La self-esteem is accepting yourself as you are, knowing our defects and virtues and loving ourselves as we are. Loving oneself is sometimes the most difficult thing and when this fails we begin to create relationships that are not healthy, because we expect others to give us what we do not know how to give ourselves. So let's talk about some keys to protect and improve self-esteem.
La self-esteem or self-love is something that should always be taken care of. Surely we have heard that if we do not love each other we will not love others well and it is very true. Having self-esteem saves us from toxic relationships with other people or from making ourselves toxic and dependent on others.
Be realistic
Seeing reality and accepting it is a very important step in our life. This means that we must be aware of what we are, of our virtues but also of our limitations. Having self-esteem does not mean being an egocentric or narcissistic person, since those who have self-esteem know how to accept when they are wrong without being crushed by it. Sometimes seeing the reality of who we are is difficult for us, so we have to reflect on it if necessary, to realize everything we have done even though there are things in which we have failed.
Positive thinking
Loving yourself goes through put aside those negative thoughts about ourselves that sometimes assail us. A good example happens when a relationship ends. A person without self-esteem will think that everything is their fault, for what they have done wrong and will have negative thoughts about it. A person who has self-esteem will value the good times, will understand what were the real reasons why something has not worked and will move on wanting to continue meeting people who bring good things to him. As has always been said, you can see the glass as half full or half empty.
Do physical exercise
There are many reasons why we should start playing sports, but one of them is that it improves our self-esteem. Physically we feel better, but we also realize that we are achieving goalsWhether it's losing weight, getting more flexibility or running for half an hour at a time. Sport makes us a better version of ourselves and all this with the addition of taking care of our health.
Avoid labels
Labels make us delimit what we are and what others are. We must avoid thinking that we only define ourselves with a label such as being a good student or being a mother or a housewife. But as people we are much more. That is, we have to be aware of everything we are and not limit ourselves to simple labels that delimit us a lot.
Do not compare yourself with others
Comparisons are never good because not everyone in the same circumstances or has the same skills or opportunities. So you have to stop comparing yourself to other people, as this can lead us to feel that we are not good enough. We must be aware of what we have done and what we want, avoiding thinking about what others want from us or what their lives are like.
Limit the use of social networks
Social networks are a problem for people with low self-esteem. Many of them measure their self-esteem with other people's likes and therefore social networks only become a focus of anxiety. So it is better to limit the use of these social networks in addition to knowing how to use them as mere entertainment.