Choose To Be Beautiful & Happy!
10 Healthy Emotional Habits To Build Up Your Self Esteem.
Recently, I was researching for my content creation class and while looking for campaign examples I came across the Dove #ChooseBeautiful campaign. This campaign was part of an experiment on how women perceived themselves and was created to empower women. In the experiment, women walking into a mall were presented with 2 door options, one labeled BEAUTIFUL and the other AVERAGE. Interestingly, most of the women chose to walk through the AVERAGE door. (You can watch the #ChooseBeautiful video by clicking HERE). When we discussed the video in class, my girls were shocked by how many beautiful women chose to walk through the AVERAGE door and how much it resonated with the actual reality.
Though the campaign is more than 5 years old, the topic is very much relevant even today. Many of us aspire to be something else, to fit into the stereotype of what “beauty” is for society. While some want to be “fairer”, some want to be “thinner” or have “lustrous long hair”. While there is no harm in trying on products or staying fit, the choice of who we are must lie with us and not be pressurized by society’s notions.
When we do not see ourselves as beautiful, it is not just the physical beauty that we talk about but also the mental state and our ‘self-worth’. In trying to fit a certain stereotype, many women have harmed themselves physically through beauty treatments that have gone wrong. Of course, there is the mental trauma that comes where you undermine yourself or are constantly judged by others.
So, isn’t it time that we took charge of how we perceive ourselves? Once we are confident in our skin, we automatically discourage others from putting us down and lowering our worth.
Here are 10 ways that you can boost your self-esteem and build a positive perception.
- Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin
As they say “Variety Is The Spice Of Life”. All of us are not created the same for a reason, for otherwise, life would be very boring. Accept yourself as you are – both your strengths and weaknesses. Once we accept, we automatically become confident and take away the ability from others to belittle us. It also opens up an opportunity for us to work on our weaknesses and convert them to strengths.
- Appreciate Others Without Comparison
You will always come across people who have more than you – it could be how they look, their job, the monetary assets they may have or the talents that they may possess. Genuinely appreciate them and what they have. Never compare yourself or what you have with others. That is the secret to being happy. In turn, you could also have something that they may appreciate. Remember, “Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining”.
- Learn To Accept Compliments For What They Are
This one is easier said than done. And is a vicious circle, because many people who have been put down constantly resist compliments. But an effort has to be made to receive & accept compliments paid to us instead of brushing them aside as politeness of the other person. When you accept a compliment, you are essentially acknowledging your self-worth.
- Surround Yourself With Positive People & True Friends
Positive people and true friends always boost up your morale and fill you with a sense of confidence. They genuinely praise your achievements and support you in dealing with any shortcomings. They never humiliate you or undermine your worth. With them around and supporting you, even a daunting task can be achieved and every success celebrated.
- Challenge Yourself And Strive To Do Better
All of us have a comfort zone. But many times, if we are looking to achieve something extraordinary we have to move out of this zone and accept challenges. It can do wonders for our confidence and self-esteem.
- Work On Your Competencies
Understand yourself and what you are good at. If you have an aptitude for something, it becomes that much easier to master it than trying to be good at something that you are not good at. For instance, if you are a creative person it becomes easier for you to learn a new form of art.
- Work On Staying Healthy
A healthy body feeds a healthy mind. Eat right, sleep well and get enough exercise to keep yourself fit. This boosts your mental health as well and automatically increases your sense of well-being. Remember, it is not about conforming to body size or shape but about staying fit and healthy.
- Affirm Your Worth
As strange as it may sound, actually listing down your capabilities can help boost your self-esteem. You can also use affirmations as a reminder to make you work hard and take you closer to achieving your goal.
- Learn Something New
One of the proven techniques to help handle low self-esteem is learning a new skill in the creative field. It brings with it the curiosity & adrenaline rush of doing something new and helps you distract from unnecessary drama. As you are occupied it keeps you away from negative people as well.
- Return The Favour
Talk about your experiences with people and what worked for you. It not only helps the other person but is very cathartic to you as well.
In the end, we need to work on ourselves and put our happiness first. Hope these emotional habits will help those in need. What do you think of them? What are some of the things that you follow to keep yourself happy? Do write to me in the comments below. I would love to hear from you!
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla, and happily SPONSORED BY RRE Studios and SHOWCASE Events.
Vasumathi, feeling comfortable with ourself is very important. We all have that motivation within us. Just that when we start to compare ourselves with others, we degrade our self-esteem. I truly believe in the not in of complimenting others and helping hers who yo feel ar sin the same boat where you were sometime back. We all have to spread positivity.
Yes I agree that in our society that are many fixed norm that define beauty for women. from being fair to thin..there are many aspects that has been categorized for women and many women feel inferior when they lack one or more parameter of this set trend. I am glad that you had shared really great pointers that will surly enhance the self esteem of many women. personally, I avoid to compare myself with others and try to focus on my journey. this is something that helps me in stay positive and accept the flaws of mine.
This is an intereting pot. I agree with most of the pointers you have mentioned. In the heat of the moment, we tend to move away from the center of gravity and get flown away. I guess one needs to practice these principles as a mantra and inculcate in our lives.
Well Said Vasumathi. We need to be comfortable in our own skin first, then we can achieve anything. Comparing with others should always be stopped.
I strongly believe in self belief. Accept the way you are and always strive for excellence by setting realist goals. Self love and self affirmation is the key to happy life. Well written post.
Vasu Very well done , Good to read.
Specially compliment others on good what they do or they have abilities , bit family or friends. It really helps for those who are less talkative .
Generally I do not compare me with others , and focus what I have. Few people feels I’m very reserved or not expressive much. But I always pray 🙏 good for all .
Self esteem boost when you pray , meditate and strengthens your mind , which connects body and soul.
Those are the best 10 points every woman should follow. I feel every woman is great and unique in her own way and instead of trying to enclosing ourselves into rules and lists as decided by others we should just be ourselves and do what makes us happy.
A very relevant observation Vasu… further the pointers are very well put…
Most of the time it is we ourselves who stop ourselves from making that winning strive..
Great to have read these thoughts of yours!!
I love the positivity in your post. I feel one should put in the required effort and stay committed to achieving ones goals without competing with others.
U know u really broached a much needed topic. Yes the pressures of fitting in the so-called mould of beauty as set by the society has become todays norm. I too feel the pressure at times but then remind myself that we can’t please everyone and I am happy to be myself. All women are different from each other.
Beautifully put Vasu. Love it
Chronic stress exposes your body to unhealthy, persistently elevated levels of stress hormones like cortisol, and may also change the way blood clots. All of these factors can set the stage for a heart attack or stroke. Negative emotions may also affect lifestyle habits, which in turn can increase heart disease risk and positive emotions open us up to new possibilities, we are more able to learn and build on our skills. That leads to doing better on tasks and tests. People who have plenty of positive emotions in their everyday lives tend to be happier, healthier, learn better, and get along well with others. These tips are required by everyone as it helps people to go a long way!
Well written Vasu!
Staying positive and grounded will definitely keep us going. As you said each one of us are special and different. It is just that we should remember this, which is easier said than done.
In a world filled with mixed chaos, we often tend to lose focus in our own abilities. Your blog is a reminder to shed inhibitions and move forward. Your thoughts resonate to the fact that, acknowledging self worth is imperative to find ones own unique inner powers that each one is blessed with. Very well penned Vasu👍🏼
VERY WELL SAID MA’AM .
WE ARE MUCH MORE PERFECT THAN WHAT WE SEE AS OF OURSELVES OR WHAT OTHERS TRY TO VINDICATE ABOUT US .
WE SHOULD NEVER SEE OURSELVES LESS THAN OTHERS BECAUSE WE MIGHT HAVE SOME QUALITIES WHICH OTHERS LACK OR WHAT THEY ADMIRE OF .
SO , ACCEPTING OURSELVES THE WAY WE ARE AND SATISFYING WITH ALL WHAT WE HAVE AND WORKING HARD FOR WHAT WE NEED IS ONLY THE MANTRA TO LIVE A
JOYFULL LIFE WITHOUT ANY REGRETS .
I remember the campaign and it was heartbreaking to see that most women chose the Average door. It is embedded in our psyche to be humble. But it is equally important to love oneself. Each point you listed is a gem.
So really the pointer was great to read and knowing our strength helps in improving and also help us progress in the right direction..
Very well written. I strongly believe that our happiness depends upon what we think about ourselves. Every person is blessed with some quality or talent. Sometimes we just ignore our qualities.
You spoke my mind Vasumathi, totally agree on every pointer that aids in boosting our self-esteem. be it appreciate others without comparison or having positive and true people around, or listing down capabilities. I am delighted to read that I am following all the points diligently to make every moment contented and happy. I feel that self-acceptance solved 80% of dilemmas that keep us occupied in the wrong direction by thinking too much of others’ perspectives unnecessarily.
This is a lovely post I have read till now. We need to change our perception about beauty. Being comfortable and confident in our own skin and looks is the best thing we can do for our own sanity. The points mentioned to build positive perception is well listed. We all are unique in our own own way, no need to feel inferior or embarrassed rather accept your flaws and work upon your weaknesses if possible.
It seems as if you have echoed my thoughts. I discovered Self-love only last year and I am now in a happy place. ” is a vicious circle, because many people who have been put down constantly resist compliments” I have always been put down and really don’t know how to take compliments…but now I have realized my self-worth and those who put me down are just plain jealous. I am glad that I realize this now and I must be better than them that;’s why they are envious, isn’t it?
Good article. I think we have to belive in ourselves. Then no matter what others say you will be have self confident.
Self love is the first step and that really give syou a lot of confidence. I definitely make it a point to set myself a me time only for me and not accompanied of preoccupied with something is mind.
Apt tips to build up self-esteem. Points 5,6 an 7 are very important, focusing on our strengths is something so important, instead of diversifying lets try to extend our strength, and staying healthy nowadays is the only way to manage lifestyle changes, developing a routine, food habits all focus on staying healthy and it definitely builds up self-esteem
This a great read. Empowering ourselves to empower others is very important. Only when we are happy and content we can pass it on in our environment, else we are just dissatisfied and resentful. 🙂
Genuinely speaking, that I was the person who always underestimate myself. I keep on comparing myself with others mostly in the area of skin colour and studies. This comparison keeps me down with days and years, but I worked on some points which you have mentioned above. I accepted myself and I have seen the changes . A great post for those people who underestimate themselves.
Very well written . I totally believe that we need to work on ourselves and put our happiness first.
Well Said. We need to be comfortable in our own skin first, then we can achieve anything. Comparing with others should always be stopped.
It is so true, we women always tend to underestimate ourselves. We usually tend to compare ourselves with other women, and despite of having some top notch qualities, we only compare the societal notions of being beautiful.
For me, being beautiful is from within. When we are confident, when we love our selves, respect our body, aim for our goals and not undermine others.
Wonderful Post! And some amazing and thought provoking habits to build our self esteem.
What a lovely post Vasumathi, I try to follow all this and I firmly believe in working on myself. Self-improvement is a continuous process and all the things you have listed here work if a person is ready to work on himself/herself instead of comparing and complaining.
All these points here are amazing. they are really needed to be taken care of. Staying positive is very important.
funnily working on my strengths and weaknesses, working hard, trying not to judge others and all are quite easy. The most difficult part is to accept compliments, accept praises, accept my worth, asking for what I deserve.. i am sure you feel the same and that is why you have written this post too. .. Setting a reminder for being happy for myself is the most importing thing!
Self acceptance is very important. We make opinions about ourselves depending on how others treat us. Nice post.
Very well written… Staying positive, working inwards is very important to keep going amidst societal pressures and expectations and be a better you everyday.. good post😘
These are directly on point and I’m glad you have written this post. It’s great to have people spread the positives vibes into this world of several negative feelings.
I have not checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂