In today’s world, we are more used to knowing what Parker from Lincoln, Nebraska feels about himself, because he could post that on social media, than sitting down and gauging what we feel about ourselves. And what’s even more alarming is that 85% of the world is affected by issues related to low self-esteem. It is a prudent and imperative step to actually measure the amount of self-respect that we have and take corrective actions to improve it, regularly.
In an attempt to help the readers who would read this, here are a few important reasons for having high self-respect and how to improve upon the current state of affairs.
Significance Of Having High Self-respect
- Having high self-respect intuitively makes a lot of sense. In the end, the person you’ve got to live with throughout your life is you.
- Low self-respect is the leading reason for substance abuse, violent behaviour and more grave occurrences like depression, self-harm and suicide.
- High self-respect is a strong contributor to better decision making, assertiveness and having more secure and healthy relationships.
Now that we have determined the importance of having high self-respect, let’s try and work out a few ways to build and boost self-respect.
Way 1: Stop Making Self-deprecating Remarks
Granted, the current culture has promoted humour in this format, but when practising having higher self-respect, these remarks only serve as deterrents to your progress. So, quit the fat jokes on yourself and don’t promote the notion of being incompetent. Be aware when you make these remarks and make conscious efforts to reverse this pattern from your brain.
Way 2: Find Something You’re Good At And Become Even Better
This is no secret. Being better at something than the general population gives one an inherent sense of respect for oneself. Determine one activity to begin with, which you are better at than most of your friends and be even better at it. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and possible laurels in the field.
Way 3: Look Better
Dress for the job you want, but not for the one you have. Ever heard this one? Taking better care of your appearance has tremendous impacts on self-respect levels. The image in the mirror looks better, which is a reflection of the exterior, will help you immensely to change the image you have within yourself. Try on the new shirt you bought, trim that facial hair and dress to impress!
Way 4: Work Out
Apparently, working our is the solution to everything. Depressed? Work out. Unhealthy? Work out. Have low self-respect? You guessed it. Work out! Exercising gives rise to the secretion of feel-good hormones like dopamine in our brain. Additionally, the changes that take place in our body are also great contributors to the self-respect and gives us a feeling of accomplishment every time you finish a workout.
Way 5: Determine Your Non-negotiables
This is more of a “must-do” than a “should do.” Knowing what you’re building yourself around is a key component to determine how would you want to look like after being built. Know your values. It is of the most critical importance to having higher self-respect levels. This is also a prudent step to having a better all-round personality.
Way 6: Quiet Your Mind
While beginning on this journey of improving your self-respect, the biggest hindrance would be the current predisposition of your mind. It hates change and would do everything in its power to stay the same way. Know, that in order to make radical, positive change in your self-respect and self-image, it’s crucial to be conscious and aware that these changes need to be made. So, quiet your mind, and begin the journey with calmness and positivity.
Way 7: Develop A New Skill
Developing a new skill is in line with the sense of achievement that one requires to have a higher level of self-respect for oneself. Learning something new is a key component to having a better personality and a better self-image, which are in turn contributors to having high self-respect.
Keep going! Use these ways to enhance your self-image and make an important note, there is nothing more important in life than having a high regard for oneself!
