Over the next few weeks, I am looking at common thoughts that people with low self-esteem have, found within this Buzzfeed article, and how we can possibly address them.

Issue #1

Having low self-esteem makes you compare yourself to everyone. You convince yourself that everyone is *insert an adjective* (better looking, funnier, smarter, more interesting) than yourself.

I wrote about this issue in a Boost of the Day post here, which is worth a read.

How can we combat this issue?

• Write a list of your strengths – this might take weeks or months for you to do and will be incredibly hard at first if you suffer from low self-esteem. But even if you only start with one or two, you can keep adding to the list over time as you realise you have more.

• Look at this list daily! Remind yourself every day that you have positive qualities and the world will benefit from these qualities.

• Following on from this, make sure you share your qualities with the world, rather than keeping them to yourself. If you are a fantastic cook, don’t hesitate to tell your friends about the amazing dish you made last night. If you write a blog, share it with people. It took me a while to do that one…!

• Remember that every single person in the world is different. We all have strengths and we all have flaws. You might have a friend who has an amazing figure, but she or he will probably be worrying about how their hair looks or if they’re a good conversationalist! Focus on admiring others’ qualities rather than using them as a comparison tool.

• Also remember that your perception is just that, yours alone. You might think that being reserved in a large group of people is a flaw, but other people may look at you and appreciate that you listen to what they have to say rather than talking their ear off! Don’t assume that others will value the qualities you have been brought up to believe are positive or negative.

I hope this gives you some guidance on how to avoid comparing yourself to others. I will leave you with this quote as a final thought… 🙂