Your Self Esteem

Building your self-esteem

For many people, they are their own worst critic. They can feel that they should do things better, or could have been more than they are. Such negative thoughts are often wrong, and can interfere with being happy or moving forward. They need to learn to challenge such thoughts. One of the most effective methods to do so is to write it out, use a journal to track and challenge these thoughts. Include what the thought is, when it started, and what happened that made you think this way. Then challenge those thoughts by writing how others may see you, what your friends or family say, and another way of looking at the situation, what are the positives. Humor is another effective tool, find something humorous in the situation itself.

Adapted from the article “Quieting the Inner Critic” by Laurie Meyers in “Counseling Today,” February 2014, Volume 56, issue 8.

By James Clapper, Graduate Level Intern, Loring Therapy