3 Steps to Improve Your Self Esteem

I may, well, hopefully, come across as a pretty confident young woman, but let me tell you, it’s not always been that way. As a teenager – and even in my early 20’s – I suffered from near crippling self esteem, ranging from my appearance to my attitudes and even anxiety in the workplace. Let’s be honest, not feeling good enough is sadly pretty damn common and as cliche as it sounds, the older I’ve gotta the less shits I give about caring what other people think of me.

It’s easier said than done, but if you are keen to try and do whatever you can to improve your self esteem, I’m sharing three steps I take to raise my self confidence when it’s taken a bit of a battle. Like I said, raising self-esteem is a a long process (you know what they say, it’s not a destination it’s a journey, yada yada yada), but if these three steps can give you a little boost when you need it most, then hopefully I’ve helped even a little. These are the 3 steps I take to lift my self esteem when I’m having a bad day.

Take Your Time Getting Ready 

We all have those days where the last thing we want to do is look in the mirror – bad hair days, an acne breakout, sometimes it feels too much to deal with – but honestly, taking my time to get ready in the morning or before a big night out really helps me. Most of the time I just wear minimal makeup to work, and if I have no weekend plans I usually don’t bother put any on. However, when I’m feeling nervous for a work meeting or a night out, slapping on a full face of makeup really helps my confidence. Even if I have a little wobble when I’m at work, I’ll often whack out a red lipstick and put it on as a power lip!

When I’m at home, I love to sit down at my dressing and makeup table, and really take my skincare and makeup routine seriously. Sometimes I go so long without a full face that I even forget that I can look half decent when I’ve made a proper effort, and even get surprised at how much I’m feeling myself! Taking my time getting ready can turn my self esteem from not wanting to look in the mirror to checking myself out, ha.

Get A Workout In

If you’d told me a year go that I’d be advocating a workout purely to help your mood, I’d have scoffed. Now, strength training has totally transformed my outlook and I find myself working out for my mind, not just my body. It may sound cliche, but if exercise really does boost endorphins and if I am having a bad day I find an hour workout can fly by and without realising, I’m out the other side feeling way more chipper.

Aside from raising my spirits, working out helps me to feel more confident in other ways. Thanks to lifting weights, I am now so much more stronger than I ever could have expected. Hell yes I can deadlift 80kg, and push 150kg weights – that’s basically two of me! There’s something that feels pretty damn great about sneakily seeing how much these hench bodybuilder men are lifting at the gym and being quietly smug to myself, knowing I can go heavier.

Of course, the healthier I get the more trim I feel too. Heck, I’m no where near my dream body – or even past body! – but I feel confident in my clothes again. If you are keen to develop some confidence, really consider getting in a workout, no matter what your preferred method of exercise is.

Be Kind To Yourself

Come on, give yourself a break. You’re trying your best, right?

Being kind to myself is something I struggle with on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. Some days I feel like I have my shit together and sometimes I feel like I’m letting myself down, but when I challenge myself to take an objective, outside view, it’s really just my low self-esteem that’s telling me I’m not doing a good job.

Sometimes you need someone from outside the situation to remind you that you’re doing great – you’re going to work/uni/school, you’re cooking for yourself, you’re seeing your mates – but the only person who can truly help your self esteem is yourself. Be kind to yourself. You’re doing the best you can and sometimes you just need to talk to yourself the way you’d talk to a friend. You wouldn’t sit there and let your mate tell themselves they’re not good enough would you?

Speak to yourself the way you would speak to your best friend. After all, your no.1 friend has to be yourself.