Struggling with low self-esteem is more common than you might think. While it might seem like everyone on social media is living their best life, that’s often a long way from the truth.
A lack of confidence can affect your life in numerous ways. For instance, it can diminish your ability to connect with people and do the things you want to do. It can also have a significant impact on how other people perceive you and the opportunities you encounter in the job market. On a personal level, it can leave you wondering whether you are good enough.
If that sounds like you, this post is here to help. We take a look at two big strategies for boosting your self-worth: positive affirmations and self-care.
Many professionals dislike the concept of self-esteem for technical reasons. However, we are going to ignore those in this article. If you prefer the concepts of self-love or self-worth, then use them instead.
What Are Positive Affirmations And How Do They Help You?
Positive affirmations were popular in the mid-1990s thanks to the influence of gurus, like Wayne Dyer. The idea is to repeat good things about yourself so often that your unconscious starts to believe them.
The power of unconscious programming can be tremendous. People believe it is one of the main reasons why people are successful in their lives. Their unconscious expects life to be that way. Therefore, it happens.
The power of positive affirmations is tremendous. They can boost your confidence in numerous ways, including:-
How Do You Practice Positive Affirmations?
If you’ve never practiced positive affirmations before, it can seem a little strange. You’re not always sure what to do.
Fortunately, there are some established best practices you can follow to get you started.
The first is to choose affirmations that align with your goals. You want to program yourself with things you believe will generate positive outcomes in your life.
Start by writing them down or saying them out loud in the present tense. Don’t say things like “I will be successful.” Instead, say “I am successful.” Live in that space of success right now. Don’t put it off to the future.
Next, repeat these mantras daily as many times as you can. Crush the part of you that loves self-doubt and wants to bring you down. Take advantage of the receptivity of your brain by repeating the phrases you choose in the morning and at night before you sleep.
While you speak or write your mantras, visualize them becoming true. Imagine you’ve already got everything you want.
Feel the positive emotions that come with that experience. Take time to enjoy the affirmations and how they give you additional energy. Let them run through your body as a physical experience, taking the training to a deeper level.
Lastly, practice patience. The programming you have right now took many years to accumulate, so undoing it will take time. People struggle for years with affirmations before finally “clicking” and understanding what they need to do.
What Are Some Examples Of Positive Affirmations?
A lack of confidence can affect your life in numerous ways. For instance, it can diminish your ability to connect with people and do the things you want to do. It can also have a significant impact on how other people perceive you and the opportunities you encounter in the job market. On a personal level, it can leave you wondering whether you are good enough.
If that sounds like you, this post is here to help. We take a look at two big strategies for boosting your self-worth: positive affirmations and self-care.
Many professionals dislike the concept of self-esteem for technical reasons. However, we are going to ignore those in this article. If you prefer the concepts of self-love or self-worth, then use them instead.
What Are Positive Affirmations And How Do They Help You?
Positive affirmations were popular in the mid-1990s thanks to the influence of gurus, like Wayne Dyer. The idea is to repeat good things about yourself so often that your unconscious starts to believe them.
The power of unconscious programming can be tremendous. People believe it is one of the main reasons why people are successful in their lives. Their unconscious expects life to be that way. Therefore, it happens.
The power of positive affirmations is tremendous. They can boost your confidence in numerous ways, including:-
- Increasing your level of self-acceptance and awareness
- Reducing the stress and anxiety you feel
- Improving your mood and motivation, allowing you to get more done and think positively about your role in the world
- Enhancing your performance and productivity at work or at home if you work remotely
- Making it easier to find opportunities and attract success into your life
- Making it less likely that you will self-sabotage when you’re on the cusp of achieving something significant in a relationship, business, or career
How Do You Practice Positive Affirmations?
If you’ve never practiced positive affirmations before, it can seem a little strange. You’re not always sure what to do.
Fortunately, there are some established best practices you can follow to get you started.
The first is to choose affirmations that align with your goals. You want to program yourself with things you believe will generate positive outcomes in your life.
Start by writing them down or saying them out loud in the present tense. Don’t say things like “I will be successful.” Instead, say “I am successful.” Live in that space of success right now. Don’t put it off to the future.
Next, repeat these mantras daily as many times as you can. Crush the part of you that loves self-doubt and wants to bring you down. Take advantage of the receptivity of your brain by repeating the phrases you choose in the morning and at night before you sleep.
While you speak or write your mantras, visualize them becoming true. Imagine you’ve already got everything you want.
Feel the positive emotions that come with that experience. Take time to enjoy the affirmations and how they give you additional energy. Let them run through your body as a physical experience, taking the training to a deeper level.
Lastly, practice patience. The programming you have right now took many years to accumulate, so undoing it will take time. People struggle for years with affirmations before finally “clicking” and understanding what they need to do.
What Are Some Examples Of Positive Affirmations?
Here are some examples:
- I am a unique person with special talents that can change the world
- I am the type of person who attracts functional and positive people into my life
- The world is full of opportunities and I can find them whenever I want
- I love and respect myself unconditionally
- I am worthy of happiness, respect, and success in life
- I am confident I can achieve my biggest goals
What Is Self-Care And How Does It Work?
Self-case comes at the problem from a slightly different tack. It asks whether there is anything you can do to be kinder to yourself and look after your mind. Primarily, it is about having better thoughts that serve you, not awful people you’ve internalized from your past. When that happens, it boosts your energy and helps you to become more resilient and happy.
Self-care works by helping you:-
- Reduce the stress and anxiety you feel
- Prevent exhaustion and burnout because of your relationships or career
- Improving how you feel daily, letting you face the challenges of the world
- Improving your self-esteem and image, as discussed above
How To Practice Effective Self-Care
Practicing effective self-care is more challenging than you might think. It’s not just about adopting certain activities, but also changing your mindset to make it more conducive to pleasure and joy.
Effective self-care first requires you to consider your priorities. What is it that’s really going to help you and make a big difference in your life?
The next step is to set healthy boundaries and say no to more things that don’t serve you. While it might feel good to give everything you have in the short term, it can eventually come back to damage you in the longer run.
The next step is to make time for yourself every day. You need to feel like you have a few moments where you can really take care of yourself and feel happy and relaxed. It can also involve being kinder to yourself.
What, specifically, does self-care look like?
Well, you’ll want to get enough sleep and rest to minimize wrinkles under your eyes. You’ll also need to eat plenty of nutritious food and get enough water into your system to prevent toxins from building up. Exercising and stretching regularly can also help a great deal, as can practices like meditation or yoga.
The biggest thing you can do is shut down your negative internal voice if you have one. Your mind should be your friend, not something you constantly need to battle against.
Once you get to a certain point, you can then think about combining positive affirmations with self-care. You should find your attitude begins to change and you have more energy. Eventually, you get into a positive feedback loop where a healthy lifestyle and self-care make your affirmations more believable. In time, you reinforce your positive beliefs and they become your new reality.
You can also use positive affirmations to support self-care. For instance, you might say things like “I am worthy of a happy, relaxing life” or “I deserve healthy food that can support my body.”
Little things like these can have a tremendous effect on your psychology long-term. You notice that you start respecting yourself and that you’re less likely to do destructive things that don’t serve you.
It also becomes easier to recognize the things in your life that aren’t helping you. You suddenly see how you are damaging your chances of success, making it easier to change. For example, once you start engaging in self-care and positive affirmations, doing things that reduce your joy in life suddenly seem less appealing. All of a sudden, you want to change voluntarily.
Effective self-care first requires you to consider your priorities. What is it that’s really going to help you and make a big difference in your life?
The next step is to set healthy boundaries and say no to more things that don’t serve you. While it might feel good to give everything you have in the short term, it can eventually come back to damage you in the longer run.
The next step is to make time for yourself every day. You need to feel like you have a few moments where you can really take care of yourself and feel happy and relaxed. It can also involve being kinder to yourself.
What, specifically, does self-care look like?
Well, you’ll want to get enough sleep and rest to minimize wrinkles under your eyes. You’ll also need to eat plenty of nutritious food and get enough water into your system to prevent toxins from building up. Exercising and stretching regularly can also help a great deal, as can practices like meditation or yoga.
The biggest thing you can do is shut down your negative internal voice if you have one. Your mind should be your friend, not something you constantly need to battle against.
Once you get to a certain point, you can then think about combining positive affirmations with self-care. You should find your attitude begins to change and you have more energy. Eventually, you get into a positive feedback loop where a healthy lifestyle and self-care make your affirmations more believable. In time, you reinforce your positive beliefs and they become your new reality.
You can also use positive affirmations to support self-care. For instance, you might say things like “I am worthy of a happy, relaxing life” or “I deserve healthy food that can support my body.”
Little things like these can have a tremendous effect on your psychology long-term. You notice that you start respecting yourself and that you’re less likely to do destructive things that don’t serve you.
It also becomes easier to recognize the things in your life that aren’t helping you. You suddenly see how you are damaging your chances of success, making it easier to change. For example, once you start engaging in self-care and positive affirmations, doing things that reduce your joy in life suddenly seem less appealing. All of a sudden, you want to change voluntarily.
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