We’ve talked about a glass of water, appearance, and emotions. Here is my top five list of ways to keep yourself and others on a positive high of self-esteem, while keeping it realistic.
Remember, anything you do, including those you do for others, has an impact on your self-esteem. You choose the direction with every action or lack of action you take. And sometimes the lack of doing something speaks louder than words.
When I’m waking up, when a challenge appears, when I feel down, these are the top 5 things that I remember and then choose to put into action. Each day is new and can either be positive or negative. Whether you’re doing these for yourself or to help others, make a point of doing them often and choose to be positive.
1. Catch other doing something right. So often we can tell others when they do something wrong. “My food is too cold”, “You’ve screwed up on this assignment again”, or “Why can’t you be more like…”.
Step away from the ordinary and spot someone doing something right. It will make you feel good about helping someone else. It will help them feel good about what they do, even if it is something they do every day, it is what makes them special. When they get recognized, or you, for doing something good, they’ll wanna keep doing good things because it gives that unexpected high of life. In school or work life, appropriate praise and recognition go a long way to keeping students on task, or keeping quality employees.
2. Unconditional acceptance starts with yourself. The world around us is full of differences. It doesn’t matter if you’re home schooled or living on the streets. No matter your circumstances, start with accepting you for yourself. I was born with a disability. Certain things I can not change. I accept that. For everything else, I learn to adapt to the different environments I’m in throughout the day.
With the internet pulling people from all over the world closer together, it’s more important to be aware of these differences and embracing them. It doesn’t mean you have to forget about yours to accept theres, it’s finding a harmony of all the differences. When we can work together with our differences, we can find more solutions because of the different backgrounds we bring to a project.
3. Choose your direction. Part of a low self-esteem is not doing anything. Sitting back and not choosing a path to go down. One of the things I was told early on in high school is when you are looking for a career, think of the things you like to do. Think of it this way; imagine yourself in a job where you don’t like what you’re doing; this is it for the next 40 plus years of your life.
This thought is what drove me to seek out college and the areas in my life that I enjoy. Speaking; creating graphics, videos and theatre; writing; and sharing knowledge. If you were to look at my resume of experiences, you’ll see elements of each of those. And all this coming from someone who doctor’s said early on would not live long.
4. Share what you know. Ever like those feel good moments when a good friend tells you something personal? Or how about the light bulb moment in class when you finally get it? Sharing what I know with others and learning from them gives me both knowledge and satisfaction that someone else can move in a positive direction.
5. Plan ahead to be on time. Anyone that knows me knows I like to be on time. There are many reasons for this, but let me break it down a bit. Being on time or even early affords you a moment or two so you don’t feel rushed. Every book or story on interviewing for a job always mentions being on time for the interview. If you’re late, then the interviewers time is now late and thus he is late to the next interview who then has to apologize to the next person and the negative flow keeps going and going. What you do, does affect others.
Secondly, being on time or early can also get you seated at a table faster than rushing late to a restaurant you know usually has a long wait. It also gives others a sense of trust in you that they can count on you. When running a business, do you want the person that opens your store in the morning to be there on time all the time or be late one morning, then the next really late? Granted unexpected things do come up that can affect this, but overall, a track record of being on time is awesome. If you know you’re going to be late, communication is key. Let someone know.
Planning ahead can also win you some tickets, help you spend less money on a vacation, or even reward you for your time. Planning ahead lessens the stress in your life of having to speed to work or wait in line. Don’t overload your day. Stress only lowers your self-esteem. Planning ahead will raise it.
What are your top 5?
