Boosting Self Esteem By Helen Blackburn
Self esteem is an area that I am passionate about, as it is the one thing that I know through my own experience can impact our whole lives.
Our lives from birth have an impact on our self-esteem, from the way people responded to us as a child, the messages we received from parents, schools and friends all culminate in our own self-identity. What we believe ourselves to be, what we are good at, or not, whether we deem ourselves worthy of positive things in our life or not.
This is natural and it happens to us all. We can’t change our past experiences, but we can become aware of how these have created our own perception of ourselves, and in turn our self-esteem. We can then chose to develop our confidence and way of seeing ourselves.
We owe it to ourselves to work hard at accepting and appreciating who we are. To share individuality with the world.
Self-reflection is a good starting point in building our self-esteem. Understanding why we believe certain things about ourselves help us to implement change. Connecting to our own inner wisdom and power helps create a positive image. When we do this, we become our own internal point of reference so we are less affected by others external circumstances.
Meditation has been the key for me in increasing my self-esteem. I have tried many other methods which have helped; however meditation has allowed me to connect with and live from your inner self rather than your conditioned mind. It has given me a better sense of myself and how my mind works, and has created some of the beliefs that has kept my esteem low at times.
Here are other ways you can increase your self esteem:
- Reduce negative influences – for example limit the amount of social media we access daily
- Use a journal on a daily basis – use it to reflect on your feelings, beliefs about yourself and where these may have come from
- Make a daily list of 3 things you feel positive about yourself every day, your strengths and attributes
- List 3 things you feel grateful for every morning before you get up and every night before you sleep
- Exercise
- Aromatherapy oils Sandalwood and Ylang Ylang are a great to infuse your environment with to boost your self esteem
- Crystals – Blue Goldstone and Tigers Eye are great to use for confidence
- Mindfulness – helps with self reflection
Check out my website for more resources to help increase your self esteem, including meditation sessions.