Cultivating a sense of self-worth can help you overcome daily stressors and feel less anxious about life’s ups and downs. There are key factors in improving your self-worth, such as keeping a positive outlook, no matter what. Retaining self-confidence is also key in successfully managing your life and your relationships. So, how can you build, or remind yourself of, this inherent self-worth? Here are a few methods to start you off on the path to seeing your own self-worth:
- Set goals
- Identify short-term goals that are attainable in specific categories of your life, including your relationships, work, finances and lifestyle.
- Write these goals down.
- Think of at least three steps you can take to reach each one.
- Reward yourself after each step.
- Go with the flow
- Understand that you only have control over your own actions.
- Stop fighting to control the world – it is exhausting and uneventful.
- Keep a sense of humor
- Laughing things off can lower blood pressure, relax muscles, reduce stress and boost the immune system.
- Laughing also releases endorphins and produces a general sense of well-being.
- Live for the moment
- Practice mindfulness – this means being fully absorbed in the task you are performing, making you feel calm and centered.
- Turn around your negative thinking. Negative thinking gets you caught up in a vicious cycle of worry and regret, while positive thinking gives hope to an individual and induces a livelier mood.
- Create a daily habit of taking an inventory of the positives in your life!
- Remember the importance of gratitude
- Stop focusing so much on competing for material success.
- Focus on the truly important things in life, such as good relationships, special skills, good health or your children.
- Freedom from fear
- Stop thinking about the “What if’s”.
- Enjoy what you have at the moment.
- Practice visualization – visualizing your future in a positive light so that you can look forward to it.
- Dedicate a certain time of day to worry. When the time is up, don’t allow yourself to continue the negative thought patterns about perceived stressors.
All these tips and tricks can give you a head start on feeling better about yourself and putting your best foot forward. So when life throws those curveballs at you, practice some of these methods to put yourself back in the driver’s seat.
