5 Ways to Improve Self Image

Self-image is important to nearly every person as it’s a mindset that improves both your mood and personal drive. When viewing yourself, it’s important that you see your image in a positive light. Try not to dwell on the emotional negatives. According to Psychology Today through diet and other important factors, such as friends, family, and teachers. Here are 5 ways to improve self image:

1) Master a New Skill

According to industry professionals mastering a new skill is one of the best ways to boost your self-image and worth. Choose something that is inline with your interests and passions. By choosing a skill that you feel passionate about, you will view it as more of a hobby than a hinderance to your personal time. Be sure to always remain focused on mastering this new skill and giving it all that you have. You want to become very well versed in this skill, not only semi-adequate at it. Once you have mastered this new skill it’s important that you showcase it, whether to yourself or to others. By proving to yourself or others that you can do this new skill. This will add more mental validity when you’re thinking about yourself.

2) Be Creative

Creativity is very important to mental health because you are thinking outside the box when it comes to accomplishing goals or tasks. According to the National Institute of Health “there have been a handful of methodologically sound studies to clearly establish the relationship between creativity and mental health.” How does this help improve your self-image? Because you are thinking and creating things in a way that your mind and body aren’t accustomed to. Similar to adding a new skill, you are teaching yourself how to engage in a way that it hasn’t before.

3) Challenge Negative Thinking

Is your head filled with negative thoughts that you just can’t seem to rid yourself of? According to the Mayo Clinic you should take every step to rid yourself of those negative thoughts. This can include taking steps throughout your day to focus on meditating, exercising, or just relaxing. One important mental practice is to focus on mental filtering. Simply filter all your negative thoughts and replace them with something positive. If you’re just dwelling on the negative you will have a dire outlook and therefore a much more negative view of your self-image.

4) Identify Mental Triggers

According to Good Therapy mental triggers are smells, sounds, images, or situations which trigger feelings of trauma. It is important to identify these triggers and make note of the feelings that arise when they’re present. By documenting these situations, you can make your best effort to avoid them when possible. This will lead to an overall decrease in stress, depression, and anxiety . . . all of which can lead to a negative self-image of yourself. By avoiding your mental triggers, you can focus on situations that improve your overall mood. By staying positive you will in turn then be more likely to be motivated to learn more skills and improve yourself.

5) Be Nice To Yourself

Being nice to yourself is exactly as it sounds . . . forgiving yourself for any shortcomings and being apologetic to yourself when things don’t go your way. According to Reach Out a good rule of thumb is to think about yourself in the same way that you would talk to your friends. You would rarely be mean or negative to your friends when they are making an effort to better themselves, correct? By treating yourself in the same manner you will keep a positive outlook and stay motivated to stay on goal.

These 5 ways to improve your self image may seem very basic, however, with practice they will make perfect. Improving yourself is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It requires constant practice and focus to keep yourself from falling back in your old habits. Improving your self image could also help you fall asleep faster at night.

Boosting Self-Esteem

Boosting self-esteem is just as important as self-image. According to Guy Winch in his Ted Talk 5 Ways to Build Lasting Self-Esteem cultivating this personality factor is particularly tough. Think of self esteem as the protector for yourself when you’ve finished boosting your self image. It’s easier to keep that gained appreciation for yourself when you have high self-esteem. One of the biggest factors to help improve this is using positive affirmations. Tell yourself “YOU are going to be great today” and continue to think of yourself in this way.

Boosting Self-Confidence

When you’re high on self-confidence you’re more likely to try new things and to get out of your comfort zone. One of the biggest things that holds back your self confidence is comparing yourself to others. VeryWellMind says that there is a direct link between envy and how you feel about yourself. Take note of when you compare yourself to others in terms of wealth, profession, accomplishments, or any other personal milestones. When you do, be sure to begin to eliminate these thoughts. Mac McIntire in his post 36 Ways to Enhance Your Self-Image, Self-Confidence, and Self-Esteem lays out some really useful and quick ways to improve yourself as a whole on these fronts. Below is a great TED Talk from Dan Lok that you might find useful:

How Can I Improve My Self Concept?

Self concept is important just like self image. According to Skills You Need the simplest ways to do this are to focus on your negative beliefs, identify the positives about yourself, avoid negative relationships, and to improve your physical health. The physical health aspect can help accomplish all these goals. Focusing on working out and exercise opens the door to feel better about yourself, set a goal to work towards, and you can also establish new relationships through a workout buddy. Remember if you haven’t worked out in quite some time it is important to take it slow.

How Do You Fix Self Confidence?

There is no real fixing to self confidence, only realizing that you can become better for yourself. This can be accomplished through surrounding yourself with positive people, knowing where you need to change, and giving back. Giving back is important because not only does it improve your self confidence, but it helps others. When you identify where you can help other people in their lives it helps you identify where you can improve yours. Give it a try, reach out to someone that you know could use the self confidence boost and talk to them.

What Are 10 Ways To Improve Self Respect?

Improving self respect can be difficult, but here are some simple ways to go about doing it.

1. Don’t compare yourself to others.
2. Be nice to yourself.
3. Be happy and remind yourself to smile more.
4. Look at what you’ve accomplished and be proud.
5. Be healthy physically and mentally.
6. Don’t be hard on yourself.
7. Look for habits that make you happy.
8. Stay active every day, make time to exercise.
9. Consume healthy foods and stay away from drugs or alcohol.
10. Find what makes you happy and stick to it.

The above won’t make your life perfect, but it will help. Whether it be self respect, image, confidence, or concept you can rest assured that just by focusing on making yourself better you will improve all of the above.