept it from yourself? Work on noticing negative self-talk, and restating all of it into positives.
- Make it a point to look for the positive in every situation--you can't control everything in life, but you can control how you respond to it. Every time you respond positiviely, you contribue to building someone else's self-esteem, and that can only help build your own as well.
- Don't ever tear down someone else's self-esteem--it is possible to confront people without tearing them down personally. It isn't necessary to judge or criticize someone if a mistake is made. Be honest and respectful. Help people see the good in themselves, too!
Don't ever forget you are a unique, wonderful, beautiful soul!
Namaste'
Yogadiva