Today, another very simple yet important self-esteem exercise. After you looked at your accomplishments last week, this time, it’s about remembering a time when you felt really good about yourself.

Feeling good is important. Maybe you say: ‘Duh, yeah. What a surprise.’

But there’s really too many people in this world who don’t live their life according to this statement. Specially those with low self-esteem.

If you don’t hold yourself in high regad, you aren’t as motivated to take good care of yourself – not just in a physical way, but also in an emotional way.

And there’s a very simple way to take care of yourself: engage in a meaningful activity, and do it with people you like.

Pretty much everything else is just a substitute to fulfill your basic human desire to do something that means something to you, and to belong to a group of people who you like.

So think about it: when did you feel really good about yourself? Think about that moment. Try to remember that sensation in as much detail as possible. And also remember what caused you to feel that way: was it what someone else said to you? Was it something that you did, or accomplished?

Really, a very simple question, yet, one that holds a lot of answers about yourself to questions you might have never asked – but provides you with insights about yourself that are important if you want to build a healthy sense of self-esteem.

Today I have a very simple and basic self-esteem exercise for you. But don’t be fooled by its modest appearance: it is all the more powerful.

Think about your accomplishments in life. What have you achieved in your life?

Make all of your accomplishments count – at least all that you can think of. Both the big ones and the small ones – and those in between.

Maybe you haven’t built a school in Africa – but if you put a smile on a sad person’s face, that’s an accomplishment. And you should see it as such! Making other people feel better is a great accomplishment.

If you got up today in the morning at the time that you planned to get up – even that’s an accomplishment. And you’d be surprised how many people don’t manage to do that.

Do you have a job? That’s an accomplishment. Because you’re doing something. You’re providing value. Even if the job you’re in doesn’t feel fulfilling to you, try to see the good in it. I know a guy who works at an assembly line. Most assembly line workers hate their jobs – but he is actually having fun. He makes it a game to fulfill quotas, to break his own records, to work in a “zen-state of mind”. And the guy has a healthy self-esteem and lots of good friends – even though spending much of your life doing “mindless” work isn’t usually something that enhances self-esteem. (And did you notice? He puts his mind into this mindless work to make it more challening, and that’s why he’s not only not bored by his job but actually happy with it).

Do you have friends? If so, that’s an accomplishment that you should definitely use to feed your self-esteem. If someone else – despite all their egoistical needs and desires – likes to share his or her time with you, then you must be providing them with something worthwhile. Maybe it’s just that you somehow make them feel better when you talk with them!

And if you are in a relationship – awesome! Someone decided to share their life with you in the most intimate way. Even if your relationship is not at the point where you want it to be – think about how many lonely souls are out there, wishing for what you already have. And if you recognize that the relationship you have is not the one you want, then that is an achievement too: because it opens the door to taking actions that will make your relationship even better. Or – and only you will know which way is the right way – it may finally lead you to the decision that this isn’t working at all and put an end to your relationship with that person, so that both you and your partner are free to find someone that matches you and them better.

This is a simple self-esteem exercise, for sure. But take 20 minutes out of your day and really dig into it.

There is an article on self-esteem in the Huffington Post. It’s about how sports can benefit your self-esteem. It’s written by  Therese Borchard.

Therese once was jogging, and she was in her mid-20s. And then this 80something year old dudes runs past her. And he’s in that much better a shape than she is. And it just blows her mind.

So they start to talk with each other, and before she knows it, she starts “pushing herself” and signs up to train for a marathon. Read the rest of the story here.

A lot of times people think that one can really have too much self-esteem.

I mean, sure, nobody wants to have too little self-esteem – but too much, isn’t that just as bad? Walking around like a self-possessed jerk who thinks he’s on top of the world and better than anyone else?

Well, the truth is: there really is no such thing as too much self-esteem. Self-esteem is something you can not get enough of. Because self-esteem also is about having an accurate self-image.

That means seeing yourself for what you are, with all your potentials, skills, capabilities, but also all your faults and weaknesses.

Most people walk around life and never realize their full potential because of the limiting beliefs they have about themselves.

But what about the guy who walks around thinking he is better than anyone else?

Well, that’s just an example of LOW self-esteem – in fact so low that he has to compensate for it by inflating his ego till no decent person can stand it anymore.

Self esteem means that you have confidence in your ability to face any challenge and problem that life throws at you.

Self esteem means that you truly feel that you deserve happiness and fulfillment.

And self esteem means that you know yourself.

It is true – people can have totally inflated egos, and it’s a real pest. But that’s not self-esteem, even if many people mistakenly think it is.

Chris Rock is by far one of the coolest comedians on earth nowadays.

But he had some serious self-esteem issues.

Chris is one of America’s top actors and comedians but the star says he was never popular at high school because he was too shy. The funny man was fascinated by comedy but didn’t have the assurance to try jokes out on his peers.

“I didn’t have much confidence when I was younger, so I wasn’t the class clown,” he told Total Film magazine.

Although he is now happily married to the beautiful Malaak Compton-Rock, Chris is still insecure in the looks department too. The funny man revealed he didn’t like the way he looked as a teen and despite having work done on his teeth since, he would like to be more muscular.

“I have self-esteem issues. I had bad teeth most of my life and I was always the skinniest guy around. I got my teeth fixed but it’s very rare to see my arms showing in any movies,” he confessed.

You can read the whole article here.

Or you can just watch him rock

Hi,

this is the first post I do blogging here, so bare with me. I will use the blog just to post snippets, quotes, unfulfilled thoughts. If you want to go more in-depth, be sure to check out the articles.

For today, let’s kick it off with a quote:

“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway.” – Mary Kay Ash