How to Improve Your Self-Worth

A person's sense of self-worth informs everything he does. If he is happy, confident and content within himself, he will tend to thrive in career and social situations. He will likely relish opportunities to challenge himself and be comfortable in relationships and among groups of people. Low self-esteem or self-worth tends to have the opposite affect. When a person doubts his own worth, he might also experience feelings of failure, anxiety, stress and depression. But just like visiting the gym improves fitness, self-worth can be boosted with time, patience and focus.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify the source of negative thoughts. Think about the times when your self-worth is at its lowest, such as a difficult work or social situation. Perhaps low self-esteem is linked to the death of a loved one or a particularly difficult relationship. Armed with the understanding of where these feelings of negative self-worth come from, you can begin to challenge them.

• 2

  Listen to your inner voice. When we find ourselves in difficult situations we often use a form of self-talk to make sense of things. These thoughts can be negative, positive or neutral, but if they are negative they will reinforce feelings of poor self-worth. They can also result in unpleasant emotional, physical and behavioural responses, such as a quickened heart beat, sweating, feelings of being depressed, lethargy or a compulsion to over work.

• 3

  Take your understanding of the situation and the way you think about it and use it to challenge your feelings of low self-worth. Instead of thinking, "I've made a mistake, I'm bad at my job," tell yourself, "Despite this mistake, I'm good at what I do and will continue to improve". If a relationship ends badly do not jump to the conclusion that every relationship will end badly. Instead, focus on the positives and consider what you can do to make relationships better in the future.

• 4

  Use positive language and statements to reinforce feelings of self-worth. It might sound silly, but try standing in front of a mirror and making positive and encouraging statements to your reflection. Tell yourself you deserve happiness and success and give yourself credit for the things you have achieved.

• 5

  Resist the urge to place too much blame on yourself when things go wrong. Forgive yourself and do not dwell on your shortcomings -- move on and try again.