How To Feel Better About Yourself: 26 Tips To Boost Self-Worth
Want to understand how to feel better about yourself? Then you’re in the right place.
Feeling better about yourself is a matter of changing your perception, and to change your perception you need to make some life changes. It may be hard in the start but with willingness, hope and patience you can see great results.
Our emotional state can be affected by many various things. We have control over some of those things, and over some we don’t, but if you manage to feel good about yourself and keep a positive outlook you’re more likely to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Living a fulfilling life is something that everybody deserves to have, yet so many people never experience it.
Battling negative thoughts is never a simple thing to do. We’ve all been there. I’ve been there. Through my negative experiences I’ve learned some things that made me what I’m today, a better person than I was one, two or three years ago. I would like to share the things I’ve learned with everybody who is willing to work on themselves, and hopefully help you make some positive life changes.
How To Feel Better About Yourself:
1. Create a morning and night routine
Staying up late and being in a rush every morning is clearly not a healthy thing, and once it becomes a habit it is difficult to stop. My suggestion is, starting tonight, create your own night and morning routine.
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Your routine should include doing something you love, something that relaxes you. Maybe before bed have a cup of tea, read a book, write. Try to wake up 30-60 minutes before you leave your house in the morning. That will provide you with enough time to collect your thoughts and plan out your day. Start off your day with a cup of coffee, tea, breakfast, chapter of a book. It doesn’t matter much what you do, so long as it becomes a healthy habit.
2. Get a hobby!
I can’t stress out enough the importance of having a hobby. Sometimes that hobby is the power that gets you out of the bed in the morning. Find something you enjoy, pick up an instrument, sing, draw, write, take photos. Maybe you think you aren’t good at it and perhaps you really aren’t good at it now, but if you do it every day for 30 minutes you’ll be surprised.
Some people think it’s too late for them to get a hobby, they’re too old to learn to play an instrument. That simply is not the reality. I’ve learned to play guitar in a few months just by watching YouTube videos. I’ve been playing it every day for the last few years and it’s something that makes me unbelievably happy.
Hobbies generate positive feelings and boost creativity, which increases happiness and reduces stress.
3. Channel your negative thoughts into something creative
It doesn’t matter if it’s good or not, turning your feelings into any form of art is all the time a healthy thing. Sit down, write a story, write a song, write down your feelings, draw something, write a letter to no one or to yourself. You can delete it after you finish, the important thing is that you let it out. And who knows, maybe you discover a secret talent.
4. Take care of your body
You don’t need to look like a model or a body builder, but you should make time to work out at least two days a week. Not only does it do wonders for your general health and confidence, but it will also make you feel a lot better about yourself.
Take a 30 minutes run, walk, do push ups, yoga, the probabilities are endless. Try to eat healthy, avoid sugar and junk food and eat more fruit and vegetables.
5. Drink plenty of water
I shouldn’t even point out the benefits of drinking enough water every day. Get up and drink two glasses of this astonishing liquid RIGHT NOW.
Every morning fill up a 2l bottle with water and challenge yourself to finish it during the day. Once you finish it drink some more. If you’re going out bring a small bottle of water with you. Make a habit out of this and you’ll see incredible results in a week or two.
6. Cut down on your bad habits
Nobody is ideal and everybody has their own vices, be it cigarettes, alcohol, soda, junk food or something else. The perfect solution would be to quit these items cold turkey because they do you no good. If you can’t quit cold turkey the smart thing to do would be to cut down on it.
Maybe rather than that glass of Coke drink a glass of water, rather than that tasty burger eat an apple (which tastes even better!), rather than smoking pack of cigarettes a day smoke half a pack, and after a while cut some more until that habit is a thing of the past.
7. Get out of your comfort zone
Yes, I know it’s called a comfort zone for a reason, but sometimes it’s unbelievably good to step outside of it. I personally feel very anxious before doing something new, but I force myself to do it anyway. It doesn’t matter if you end up liking it or not, you’ll be pleased with yourself for being brave to do it in the first place. And if you don’t like it you don’t must do it again.
8. Remove negative people from your life
This could be a hard thing to do because sometimes the negative people are near us. You need to realize that it’s not your job to absorb their negative energy.
One of my close friends wasn’t a good person, he had a habit of putting others all the way down to feel better about himself. Once I noticed that his negativity is directly affecting me I made a decision to put an end to that friendship. It was hard but it was necessary. Even if you end up being alone it’s better than to be surrounded by negativity.
Friends are people who don’t make you feel bad about who you are.
9. Try to read something every day
Many people say they don’t have time to read and in most cases it’s just not true. You don’t need to read a novel every day. On your way to work or at your luch break you can read a brief story, article, Wikipedia or something else. Reading is fun, it gives you more knowledge and it develops your brain. Also, you’d be surprised how much a single book can change the way you look at life.
There are also other ways to gain knowledge, like watching documentaries or educational YouTube videos.
10. Make time to do nothing
Everyone deserves some me-time, every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours long, you should and you can find time to just lay around, chill, watch a movie or a show or simply listen to some
music.
You need to ensure not to overdo it as it may trigger some negative thoughts.
11. Treat yourself
I’m not saying to spend large amounts of money on something you don’t truly need or something you’ll only use once and forget about it the very next day. You can visit a cool place, it doesn’t must be anything exotic, just a local park, museum, zoo or anything you find interesting. Or you can order a pizza and watch a movie, which is also a fantastic way to enjoy life (DON’T DO THIS EVERY DAY).
12. Appreciate the little things
It’s true that happiness in little things. That cup of coffee on a rainy day, the smell of a new book, that feeling when you buy a new piece of clothing. Good things are all around you and you need to learn to appreciate them.
13. Do good deeds
Think of the best people you know. Why do you consider them the best? Probably because they’re kind to other people, and that’s what you should be. Try to do good things regularly. Maybe spare some change for the homeless, help your cousin’s kid with their homework, help the elderly cross the street, offer them your seat in the bus. It’s easy to be kind and the feeling you get from it’s better than any other feeling.
14. Accept bad days
Everyone gets sad every now and then. Accept the undeniable fact that you’re only a human and that it’s normal to feel sad. Don’t allow the bad days ruin your progress, your mindset and your life. And even during those bad days there are small but good things you can appreciate, maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s a smile from the stranger. Pay attention to your environment, it may positively surprise you.
15. Talk to strangers
A few years ago the single idea of talking to a stranger seemed terrifying, but with some effort even that easy task became possible.
People you see at the bus stop, park, grocery store and plenty of other places are just random figures in your life and you don’t pay much attention to them. The truth is each one of those figures has a story or an advice, and most of them are willing to share those things.
Maybe their words have the power to change the way you look at life, and it will absolutely make you appreciate yourself and others more.
If you are an awkward penguin like me you may be uncomfortable to start a conversation with a complete stranger, and that’s okay. There are many websites, where you can practice your conversation skills, and the more you practice the better you’ll be at it.
16. Don’t pay too much attention to social media
We as humans tend to compare ourselves to other people, and social media is a fantastic platform to do this. Social media normally represents a false picture of other people’s lives. Everyone cherry picks the best parts of their lives to share with their followers.
In reality, everybody has their own problems and no-one wants to share them publicly, so stop paying too much attention to social media and stop comparing yourself to others. When you compare yourself to others, you look for what positive things they’ve that you don’t, and that will only make you feel bad about yourself.
Social media is also a solid way to stay in touch with your friends, to gain more knowledge and to find out the news so use it wisely.
17. Redecorate your life
Beauty is in the small things, so maybe put a new photo on the wall, a poster, maybe buy some flowers, buy a new chair or a table if you’re able. Change your phone and computer wallpapers, change your ringtone, your alarm sound. Clean out your room, paint the walls in a new color. There are million ways to refresh your space and your life, and it can only bring you good.
18. Acknowledge your feelings
Sometimes we lie to other people who we’re fine, but the problem is when we lie to ourselves. Don’t ever hide from your feelings, acknowledge the undeniable fact that you’re a human being and that whatever you are feeling is normal.
Maybe you were sad yesterday, accept it! Maybe you are happy today, accept it! Be in charge of your thoughts and never let emotions blurry them or be in charge of them.
19. Challenge yourself
Challenge yourself every day to do something, even a straightforward task. Challenge yourself to talk to a stranger, challenge yourself to walk for 30 minutes, challenge yourself to make the best sandwich you’ve ever had, challenge yourself to finish a book you’ve started, challenge yourself to clean your home.
It doesn’t matter what the challenge is, what matter is the reward – feeling incredible.
20. Visit a friend or a family member
Maybe there’s a person in your life that you haven’t seen in a while. Pay them a visit or arrange to meet someplace. Not only it will make you feel great, but it will also make them feel good and loved.
Caring about someone is a fantastic way to appreciate the life you’ve been given.
21. Keep a journal
Journal will help you identify your feelings, track your progress and it will remind you of the great things that you accomplished and bad things that you’ve successfully battled.
22. Find a role model
It doesn’t matter if they’re alive or dead. It doesn’t matter if it’s your mother or a celebrity. Find a good and positive individual that you can look up to. Learn from their advices and learn from their mistakes.
One day you may be a role model to somebody else. Maybe you’re a role model to somebody right now.
23. Make New Year’s resolutions
Make your New Year’s resolution right now and begin working on them right now. By the time New Year’s Eve comes you’ll be proud that you’ve checked some things off your list.
Instead of waiting for beginning of the year to start working out, do it today. Instead of waiting to start studying or doing what you love, do it today. Instead of waiting to improve your life, do it today!
24. Get some sleep
Quality sleep is much more important than you think. I’ve already talked about creating your morning and night routine, but there are also other ways to improve everybody’s favourite hobby – sleep.
Try to avoid naps, as they may make it harder to fall asleep at night. Avoid bright screens within 1-2 hours of your bedtime. Turn off your phone, you don’t need it anymore. Make room as dark as possible.
Don’t drink too much caffeine during the day. Avoid alcohol before bed – while a nightcap may help you relax, it absolutely won’t provide you a quality sleep. Also don’t drink too much water in the evening because you possibly don’t want to wake up a few times during the night for a bathroom break.
25. Enjoy the world around you
Enjoy the sunset and dawn, enjoy the rain or snow. Enjoy the sun and sunny days. Enjoy that musician that shares his feelings and his art while playing on the street, enjoy the silence. Enjoy talking a walk through the woods or through the city.
26. Life is charming and don’t allow negative thoughts to tell you otherwise.
The most significant thing is to never give up. No matter how bad things get they will one day be over. Through each experience you come out smarter and stronger. Everything is feasible with a straightforward belief in yourself. Your actions, your thoughts and your words matter and can change the world, so use them in a positive way.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my article about how to feel better about yourself. I sincerely hope its contents have been a good help to you.
