Listen to “Self Worth – Why You Need To Value Yourself More”.
If you don’t respect yourself, then you won’t take care of yourself the way you should. Many of us put the needs of others before our own, but how can you truly learn to appreciate and help others if you can’t even appreciate yourself?
Practising self-respect can benefit your life in many ways, no matter what you prioritize in life.
Examples of self-respect include:
- asserting yourself in relationships to ensure that you get the treatment you deserve
- being able to negotiate at work
- feeling positive when you look in the mirror
Most importantly, when you have healthy levels of self-respect, you will be able to talk to yourself compassionately and feel proud of your authentic self.
Here are some steps you can take to increase your feeling of self-worth:
- Identify the problem. We all have narratives or stories which we’ve created about ourselves, and these shape our perceptions of who we are. If we want to change these stories, we have to know where they came from.
- Become aware of negative beliefs. Negative beliefs include the self-limiting and self-critical ideas you may have about yourself. These can weaken your sense of self-worth and hold you back from taking advantage of positive experiences, opportunities, or relationships.
- Change the story. Sometimes your mind automatically repeats negative thoughts so often that you start to believe them. However, these thought habits are learned, which means they can be unlearned.
- Start implementing lifestyle changes.
Love yourself enough to look after yourself. You can do this by:
- Clean eating – You are what you eat. Eating healthy and nutritious food will help your mind and body stay healthy. Eating junk food won’t.
- Meditation – Spending even just a few minutes a day meditation can help improve your life. It can give you a sense of calm, inner peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional wellbeing and your overall health.
- Appreciate yourself – Do things that make you feel good about yourself and think about things you have that you are grateful for. Cultivate healthy emotions like love, compassion, joy, gratitude and equanimity.
- Exercise – Find time to exercise regularly. Exercise makes you smarter, happier, improves sleep, increases libido, and makes you feel better about your body.
- Be yourself. Don’t let anybody force you to be someone else, or do things you don’t want to do, to gain their respect.
There is an old saying that says, “To yourself, always be true.” This isn’t a me-first kind of thinking that reeks of arrogance. It simply means that you shouldn’t let other people tell you what to do or think. Respect yourself enough to walk away from anyone or anything that no longer serves you, helps you grow, or makes you happy.
