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How To Improve Your Self-Esteem

Updated: Jun 23, 2023


Self-esteem affects your decision-making process, your ability to learn and grow, and your sense of security and purpose. Self-esteem isn't about pride or arrogance, but is more in line with self-respect and self-care.

What is self-esteem?

Let’s break this down. Self-esteem is the combination of self-worth and self-concept. Self-worth is the overall value people have of themselves. Self-worth consists of what people think of themselves (self-concept) and how people feel about themselves (self-esteem).


A person's overall feeling of self-worth is developed from the way they are treated by others. When they have positive experiences in their lives where others encourage them and treat them with respect, their self-concept and self-esteem are more likely to be positive.


The opposite is true for people who have faced more negative experiences in their lives, resulting in lower self-worth and self-esteem. Mental health issues such as depression or anxiety often come from a lack of self-esteem, lack of worth, lack of acceptance and struggles to see the positives in yourself. Once you can learn to love yourself, you will feel more content. They go hand in hand.


People who have higher self-esteem are also more likely to try new things without fear of failure or disappointing others and themselves. Consider the idea that courage itself is not the absence of fear, but doing or saying something in spite of that fear. When we have higher self-esteem and self-confidence, doing or saying things does not seem as daunting. Once you do something more, you ultimately feel better about it and that, in turn, will increase your confidence.

With healthy self-esteem you're assertive in expressing your needs and opinions, confident in your ability to make decisions, able to form secure and honest relationships and less likely to stay in unhealthy ones, realistic in your expectations and less likely to be overcritical of yourself and others, more resilient and better able to weather stress and setbacks. These abilities indicate a healthy, well-adjusted person.

Consider the concepts of self-acceptance and self-love. Respectively, these are about how much you love yourself and your current sense of worth.


  • You will focus on things that only add value to your life.

  • You will be more productive in all other areas of life / other goals.

  • You will have a more positive thought process.

  • You will be able to bounce back more easily from the inevitable rough patches of life.

Use Affirmations To Build Self-Esteem

Saying positive phrases to yourself every day, such as ‘I love myself’ or ‘I accept myself as I am.’ The brain does not always know the difference between what is real and what is not. So, it’s important to say these with meaning, and eventually, you will start to believe them. It may even be beneficial to write positive things on post-it notes and hang them in places you frequently visit.


Record and Read Compliments Can Help You Remember the Positive

As human beings, we tend to dwell on the negatives rather than positives; this is thought to be because our brain is switched on to protect us from the dangers of the world around us. We often get compliments and quite quickly forget them. Therefore, keep a list of compliments from people and read them daily. Maybe even have someone you trust write some nice things about you if you have a hard time coming up with them on your own.


Reduce Time On Social Media to Stop Negative Comparisons

This is addictive in today’s world, but social media can cause comparisons and feelings of low self-worth. Therefore, reduce your social media use. Limit your use to only an hour or less a day if you can. This not only helps you emotionally, but mentally can allow you to focus better.


Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Mindsight if you would like more support, guidance, or a compassionate ear as you improve your self-esteem!



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