As we begin to grow, certain expectations that are placed on us can be quite hard to face or live up to. As we become young adults, our minds are filled with these images of what is expected for us to be “perfect”. The one thing missing… is that in the process… we fail to realize that we are humans. As humans, we are FAR from perfect!
However, if we take a moment to look inside and see what is meant to be our destiny, we begin to realize that we are actually created quite perfectly to face our every day issues and to live out our lives. We’re given the right equipment to face everything that can be thrown at us. Regrettably, we don’t always realize this or we realize it a little later on in life after mistakes happened. Now, it’s okay to make mistakes! However, what isn’t OK, is for us to do, is to dwell in them! So, the BEST weapon you can wield during these times of uncertainty, is your SELF ESTEEM!
Self esteem is something that we don’t spend very much time thinking about every day! It’s almost like we magically expect it to just appear within us and save us from ourselves, one day! This doesn’t happen! EVER! Self esteem is like an instrument that we MUST fine tune every day. We have to keep in mind that if we don’t practice “self love”, we’ll never get it right. And if you’re thinking that this is like having a “relationship” with yourself… well… IT IS! We have to take time to “date” ourselves. Sweep ourselves off our own feet, almost. Now… if you’re thinking that this is a silly notion, I am with you! It SOUNDS silly to do this! However, it is very simple to do this and still remain “sane looking”.
Every morning, when you wake up. What do you see? If you see someone you don’t know very well, you’re in need of working on your self esteem. As young adults, you’ll realize that no one can ever enforce nor value your “self view”. YOU have to do this for yourself! So, here are some simple techniques that can help in this area:
- See yourself FOR REAL – This means that no matter what, you have to be OK with the person in the mirror! You’re going to live with this person for the rest of your life as the years change your reflection and through every change, your aspect of yourself MUST remain the same.
- Don’t be someone that you’re NOT – This means that if someone has placed a “label” on you, DON’T live up to that label. This is called a “self-fulfilling prophecy” and it’s not a good thing! Labels create brands and brands are forever. So, any brand or label that you wish to live by, may cause you to lose your self image and allow it to become someone else’s vision of YOU!
- Remember that it’s called SELF esteem – This means that NO MATTER WHAT, you have to STOP looking for validation of your worth through someone else’s perception of YOU. If you’re constantly “fishing” for compliments on what you look like or how you act, you will NEVER validate yourself and will forever be stuck in a vicious circle that obscures your vision and your own perception of the INDIVIDUALLY WONDERFUL person that you ARE.
- ADMIRE yourself – YEAH! Really! Admire the PERFECT vision you see before you! You don’t need makeup, an awesome haircut, cool clothes, cool shoes, name brands, straight hair (if yours is curly), curly hair (if your hair is straight), to be a supermodel, to look like everyone else… NOTHING of the sort! Just simply take in YOUR OWN beauty and LOVE IT!
The truth is, that most of us invest more time on working on how we look rather than how we feel. You will find that if you talk to most people, they’ll tell you that they HATE to have their picture taken (for example)! That happens way too often! The image they see in a picture is either too fat, too short, not pretty enough, not handsome enough and simply just not part of the “cool” crowd. As cliche as that sounds, it’s a fact. So, if this is you, please note that in order to be one with yourself, you have to become an individual force to be reckoned with. Build the walls around yourself to withstand any kind of attack from the outside world. Be ready to open the gates for positive criticism but don’t allow someone else’s negative comments or thoughts breach your defenses.
If you wish to read more on the subject, please click HERE. The article talks about the statistics revolving around the reality of the connection between teens and low self esteem. You can also find ways to keep yourself busy helping others. There’s no better way to help boost your self esteem than by helping others. You will find MANY campaigns you can join. Feel free to click HERE to get more information and to explore such campaigns.