A low sense of self-worth can be detrimental to your life, but luckily, you can build your confidence level with relative ease to lead a happy and fulfilling life.
An old Buddhist saying goes, “we are perfect as we are, and we could all use a little work.”
How you feel about yourself determines how you view the world and how you interact with other people. It also shapes your reactions to life situations. The first ingredient for a fulfilling life is working on your inner environment and building your self-confidence. A high sense of self-esteem enables you to define what is important in life and make the best decisions. Think of yourself as a ship in a rough sea with towering waves and rolling winds.
With a fresh and serene internal environment, you can sail through the inclement weather like a ship in the stormy sea, never yielding to external pressure, but always heading towards the destination. In this case, the destination is your self-worth, well-being, and happiness.
1. Begin By Acceptance
Movies, societal expectations, and social and cultural backgrounds play significant roles in defining the beliefs you hold dear in life. In some cases, they’re positive, while in some unfortunate situations, they are negative and terribly so. In a society that idolizes television and movie stars, beauty often constrains towards unrealistic standards. As a result, many people have serious misgivings about their looks, and it dents their confidence.
They go about life thinking they are not good enough and espouse some limiting beliefs: “I’m not smart enough, attractive enough” or, “I am too fat, too slow, or too plain” are some of the common beliefs people buy readily. Rather than give into these baseless stereotypes, begin by accepting that everyone is different and unique. As such, you should not strive to be like anyone else. You are different, not inferior, and with a little bit of effort, you can discover your strong points and achieve greatness in life.
2. Focus On Your Strong Points
Life is not a competition, and you should not fight to conform to set standards, especially if that entails inflicting a considerable amount of pain on yourself. Packing a few extra pounds or not making the top in your class is not reason enough to consider yourself inferior. People differ in their capabilities and interests, and you should be proud of your accomplishments. Giving your best to every task you set out to do should fill you with a sense of pride regardless of the outcome.
Sometimes, you may have insufficient skills, experience or little time to prepare. Whatever you do, do not beat yourself up over your shortcomings. Rather, you should work on eliminating the weaknesses. Some skills take time to build and hone to perfection.
Divide a blank writing pad into three columns: what you excel in, skills you are learning and skills you need to learn, and fill them in appropriately. Systematically work on the ones that are less than adequate until you are confident in your mastery.
3. Do Not Make Compromises To Appease Other People
People have a driving need to belong in a group, and at times, it means that they do it at great personal cost. Do not be afraid to be different or step into the unknown, regardless of the brooding fears that loom over you. Taking the road less traveled has been the turning point for many people. For instance, the most influential and successful people embrace their abilities fully and leverage them to their advantage.
Many modern-day inventors such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs ditched formal schooling to pursue their passion, and it paid off in spades. If they had listened to dissenting voices or opted to blend in, they would never have realized their dreams and changed the world.
4. Do Not Be A Slave To Your Past
The malleability of the human brain continues to baffle scientists to date as they continue to make discoveries every day. With more than a billion cells at your disposal, you are capable of achieving great feats. Your learning capacity hinges on your brain developing pathways that let you remember and perform tasks effortlessly. Regardless of your social status, age or stage in life, your brain boasts the ability to accommodate new knowledge and learn new skills.
As such, you have a chance to gain supremacy in a new field of interest and excel at it. Therefore, one door closing in your life should not cause you to despair and lose your self-respect and sense of self-worth. You can change your career direction and lead a better life. It is common for people to make critical mistakes when choosing their paths early on in life. Rather than stick to a path that causes you untold grief, take charge and pursue your dreams. It is only by identifying your interests that you can make plans towards fulfilling them.
5. Focus All Your Efforts On The Present
Fear leads people to put their dreams and aspirations on the back-burner, and it causes them great despair. Your inability to overcome the paralyzing fears can ding your confidence and lower your self-esteem. Set your goals, and starting from where you are now, work towards making them a reality. Thanks to advancements in technology, you have ready access to useful information. You need to build your skills or knowledge base, and there are many credible sources on the internet to help you along.
Identify the leading figures in your field of interest, and visit their websites and social media pages. In most cases, they offer great insights into the subject matter, and you can begin to hone your skills. By committing to making small progress every day, you make steady progress towards your goals.
6. Surround Yourself With Positive People
“Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are,” is a famous adage that holds true to date. The people you spend a lot of time with have a considerable influence in your life. Some of them are supportive of your hopes and dreams. Others can be parasitic, sucking the energy and happiness out of your life. Good and supportive people are not exactly saintly in nature. They are supportive, encouraging and motivate you to achieve your hopes and dreams.
However, that does not mean that they only serve to complement your life. The best of friends also question the soundness of your logic and approach to certain issues. They are not hesitant to point out flaws and mistakes or point you in the right direction. In other words, they have your best interest at heart. They will not shy away from correcting you when you are in the wrong.
In closing, your sense of self-worth allows a considerable influence in your life. Building your self-confidence is the first step towards leading a healthy and fulfilling life. It is a gradual process but with the right approach, you can improve your life drastically and breeze past any hurdles you come across.
