When you’re unhappy with yourself, you may find yourself unhappy about life. Happiness is elusive without a sense of self-worth. Self-worth is about believing that you have value as a person. It’s not how you compare to others. It’s your belief in your intrinsic value as a human being. We’re all different for a reason. We all have value. We’re all important. Some of us need a little help remembering those things.
Here are a few ways to increase your feelings of self-worth:
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Forgive yourself.
You may have guilt and resentment toward yourself that you’ve been carrying around for years. It could be things that started in your youth or carried through adolescence. Remember that you can’t live in the past. Work on giving yourself a break and vow to do better moving forward.
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Increase confidence through goals.
It has been proven that accomplishing goals increases confidence and a sense of self-worth. It’s essential to have big goals, but small goals are important, too. Small goals also lead to significant and more considerable accomplishments. Make it easy to succeed regularly by setting realistic and achievable goals. Completing your daily to-do list is an example of achieving a smaller goal.
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Define your values and live by them.
This can be as simple as deciding what’s important and unimportant. This also includes what makes you feel fulfilled and happy and what does not. Living by these values will make you feel more alignment in your daily life. Most people need to take the time to define their values. They rely on a vague sense of right and wrong from childhood or what they learned from parents or social groups. Please give it some thought and put your ideas down on paper. When you’re stuck with a tough decision, pull out the list.
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Set personal boundaries and enforce them.
Knowing your values helps you understand where you need to set boundaries. Doing things that do not align with your values can drain your energy. Decide what you consider reasonable behavior of yourself and others and enforce it. Setting boundaries may be complex at first, especially with people who are not used to you having limits or saying no but stick with it, and you’ll soon reap great benefits.
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Be willing to make changes in your life.
The same life will provide the same results. Some changes will be necessary if your goal is to enhance your self-worth. Doing what you did got you to where you are. You’ll need to make some changes to move forward and change your thinking, frame of mind, and overall quality of life. Some people consider a change scary because of fearing the unknown, but instead, reframe those thoughts and think of change as an opportunity for anything you wish to happen.
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Conquer smaller fears.
Similar to how setting goals increases confidence, conquering fears also increases confidence. Fear, in general, often creates limiting beliefs of ourselves. Start by facing and overcoming a few small fears. You’ll be impressed with yourself.
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Minimize time around people with negative energy.
Do you have a friend or family member that drags down your self-worth? If you find yourself around people criticizing you or making you feel bad about yourself, think about letting them go or spending less time with them. -
Help others or volunteer.
Spending your time in a valuable and selfless way is a quick means to raise your opinion about yourself. Think about helping a friend or someone you don’t know. Doing this just a couple of times a week has been shown to make a difference.
When you think negatively about yourself, you lower your confidence and expectations. You even begin to look for reasons to support those thoughts. This is the ultimate in self-defeating behaviors. Your feelings of self-worth influence your ability to be happy and prosperous. Be proud of who you are as a person. Life will be easier and more enjoyable.