The modern world is tough and highly competitive. Living in the modern world often involves facing failures and set-backs. Given that the world can be harsh, how can an ordinary person maintain his self-esteem? After all, there will always be someone smarter, richer, and more talented than you. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to ensure that you succeed where others have failed.
1. Avoid Negative People
There are people who seem to derive pleasure from putting other people down. People who do this tend to have their own insecurity issues. Almost everybody has met someone who is more negative than positive. These are the individuals who tend to pester, criticize, bully, grovel, and stab other people in the back. If you want to keep your self-esteem, it’s in your best interests to avoid such people whenever possible. Of course, this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. You are bound to bump into negative people in environments you can’t control. For instance, you may have to deal with someone negative at work. In a work situation, don’t have anything more to do with pessimistic colleagues than is absolutely essential. You might also want to consider a changing your work environment.
2. Don’t Fear Change
When your self-esteem is suffering, it’s easy to let the fear of change hold you back. Changes to your life may feel rather scary at times, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid them. Positive changes tend to have favorable outcomes, and this makes the anxiety worthwhile. Whenever you successfully cope with a change in your life, it augments your self-esteem and offers you new hope. That’s when you realize that there is no limit to what you can achieve.
3. Positive Thinking
If you focus on all of the bad things that happen to you, your family and friends, and the world at large, it will have a detrimental impact on your aplomb. That old adage about clouds and silver linings is perfectly true. When you try your best to turn the negatives into positives, something beautiful can emerge from what was initially a bad situation. Learn from your mistakes, and always believe that things will be all right in the end. This attitude will help you regain control of your life, and make it easier to face difficult challenges.
4. Setting Objectives
Success is all about reaching your goals and aspirations. You cannot succeed if you have no ambitions. Thus it is important to set yourself goals, no matter how small they may be. Of course, it helps if you are realistic about your aspirations. If you start your own business imagining you’ll be a billionaire by this time next year, you may well be disappointed. Instead focus on goals that you can reach, and take things one step at a time.
5. Dismiss Negative Thoughts
If you want lots of self-esteem, it’s important to rid your mind of negative thoughts. Imagine, for example, that you’re taking your driving test after having failed the first time. If you tell yourself that you’ll fail the second time around, you probably will. Similarly if you constantly tell yourself you’re a big fat failure, you shouldn’t feel surprised if you wake up one day to find you’re overweight and have achieved nothing. You are the only person who can decide who you will be and what you will achieve in life. If you can’t motivate yourself with positive thoughts, nobody else is going to do it on your behalf. Boosting your self-esteem involves forgetting about all past failings and focusing on the future.
6. Perfection Is Impossible
If you hold yourself to standards that are impossible to keep, you are bound to be disappointed. There is not one single person alive that is free of flaws. Nobody has perfect looks. Nobody has a perfect personality. If you constantly compare yourself to other people and focus on your faults, you will never feel confident or happy. Instead, keep your focus on your merits, strengths, talents, physical assets, and positive personality traits.
7. Revel In Your Successes
Whenever you achieve a new objective, take the opportunity to celebrate your success. Never overlook the fact that you did something you set out to do. Even the smallest achievements should not be discounted. You may even want to consider rewarding yourself with a treat whenever you accomplish something new. This will help keep you motivated for life’s next challenge.