Everyone needs to learn to respect themselves and stop letting others take advantage of us. Just the other day I noticed that I was about to let someone take advantage of me. It may not have been on purpose, but the gal at the checkout overcharged me for an item. I felt this strong sense of unfairness and asked her nicely to change the price. She apologized and fixed the mistake. This may sound like a simple example, but the truth is, each time you stand up for what's fair, you respect yourself. When you stop allowing others to take advantage of you and respect yourself, your self-esteem improves. 

Delaying your self-approval prevents you from having a healthy self-esteem. You might be waiting for something to happen before you approve or feel good about yourself. For example, it might be losing that excess weight or having that perfect job, partner, dream home or more money. A healthy self-esteem is regardless of your circumstances and it's important to approve of yourself regardless of those things. Delaying self-approval is effectively delaying life and it's disempowering.

Overcoming your fear of failure can be empowering but a living with a fear of failure can be damaging to your self-esteem. For example, fear of failure may prevent you from trying new activities, starting or finishing tasks, or pursuing employment or educational opportunities. It can also get in the way of forming relationships and socialising, in general. You might settle for something you’re comfortable with to ensure you succeed, rather than challenging yourself with something more fulfilling. When you do this, you’re not living to your fullest potential and can get very easily stuck in your present situation. A fear of failure is often associated with anxiety and depression and it affects your quality of life. Overcoming your fear of failure spurs you do the things you want and it helps to improve your self-esteem.

Do you feel insecure in relationships? This post will help you understand why you feel insecure and 3 ways to feel more confident in romantic relationships.

It’s easy to be ashamed of having low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is generally perceived as a weakness and it’s often stigmatized. Having low self-esteem is bad enough, but feeling ashamed can make it a lot worse. Shame may prevent you from speaking up, seeking the help you need and it can also be isolating. You may want to hide away from the world or avoid talking to others. However, you can improve your self-esteem when you stop feeling ashamed.

You may be thinking, "Yeah right, it's impossible control your emotions. If it was easy I would have done so years ago." But responding wisely, or controlling your emotions, is not as hard as it seems. When you learn how to control your emotions your confidence improves tremendously. The truth is, emotions are intense and, at times, feel like they rule your life. When this happens, you have less self-control which leads to more impulsive and emotional decision making, depleting your confidence in the long run. But you can learn how to control your emotions and feel confident.

Putting yourself down can be damaging to your self-esteem and self-confidence. That includes the words you say out loud in addition to your internal negative self-talk. Negative thoughts and words can be very believable and they distort your perception about yourself. They impact on your sense of self-worth. When you talk negatively about yourself to others, the words have a greater effect. You’re also making it easier for others to put you down. The good news is that you can stop putting yourself down and build your self-esteem.

Having a healthy self-esteem can be challenging depending on your employment situation. Whether or not you’re employed, your occupation, and your income can affect self-esteem in a big way. Employment gives you a sense of purpose and meaning and it’s also a connection to other people and society. There are times when you might find yourself without work. You may be unemployed, have time off due to illness or injury, or be permanently unable to work. Alternatively you may be working but dissatisfied with your job. However you can maintain a healthy self-esteem regardless of your employment situation.

If you have ever felt the pain of rejection, if so this helpful post is for you. Ready to feel confident instead of insecure? Read this.

Communicating effectively is important for a healthy self-esteem, making and maintaining friendships, relationships, social interaction and speaking up for yourself. Communication effectively is a skill that you can learn, and it will get better with practice. As you improve your skills, you’ll communicate with more confidence and your self-esteem will be better. Here are some tips on communicating effectively.