When you have low self esteem, feeling great about yourself is close to impossible. You could probably come up with plenty of reasons why you're not great. It is possible to build up your self esteem, believe it or not, and before you know it you'll feel great about yourself.
The secret to feeling great about yourself is all about what you think and feel about yourself. These thoughts and emotions are often ingrained in the subconscious mind from childhood and keep causing "trouble" as we grow up.
If you were brought up by overprotective parents you most likely didn't learn how to stand up for yourself or that you're a person capable of doing so many things. Overprotective parents tend to make decisions for their children without giving them the opportunity to learn how to do this for themselves. Although this is often well intended, it sends completely the wrong message to the child. The child learns that their own opinion doesn't matter and that others know better.
If you were abused physically or emotionally during childhood, it definitely has an effect on your self esteem. You end up not trusting yourself and others. It often seems impossible to forgive the person or persons who did these terrible things to you. But remember forgiveness is not about the other person. It is not about condoning what is done to you. It's about letting go of the past and moving on.
As long as you hold on to resentment and hate, your abuser has full control over you. Now, isn't that worse than forgiving and moving on?
These are just a few reasons why you may not feel great about yourself.
1. Concentrate on the things you do well or that make you feel proud of yourself. We all have talents and skills. If you think long and hard enough, I'm sure you can come up with 10 things you're good at.
2. Ask your friends for help. Ask them to make a list of all the things they feel are great about you. Don't be afraid to ask them to do this, because if they didn't think you were great, they wouldn't be your friend, now would they..?
3. Gather all the lists and file them.
4. Read your lists as often as you can, or feel like and try to add to the lists whenever you think of something.
5. Every time you do something that makes you feel good, compliment yourself. Say; "Well done [fill in your name]!" Even if it's something minor, like you parked your car properly in only one go or cooked a nice meal, that you and your family enjoyed.
Do this on a regular basis and you'll notice a change in your life. Feeling great about yourself makes life so much more enjoyable. When you stop worrying about what others may think of you, you allow yourself to blossom and the real you can finally shine through...
Mireille Lepelblad-Ogbolu (aka Mimi) lives in Kuwait with her three lovely daughters and loving husband. After recovering from low self esteem and depression, she decided to set up a website to help others improve their self image and start living healthy fulfilling lives. The tools and books she used to overcome years of shyness, negativity and worry can be found on her website www.feel-great-about-yourself.com.