I don’t know about you but I feel like the whole body confidence movement has exploded this Summer (in a good way obviously) and it’s been so lovely to see women of all shapes and sizes learning to accept, if not love, their own bodies.
There are some wonderful bloggers championing the cause (Molly Forbes on Instagram is particularly inspiring) and it feels like more and more women are becoming more comfortable with their bodies, wobbly bits and all, which can only ever be a wonderful thing, can’t it?
I’m not quite there yet myself but I’m trying my hardest and I definitely feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have before. I think the reason that I’m not there at this point in my life is that I do want to lose weight for a number of reasons – none of which have anything to do with anyone but me. I’ve realised that I don’t care about having a perfect body but I do want a healthy body and I know that I need to lose weight to do this so that’s what I’m going to do.
But as wonderful as it is, the ever-growing body confidence movement isn’t actually what this post is meant to be about because there’s something else that I think we all need to get better at…
Self-esteem and learning to value ourselves as a whole is, to me, even more important than having body confidence!
Put simply, self-esteem is the opinion that we have of ourselves!
So, someone with low self-esteem may not have much confidence in themselves, they may not feel worthy or deserving and they’ll often look at themselves and their lives in a negative light. Whereas on the opposite end of the spectrum, people with healthy self-esteem will typically feel not only more positive about themselves but also about life in general.
The way we feel about ourselves impacts the decisions we make in our lives and helps shape the way we deal with life’s ups and downs which is why self-esteem is so so important and whilst I don’t have a magic wand I can wave or an essential oil blend that’s going to soothe away your feelings, I do have a few things you can do that will help you boost your self-esteem and get to a place where you value yourself and recognise that you deserve all the good things and positive vibes that come your way…
1. Be Mindful and don’t let yourself dwell on the negative things going on around you
I’m a worrier by nature and tend to overthink things but I’m coming to realise that this doesn’t help in the slightest and most of the time, it will only make things worse. I can’t explain this very well but when I’m feeling worried I try to sit down and take a few minutes to allow all of my thoughts time to become clear in my head. Once I’ve done that, I generally realise that my worries are unfounded in a lot of cases and are just as a result of me overthinking.
2. Realise that you’re in control and can make changes
If there’s something you don’t like, you often have the power to change it in one way or another. Sometimes, even just talking to someone can change things.
3. Don’t compare yourself to others
I’m torn between two quotes for this one – ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ and ‘don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle’. 😉
But actually, the most important thing to realise here is that most people will only share the parts of their life that they want you to see and that won’t usually include the bad, stressy or negative bits.
4. Do something every day that makes you happy
I have a rule that I try and create every day because it makes me happy to do that. It might only be 10 minutes but I definitely feel better for it.
5. Get moving
Exercise really does make you feel happier – it’s a scientific fact so get yourself moving and it doesn’t matter what you do, whether you go to the gym, start jogging or put YouTube on and do a workout or go session in your living room then you’ll feel better for it.
6. Be nice to other people
Be nice to other people and I guarantee you’ll feel better about yourself.
7. Find your passion
Is there something you can do that makes you happy? For me, it’s taking photos and even though I’m not great at it I’m never happier than when I’m looking at the world through my camera lens. When I wasn’t very well the year before last not being able to get out with my camera was awful and definitely affected my mood so now I make sure I put time aside for me to do that and I automatically feel calmer and happier when I’ve got my camera in my hand. Find what it is that makes you feel like that and do it.
8. Realise that you are worth it
It’s not as easy as it sounds and it may be hard to put time aside for yourself but do try and it will get easier.
And if you’re wondering why I’m preaching to you about why you should work on your self-esteem, it’s because one thing I’ve come to realise this year that I’ve been a bit lost for a little while and it affected my whole mindset in life. The things I’ve written above are all things that I’ve personally tried, and after a difficult time, I feel like me again.
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