20+ Genius Ways To Boost Self-Esteem

Practice self-acceptance

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Building self-esteem is a journey that requires patience, self-compassion and consistent effort, and there are many ways you can improve your self-esteem. Practicing self-acceptance consists of embracing your flaws and imperfections, as part of what makes you unique.

Set realistic goals

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Breaking down larger goals, into smaller, achievable steps can help you meet any expectations you set for yourself. By achieving smaller goals, it can help motivate you with your day-to-day work, as well as working towards larger goals. Gaining achievements is a great way of boosting your self-esteem.

Positive affirmations

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Use daily affirmations to counter negative self-talk, with positive statements about yourself. Creating daily affirmations can be difficult to begin with, but with consistent practice, you can build up your self-confidence; and create a stronger sense of self.

Surround yourself with positivity

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Another great way of boosting your self-esteem, is by surrounding yourself with positivity. You should spend time with people who uplift and support you, whether its friends and/or family. By surrounding yourself with positivity, you're less likely to succumb to pessimistic ways of thinking/acting.

Mindfulness meditation

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Practicing mindfulness, allows you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions. It allows you to boost your self-esteem, as you can regulate your thought pattern and emotions more efficiently, so you're less likely to be overwhelmed by negative impacts.

Challenge negative thoughts

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Challenging negative thoughts can seem quite daunting, but it can allow you to question and reframe self-critical thoughts (with evidence-based reasoning). This helps boost your self-esteem, as you're able to take control of any negative thoughts, and challenge how they were created within your mind.

Celebrate achievements

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It is important to celebrate any personal achievement, no matter the size. Acknowledging even small accomplishments, helps build a sense of pride and competence. Having a decent sense of pride, is a great starting point for boosting your self-esteem.

Develop self-compassion

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Treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding, that you would offer a friend, is the best way to practice the development of self-compassion. It is important to have a solid basis of self-compassion, as your self-esteem can be severely impacted by self-degradation.

Learn from mistakes

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Viewing your failures as opportunities for growth and learning, is a great way of boosting your self-esteem. By having the ability to put a positive twist on your failures (personally and professionally), you'll find it much easier to deal with negative impacts from your actions.

Self-care routine

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Prioritizing self-care activities, can help promote physical and emotional well-being. By establishing a solid self-care routine, you're able to set aside time for treating yourself to some pampering and relaxation. Setting aside this kind of time and treatment, is a great way of boosting your self-esteem.

Exercise regularly

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Physical activity can boost your confidence, and improve your mood. By exercising regularly, you're able to take control of your physical health, and it is a great way of improving your mental health. When you feel goof physically, your self-esteem is going to naturally increase.

Dress for success

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Wearing clothes that make you feel confident and comfortable, is one of the easiest ways to boost your self-esteem. Having unique sense of style, and being able to experiment with aesthetics, can be a great way of practicing self-care as well. As long as you're comfortable, that's all that maters.

Practice assertiveness

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Being able to express your thoughts and feelings, in a respectful and confident manner, is a great starting point for boosting your self-esteem. Having the ability to be assertive can prove to be extremely useful, within both your professional and personal life.

Volunteer or help others

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Volunteering and giving back to your local community, can boost your self-esteem and provide you with a sense of purpose. It is important to have a sense of purpose, as it helps motivate you to achieve personal and professional goals, and gives you a solid pathway for life.

Learn new skills

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Acquiring new knowledge and abilities helps boost your confidence, which leads to a natural increase in your self-esteem. This new knowledge can be based around a personal interest/hobby, which actually makes it much more enjoyable and easier to excel within.

Maintain a gratitude journal

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Journaling is a great way of reflecting on the things you're grateful for, your daily experiences, thoughts and emotions. It can really help foster a positive mindset, and boost your self-esteem. Setting aside time to be grateful, is one of the best ways of maintaining a positive mindset.

Limit social media exposure

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Limiting your social media exposure, is one of the most effective ways of boosting your self-esteem, as you're avoiding comparing yourself to others. Comparing yourself to others, via social media, is one of the leading causes of poor mental health. By avoiding this, you'll be able to maintain a positive mindset.

Seek therapy/counselling

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Seeking professional help, can provide you with valuable tools for improving your self-esteem. It can also help you work through personal problems, that may be rooted in trauma from your childhood and/or adult life. By working through these problems, and having healthy coping mechanisms, you'll find it easier to boost your self-esteem.

Set boundaries

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Learning and practicing to say 'no' when necessary, is key to protecting your time and energy. Setting boundaries is an important thing to do, professionally and personally, as it allows you to prioritize your own tasks, thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Focus on your strengths

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Focusing on your strengths is a great way of boosting your self-esteem, as you're able to identify your unique qualities and talents, and nurture them. This can be a form of self-care as well, as it allows you to set aside time to indulge in your interests.

Practice positive self-talk

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Replacing self-criticism with encouraging and supportive inner dialogue, is a great way to break negative habits, and form a solid routine of boosting your self-esteem. This can be quite a difficult thing to start doing, as it can seem easier to be pessimistic, but positivity is a much healthier habit to form.

Connect with nature

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Spending time outdoors, can have a calming and rejuvenating effect, as you're taking time away from electronics to immerse yourself in nature. Nature can have a healing effect for many people, and actually increases positive thinking and outlooks on life.

Learn to forgive

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Releasing yourself from grudges, and forgiving yourself for past mistakes, will allow you to come to terms with things you cannot change. By being less self-critical, and accepting the fact that making mistakes is completely natural, you will find it much easier to increase your self-esteem.

Surround yourself with positive influences

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As mentioned previously, having hobbies is a great way of boosting your self-esteem, as you can set aside time to prioritize your interests. Cultivating hobbies, consists of pursuing activities you enjoy and excel at, even if they are not for any kind of profit.

Seek professional development

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Seeking professional development, consists of you enhancing your skills and knowledge, based around your career and/or interests. By actively seeking to improve your skills and knowledge, you are already setting the wheels in motion, for boosting your self-esteem and worth.

Visualize success

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Use guided imagery to imagine yourself achieving your goals, and improving your confidence. Visualizing success can take on many forms, and has proved to be extremely effective for many people. The forms of visualization can include: creating mood boards, creating lists of goals and active meditation.

Focus on the present

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Avoid dwelling on past regrets, or worrying excessively about the future. This kind of behavior/habits, can be extremely detrimental to your personal growth, and prevents you from being able to move on from past events (which you cannot control or change).

Celebrate your uniqueness

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Recognizing that you are one-of-a-kind, with your own strengths and quirks, will allow you to accept your character and personality. This form of acceptance is often the first step in building your confidence, and establishing habits to boost your self-esteem.

Embrace self-love

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Treat yourself with love, kindness and respect, just as you would a loved one. By firstly treating yourself in a positive manner, you are able to prioritize your emotions, and you will find it much easier to overcome negative thought patterns. You will also find it easier to handle criticisms, within your personal and professional life.

Accept compliments

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Accepting compliments can be a difficult thing for many people, but it is a great way of establishing a sense of worth, confidence and acceptance (within yourself). They're something you can look back on, especially when you're feeling low, or you feel as though your confidence needs a boost.