We all have times when we just don’t feel good about ourselves. That’s totally normal. Having a healthy self-esteem means feeling positive about yourself MOST of the time, and having the confidence to deal with life's ups and downs as they come.

But when you’re constantly down on yourself, you’re not only looking at yourself in a negative light, but life in general as well. You may lack the confidence you need to take on the challenges that life throws at you. This can lead to unhealthy habits, like avoiding social situations, that can have a harmful effect on your overall well-being and quality of life.

To boost your self-esteem, you need to change your negative thinking and as a result, change the opinion you have of yourself. This may be a loaded task, but there are some simple ways you can step towards more positive thinking and confidence in yourself. Without further ado, here are six simple ways to boost your self-esteem!

If you spend your time with negative-thinking individuals, they’re only going to bring you down. Surround yourself with positive people who appreciate you, encourage you, and can remind you of all you have to offer!

Hey, you don’t have to be the best in the world at something to have value (you’re valuable just for existing and being a human on this planet). While you may tend to focus on the negative and play the comparison game, you’re skipping over all the positive attributes you possess! Acknowledge what you’re good at and focus on those positives for a change.

When you spend time on yourself, you’re reinforcing the message that you’re important, you’re worth it, and you deserve it! Self-care equals self-love and creating a habit of loving yourself through a repeated routine (whatever it may be) is a great way to build confidence and self-esteem.

Quite often, we miss out on trying new things because we lack confidence and give in to our fear. Someone with high self-esteem doesn’t necessarily NOT feel afraid — they just choose to not let their feelings stop them from trying something new. Being scared of new things is normal. But if you set yourself a goal of trying something new and then achieve that goal? You’ll absolutely build confidence and your self-esteem.

Being a people-pleaser doesn’t sound that bad but it can definitely affect you negatively. If you lack confidence, it’s easy to say “yes” when you want to say “no” and over time, you might experience burnout and resentment. Acknowledge that you are just as valuable as those around you. Then, create boundaries that protect your well-being. Sticking with them — although difficult — can help build confidence and protect your well-being too.

Contrary to popular belief, being a perfectionist isn’t all it's cracked up to be. Wanting to be perfect can make you avoid something altogether, in fears that you won’t be perfect. Meanwhile, with all this avoidance, you’re missing out on doing or accomplishing anything! Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for good enough. Let go of perfectionism and aim for good enough — you might just build confidence along the way!

Self-esteem is something that can be worked on over time, to improve your overall well-being and quality of life. After all, how you think and feel about yourself is pretty important! Not everyone is born with loads of confidence, but you can definitely take small steps to think more positively and build your self-esteem.

Is self-confidence something you’d like to work on??