3 Steps For Teenagers To Boost Their Self-Esteem & Self-Worth
Let’s face it; an average teenager of today has a lot more challenges to face than the one some twenty years ago. From academic performance to how well they are at sports, from choosing their friends to maintaining their physical appearance, the life of a teenager in this time and age is filled with pressures, stress, and anxiety. Thanks to social media, your circle is now not confined to a few people, but there literally are hundreds of people that you are answerable to; or so you think, to say the least. The culture of perfectionism that the social media supports in one way or the other is a major blow to the self-worth of a common teenager leading to a minor mistake or a shortcoming in any domain of his life presenting itself as a challenge to keep his self-esteem high.
Think about the time when you were a teenager. How many times did you find yourself struggling against the negative thoughts like, “I’m not fun enough for someone to hang out with me”, “My hairline is receding”, “I have a pimple on my chin”, “If only I was taller, stronger, prettier, etc.”. You know the frustration that it puts you through. Without help, it can sometimes seem impossible for a teenager to maintain his self-esteem. The truth is, no one wants to constantly think bad of himself, it hurts to be always hard on yourself, it kills you silently when you start to believe that you are not good enough. Nobody deserves to feel that way. The good news is that you can stop this vicious cycle of negative thoughts today and take charge of your self-esteem. It is time that you stop associating your self-worth with petty things like bigger eyes or brighter smile. We want to help you to see beyond it and experience the perfection, the masterpiece that you are.
No, you don’t have to subscribe to a course, we are not here to make you register for a program. We firmly believe that the true mark of helping others is when it is given with no strings attached. There’s no cost here. All we need is a few minutes of your time to read through our top three tips for a teenager which if implemented correctly, can give a boost to your self-esteem and turn you into a confident individual that you always wanted to be.
- The People Matter
Let’s imagine a superhuman for a minute whose superpower is his extraordinary self-esteem, something that is totally unheard of for the ordinary human race. This superhuman lands on our planet and start to live among the people in our societies and communities. Inevitably, sooner or later, he will find a few people in his circle who are so filled with negativity that it’s their mission to fill their surroundings including the people around them with the same negativity. The kind of people who are only capable of seeing the weaknesses and are not reluctant in pointing them out, some even going to the extent of exploiting and making fun of them. And there we have our superhuman in a battle against his own brand of Krypton. Now, he wakes up in the morning only to have his roommate tell him how excruciatingly boring he is and that he can’t wait to find a new roommate. He manages to get past that and gets himself dressed for work. He steps out of his room and here’s the neighbor just casually throwing in a comment about how awful does he look in that outfit. He takes a deep breath, tells himself that it’s how the world works and that tries his best to not let it ruin his day. Finally, he reaches the workplace and finds out that he has been promoted. There’s good news that has the potential to make up his day. But then, there are people coming to his office all day long with their sarcastic comments of how his promotion is not an outcome of his hard work and dedication, but the sole reason behind it is the fact that he is a backscratcher.
The examples could be plenty. But you get an idea of where we are going. How do you think the superhuman feel at the end of the day that was filled with such people and comments? How long do you think anyone would be able to take it even if he had extraordinary self-esteem? With his entire world, apparently, trying to put him down, isn’t it justified for him to finally give in and start to see himself as the same failure and looser that world portrays him to be. If extraordinary self-esteem can’t protect you from the evil of negativity in your surroundings, what kind of a disaster do you think it will be for an average teenager?
This is a lesson in the importance of surrounding yourself with positivity, of keeping a positive company that is sincere to you and to your personal growth. Teenage is the time when you are expanding your social circle and making new friends. You will, without a doubt, come across a lot of faces who present themselves as your friends, but are always quick to accentuate your shortcomings and to exploit your weaknesses in the name of humor. Remember, there is a stark difference between humor and bullying. If you are someone who takes his self-esteem and self-worth any seriously, it is time for you to realize that people matter. Surround yourself with a company that is supportive; people who truly want to see your growth. Someone who doesn’t make gossip out of your shortcomings but is always there to remind you of your strengths in your bad times. The more you surround yourself with such positivity, the stronger will be your self-esteem.
- Meditation Can Work Wonders
The vicious cycle of negative thoughts is not always driven from the external factors, but it may as well be the cause your own mind being stuck in the guilt of the past or the panic of the future. Meditation and mindfulness is an ancient practice that has its root in Buddhism. It has been tried and tested for years by people of all religions, cast, and creed with all of them having a consensus that meditation is nothing short of an angel when it comes to optimizing your mental health. When that many people are supporting the same idea, you can bet that you are not in for a disappointment. There is nothing that you have to lose in giving it a go. It blends well with your busy schedule since it doesn’t take more than a few minutes of your time every day. And the way it precisely helps you to get rid of your negative thoughts is an outcome that you would even have agreed to pay for.
The benefits of meditation and mindfulness are versatile. It can help a great deal in coping with the excessive stress and anxiety of your routine life, it can make you calm and bring peace to your mind, it can establish and maintain coordination between your mind and body, it brings you to the “here and now” to sharpen your focus, etc. All of these are interconnected factors which are notorious in jeopardizing your mental health.
There are numerous practices of meditation and mindfulness but the ones which are particularly effective for improving your self-esteem as a teenager are “Deep, slow breathing” and “Personal Mantra”. Every time that you feel yourself being drowned in the negative thoughts of the past, present, or future, all you have to do is to find a silent corner. It doesn’t matter if you are at your home, in the office, or at any random place, as long as you can get away from the noise, you are ready to meditate. Take a comfortable sitting posture, close your eyes, and inhale slowly and deeply. If you find it hard to maintain the rhythm, you can count to four while taking the fresh air in. Your focus should entirely be on your breathing. You are required to get a sense of fresh, cold air filling up your entire body, reaching to each of its corners. Before exhaling it out, remember to keep the air in for a few seconds. Then slowly open your mouth and push as much of the air as you can out of your body. Again, focus on your breathing. Get a sense of the air rushing out of your body. This technique helps bring your entire focus on a single, positive event that is happening in the present, i-e, breathing. As long as your mind is focused on it, it isolates itself from overanalyzing the past or overthinking about the future that restores your mood, reduces stress, and creates a barricade for the negative thoughts which translates into higher self-esteem and self-worth.
Repeating a personal mantra in your head works in a similar fashion. As mentioned, low self-esteem is a byproduct of negativity. Logically, therefore, the only solution should be a surge of positivity. A personal mantra is simply the name of a positive statement about yourself or your life. Once you are in a peaceful environment, you can repeat your personal mantra in your head and try to gently bring your focus entirely to it. A statement like, “I am thankful for…”, “I am good at…” etc. are known to be highly effective in pushing the negative thoughts out of your mind. You would be amazed to experience the effects that a simple activity of creating a list of things or people that you love, can have in boosting your self-esteem.
- Focus On Your Goals
Remember that your self-esteem is directly associated with your sense of achievement. The good news is that your mind doesn’t differentiate between a small or a big achievement as long as it was your goal to accomplish it. If you have been having troubles with low self-worth, it is time for you to redefine your goals. Here’s a simple trick that will make your mind feel good about itself. Instead of deciding on a huge goal that will take months to accomplish in hopes of a permanent cure, create a list of smaller objectives that you need to accomplish on day to day basis or at least on a weekly basis. For example, instead of deciding on a goal of building bigger and stronger muscles and hitting the gym for 6 consecutive months, your objective should be to register at the gym and workout at least four days of the week. It’s a smaller target, you can achieve it timely, and it’ll provide a sense of accomplishment that will help a great deal in revitalizing your self-esteem. A word of caution, though. The sense of achievement associated with smaller targets is also short-lived. Therefore, the element of consistency is imperative to maintaining your self-worth in the long run.
Conclusion
Searching for the tips to boost your self-esteem on the internet can be overwhelming owing to the amount of information available. Getting lost in a myriad of such tips is a frustration in itself, which doesn’t help your mental health anyway. Therefore, we have made a thorough research to present the top three simplest yet highly effective techniques which are applicable to a teenager for boosting self-esteem and starting to see one’s own worth. Remember, perfectionism is a man-made illusion. Focus on your strengths, surround yourself with positivity, and brace yourself to see how dramatically such simple tips can change your life and transform you into a confident individual with self-esteem made out of Adamantium. It’s time to see through the clouds of low self-esteem. Let’s remove this barricade and unlock your true potential to experience what you are truly capable of. It’s time for you to stop questioning yourself and start achieving your goals.
