8 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Image

Many of us struggle with periods of low self-esteem and poor self-image. While many of us go to work trying to make improvements to ourselves in order to raise our self-esteem, we go about it the wrong way, choosing to focus on physical aspects of our appearance rather than lasting elements of character.

Building healthy self-esteem is an inside job--learning to change how you feel about yourself starts from learning to like who you are, right here, right now. Once you feel fantastic about yourself and who you are as a unique and special individual, it becomes easier to make desired changes lasting ones, improving your life all the way around.

Self-esteem building is a process, and many of us are impatient. Once we realize that change needs to take place, few of us look forward to the slow and steady progress that is necessary to facilitate lasting change. Rest assured, there are some things that you can do today to begin boosting your self-esteem and improving the way you see yourself to keep yourself on track toward bigger, more significant changes.

Here are some things you can do now to start feeling better almost immediately:

Laugh

Life can throw some pretty heavy things at you--try not to take everything so seriously as you learn to laugh at your mistakes. Seeing the humor in what you do and what you experience will help you to embrace the lighter side of life as you take your lessons, learn from them, and move on.

Accentuate the positive

We've all heard that cliche saying, "there's a silver lining to every cloud". Once you finish rolling your eyes heavenward, hear us out. Choosing to look at the positive aspects of a situation will make you more grateful for every situation in your life. There are two ways to look at things--glass half empty, glass half full. The latter will put you in a better frame of mind for boosting self-esteem and making lasting changes.

Start making better choices

Put that doughnut down, and choose granola for breakfast. Stop spending time with people who don't lift you up, and seek better relationships in your life (this applies to your romantic relationships as well!). The article from Psychic 2 Tarot entitled The Ultimate Tarot Card Guide explains that the Cups suit gives information and direction on a person's romantic relationships.

Seek outside advice on building better relationships if you need to break bad habits, and form better ones. With each healthy choice that you make, you put yourself in a better frame of mind and boost your confidence about improving your life. These small steps alone will do wonders at improving your self-esteem.

Fully accept who you are

Wishing you were someone else, with someone else's talents and abilities, is a waste of time. Your time is much better spent learning to like who you are at this moment. Embracing all of your attributes and faults fully will put you on a path to self-love; once you get there, your confidence in yourself will be virtually unshakeable.

Practice kindness in all you do

Nothing boosts your self-esteem and makes you feel better quite like helping others. When you are tempted to get down on yourself and revel in self-pity, start helping others! Focusing on giving back might just make you grateful for a few things in your own life, and it will distract you from your current plight as you seek to improve someone else's situation.

Keep your promises

Keep your promises, and be careful about making them. Keep them to others, keep them to yourself. A broken promise is a temptation to feel bad about yourself, so keeping your karma clean by making promises with integrity will make you feel good about yourself and what you are creating. Don Miguel Ruiz's book, The Four Agreements, lists one of the four pillars of a good life as "being impeccable with your word". In the book, he cites that keeping your word is a great way to spread good to others and keep your life karma free.

Exercise

Exercise is a mood booster, it is a game changer, and it will improve your health as well. It gives you energy, it alleviates your stress, and it will boost your mood with the endorphins flooding your system. Exercise can also train your mind by keeping you engaged at the moment, feeling strong and creating a stronger body that will carry you into your new and improved life.

Sleep to reveal your future self

A sure-fire way to spiral back down into negativity is to lose sleep. Sleep deprivation can harm the mind, body, and spirit. Being in a funk is most often corrected by getting a good night's sleep; the phrase "sleep on it" is tried, tested, and approved many times over by people who have solved difficult problems by turning in and letting the magic of the night do its work.

Every day is an opportunity for building better self-esteem and improving your life. Even if you currently struggle with limitations, negative self-talk, and situations that you find yourself "stuck" in, you are never in a place where you can't begin to improve something about your life.

You deserve to be confident and happy with your life! Did you hear that? You deserve a good and satisfying life! Small shifts in your mindset and your life choices will give way to bigger and better changes as you gain momentum toward a better life. It is entirely possible to change your self-esteem and improve your life, but the action steps have to be taken by you. You are the catalyst for change, you are in a position of power and influence, and you can do it! We are here behind you, cheering you on and seeing all the potential that you have to create a great and fulfilling life! What are you waiting for? It's time to get started!