Increase Self Esteem with Self Praise

Understanding that low self esteem is symptomatic of bad habits that limit our potential is only a first step. It's nice to know that you can change and really can elevate your self esteem, but that understanding is only half of the battle. Now, it's time to actually start doing something that can make use begin to feel better about ourselves by dismantling some of those limiting habits.

We often reinforce our low self esteem habit by frequently insulting ourselves. Have you ever received a low mark on a school exam or work evaluation and made negative comments about your own intelligence or abilities under your breath? Have you ever broken something and told yourself that you were clumsy? Have you ever had an unsuccessful social encounter and then branded yourself as a "loser."

We tend to believe the things we tell ourselves. When we send those same negative messages repeatedly, we take them to heart and begin to think of ourselves as "less." The habit of self-criticism is one of the most powerful restrictions to the development of healthy self-esteem.

If you recognize these negative behaviors, you need to make a conscious effort to replace them with something that will actually help your self esteem. Doing that may seem a little uncomfortable, because it represents a break from your usual patterns, but taking a stand against your limiting behavior will produce results.

Every time you either feel on the verge of criticizing yourself--or right after doing so, if you didn't act quickly enough--give yourself some praise. Congratulate yourself on an effort. Make note of why you can handle a situation, isolating a good character trait. Give yourself a pat on the back for not falling into the trap of self-criticism.

It may seem artificial at first, and you may not believe that it will make a difference to your self esteem. However, in time, you will learn that you are approaching life differently. You will begin to feel more comfortable with yourself and will be far less restrained by self-imposed limitations that stem from constant self-attacks. Your self esteem level will increase gradually as those old lessons in negativity are replaced by positive votes of self-confidence.

Low self esteem stems from limiting habits. The conscious decision to reverse the habit of self-criticism will make a huge difference in your life.