 Hey, Psych2goers. Do you have low self-esteem? Your self-esteem is a culmination of your physical self-image, accomplishments, capabilities, and perceived success. In short, it's your opinion of yourself. Some of us are blessed to have an environment that fosters high self-esteem. Others are not so fortunate. But despite unfortunate circumstances or events, you can cultivate high self-esteem. Think of the protagonist who had a difficult childhood or a rough start in life. Despite the trials they faced, they were able to forge ahead. Hopefully these few tips can help you believe in yourself again. Number one. Stop comparing yourself to others. Sometimes comparisons can be helpful. Using them as a template for improvement can inspire you to make changes. Then again, sometimes they are a way for you to deconstruct yourself and discover all the things that you think are wrong with you. According to an article in Psychology Today, written by a physician, Dr. Biley, we can remind ourselves that people's outsides can't be compared to our insides. This is because people can carry their social media versions of their lives and they can do the same with their public lives. You might have experienced being shocked when a couple appeared happy and solid in a relationship until one of them announced their breakup. Of course, we wish others well. But remember that you don't actually know what goes on behind closed doors when their lives make you feel bad about your own. Number two. Overcome perfectionism. I know, I know you're just trying to do your best and work hard to achieve your goals, but how can we know if we've crossed the line? Have you been experiencing signs of procrastination, restlessness, being motivated by fear, and especially low self-esteem? Well, these are signs of a perfectionist. Despite what social media tries to portray as a perfect life, creating one for yourself can lead to maladaptive rumination and deterioration of mental health. Instead of achieving more, you may undergo more setbacks than you desire. According to Oregon Counseling, we can take steps to overcome perfectionism through tendency awareness, allowing room for mistakes, focusing on meaning over perfectionism, and setting reasonable goals for ourselves. Number three. Figure out what you're good at and develop it. How do your abilities and self-esteem go hand in hand? Well, your sense of purpose will increase. When that happens, your self-esteem grows when you demonstrate to yourself your ability and competencies. When you gain deeper fulfillment and inspire others around you, you can improve your self-esteem. So how do you identify your abilities? Try listing down what you love doing in your previous accomplishments. It can be daily blogging, baking, cooking, or even science experiments that you did at a science fair. Diving into activities that allow you to show off or discover your talents is a start to figuring out your strengths, which bring you confidence and purpose in life. So tell us, what do you enjoy doing the most in your life? Come on, don't be shy. Let's hear it out in the comments. And number four. Focus on what you can change and the things that are in your control. Dwelling on your worries can be a potent poison that whittles down your resolve. It can trap you in an illusion that makes you believe that progress or anything remotely positive is impossible. Instead of focusing on these negative thoughts, try focusing on what you can change. One way to overcome this is to label your thoughts as productive worry and unproductive worry. To see things from a clear perspective, when you know the difference between productive and unproductive worrying, you can start to manage your worries, which eventually helps you feel more confident in yourself, your choices, and your abilities. So what's the difference you may ask? Well, to keep it simple, unproductive worry imagines all sorts of unlikely outcomes and focuses on the what ifs and worst case scenarios without any clear solutions. While productive worry helps you solve a problem or resolve a situation and explores appropriate ways of finding solutions to problems. Do you think you'll try some of these tips? Remember, baby steps are the way to go. It may seem scary to start, but just remember to be kind to yourself and let yourself make mistakes along the way. Self-esteem is necessary to move forward in life. The moment you stop believing in yourself, you abandon hope of success. So please do not give up on yourself. If you struggle with your self-esteem, we encourage you to seek professional help. It's a big deal, and you deserve to believe in yourself. If you found this video helpful, like and share it with friends that might find insight in it too. Remember to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell for more content. All the sources used are added in the description box below. Thanks so much for watching. Until next time.