Self Esteem and 8 Step Action Plan to Improve It

Self esteem is a person's image of the self regardless of his/her circumstances. Regardless of your success or failure, you are a unique and special person. You should like yourself regardless of the circumstances. You love your kids, right? There's an inner child in you. Wouldn't you love that child the same way?

Second, you have unlimited potential. None of us ever come close to realizing our full potential. You only need to take action to make the most of your potential. Realizing the fact that you have all the power and potential to have or be anything you want gives you the hope and confidence to feel good about yourself. So, invest some time in yourself, you are worth it. You have your fair share of skills, talents and abilities and so you deserve a high self esteem. High self esteem is your true nature.

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." - Buddha

"You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy." - Anonymous

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8 Step Action Plan to Improve Self Esteem

Improving the self esteem:

During the week, take the following simple practical steps. [This is also based on- law of degree of control and law of cause and effect. More on this later]

You may choose the techniques you like and begin with them at first.

1) Read the article: Why “You are Special” and Why does it Matter
http://beinglive.com/Articles/Why-You-are-Special-and-Why-does-it-Matter.aspx

2) Read the article (you may glance over it now & re-visit it later): Power of Affirmations and Music
http://beinglive.com/Articles/Power-of-Affirmations-and-Music.aspx

3) Start practicing the self esteem affirmations on Affirmations tool
http://beinglive.com/members/Affirmations.aspx

Refer to How to use the Affirmations Tool (http://beinglive.com/members/How-to-use-Affirmations.aspx) to add accountability to yourself by keeping track of your affirmation practices.

4) Watch your thoughts and replace any negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Pat yourself for the positive things.

Ex: Replace "People don't like me" with "Most people are good people. I am a good person. Just like I am good towards other people, there are other people who are good towards me. When I see the good in others, I feel great about myself"

5) Meditation and Visualization:

Sit comfortably, breathe deeply couple of times, close your eyes, count backwards from 20 to 1. This will put you in a relaxed state. Now, think about the positive qualities you already possess. You may also think about the positive qualities of a person you admire or of a character in a movie. Ponder the positive impact those qualities have on the person and on the people around. See the benefits of reasonably improving the same qualities where possible. Next, visualize yourself possessing those improved qualities. No need to rush. Be kind to yourself. Inch by inch everything is cinch. Gradually you will see the results. Breathe deeply couple of times and open your eyes.

6) Success Journal: Write down the moments in the past when you felt good about yourself, when you really liked yourself. Write down all of your achievements and good things you did as far back as you can remember (this will come handy later). Do not worry about any failures. Just write down the positive things. Write down the things you like about yourself, your talents & skills, and the great job you did or are doing now. (You can use any notebook as your success journal)

"Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment." - Thomas Carlyle

7) Solitude:

10 to 30 minutes a day sit quietly doing nothing. Don't try to analyze anything, don't try to solve anything. Postpone everything for few hours and give yourself a time. This is an indication that you value yourself. At the end of 10 or 30 minutes you will feel fresh with high self image, your mind will present you with solutions to any challenges and you will be ready to charge ahead.

8) You may also write down the affirmations you like on a 3 x 5 index card and read it whenever you can. Reading it in front of a mirror is an effective way.