It’s important to do the things you’re not comfortable with to build self-esteem. That means stepping outside of your comfort zone and challenging yourself. Naturally, you may resist doing this because it might make you anxious, fearful or just plain uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone does take effort and it might seem easier to do nothing. However, sticking to what you’re familiar with can keep you stuck and it can damage your self-esteem. In order to create change, you need to challenge your negative feelings and do it anyway. Do the things that you’re not comfortable with and build your self-esteem.

Practicing self-compassion can help you increase self-esteem, become more confident and less critical with yourself. Self-compassion is a positive self-view that involves relating to oneself with kindness and acceptance in times of difficulty, rather than criticizing, you look at your situation with compassion. Learn how to increase your self-esteem by practicing self-compassion.

It’s important to stop quitting the things you enjoy just because you're not confident. If you’re like many people, you may be depriving yourself of things you enjoy simply because you’re not good at them or feel inadequate. Perhaps you don’t try something because you’re afraid of exposing your weaknesses or imperfections, you fear making mistakes or you fear failure. Perhaps you compare yourself to others or worry too much about what others think. You might feel vulnerable and that can be very uncomfortable. However, doing things for the sake of enjoyment is important for your self-esteem, mental health and overall wellbeing. Stop quitting the things you enjoy just because you're not confident.

Identifying your good qualities can be challenging when you believe you’re worthless or have low self-esteem. When you’re feeling worthless, your negative thoughts distort your perception of yourself and you overlook the positives. However, they’re not the truth even though you might believe it. No matter who you are, you are not worthless and you do have good qualities. Identifying your good qualities even if you feel worthless can help guide you to the things you’re suited to, find meaning or purpose in your life, and most importantly, to see your own worth so you can build your self-esteem.

Setting intentions can improve your confidence and belief in your abilities. An intention is a like a goal, but more powerful and effective, in my opinion. Intentions are the dreams that you want to achieve and the feelings you want to bring into your life. The short-term gains from setting intentions are that they can help you get a grip on negative thoughts to more neutral or positive ways of thinking the long-term gains from setting intentions may be improved confidence.

Stop being ashamed of who you are if you want to build self-esteem. Everyone has things they don't like about themselves; however, being ashamed of who you are because of them is destructive. Perhaps life isn’t how you planned and you don’t have the job, money, education, talents, looks, partner, friends or family you had hoped for. You might be ashamed of having an illness, condition or disability, or perhaps you're struggling with mental health issues or mental illness stigma. Alternatively, your personality, talents or interests might be different to others around you, causing you to feel like you don’t fit in. However, shame is toxic to your wellbeing and self-esteem. It’s important to stop being ashamed of who you are to build self-esteem.

When parenting a child who has low self-esteem it can be hard to know what to say or do. Psychotherapist Emily Roberts has 4 tips for parents that work.

People need to stop being perfectionists. Being a perfectionist is destructive to your self-esteem, mental health and general wellbeing. However perfectionism is a common self-esteem problem that can be hard to recognise. If you’re like many people, you might be asking, “What’s wrong with being a perfectionist?” Perfection can easily be confused with having high standards but they're not the same. High standards can be healthy, productive and good for your self-esteem. However, a perfectionist will have standards that are unreasonable, unhealthy and counterproductive. It’s important to recognise perfection as a problem. Here's how to stop being a perfectionist. 

It can be challenging to start socialising when you have low self-esteem. Feelings of self-doubt, not being good enough, fear of being rejected, judged, or embarrassed, or believing you don’t belong can all get in the way. Perhaps you don't know where to begin and it may seem easier to isolate yourself. Additionally, if you don’t have real friends, it can feel intimidating to get out there on your own. However, it’s important that you do socialise even when you have low self-esteem. You need to start socialising in order to meet people, make friends and build your self-esteem.

Self-care is important for your physical health as well as your mind, soul and, let's face it, your overall health. Without self-care, your relationships with others can suffer tremendously. Last week's blog explained how you can practice self-care on a budget, which is important. But true self-care doesn't have to cost a dime!