Is Poor Self-Esteem Keeping You From Success?

Have you been struggling to achieve success? Can’t put your finger on what’s hindering you?

 

Your problem could be self-esteem. Believe it or not, self-esteem plays a huge role in whether or not you achieve success. Low self-esteem can keep you from getting what you want in life, achieving success, and being the person you want to be.

 

In this article, we’re going to explore how self-esteem can affect your success, how to identify if that’s the problem, and what to do about it.

 

How can self-esteem affect your success?

 

Low self-esteem can cause a lot of adverse effects; it can slowly rot you from the inside. It causes you to doubt all your actions and decisions, questions everything you say, and keep yourself from going for goals and taking risks.

 

High self-esteem, on the other hand, can get you what you want out of life. Confidence and high self-esteem are qualities of leaders; they’re appealing to employers. You’ll not only make decisions easier, but you won’t question what you say and do and you won’t hold yourself back.

 

How to identify if self-esteem is your problem

 

There are a few key signs that can clue you in on having low self-esteem. 

 

You constantly doubt yourself

 

Everyone doubts themselves from time to time, but if you’re constantly doubting everything you do and say, you likely have a self-esteem problem. Take a look at yourself and be completely honest; how frequently do you doubt yourself?

 

You never speak up for yourself

 

Keeping to yourself and not speaking up for yourself when the situation warrants it can be a sign of low self-esteem. Low self-esteem means low confidence. It means you don’t have the inner strength to defend yourself and speak up for what you want and what you believe in.

 

You’re holding yourself back

 

When was the last time you took a risk? When you were last presented with an opportunity, did you seize it or let it pass you by? Low self-esteem can cause you to hold yourself back and keep yourself from seizing opportunities. 

 

What to do about it

 

There are a couple of practices that can help you build up self-esteem. These exercises, when taken seriously and done regularly, will help you to boost your self-esteem and confidence.

 

Give yourself a pep talk

 

We realize this may sound silly, but it does actually work. A big part of low self-esteem is self-deprecating thoughts. You have to fight these thoughts and force them out and the only way to do that is by replacing them with positive ones. Give yourself a regular pep talk.

 

Remind yourself of your good qualities and strengths. Tell yourself what you’re capable of. Tell yourself what you would tell your best friend if they were down.

 

Step outside of your comfort zone

 

To take risks and seize new opportunities, you have to step outside your comfort zone. You can practice this by starting small and doing one thing new that puts you outside of your comfort zone each day.

 

You don’t have to go too far outside of your comfort zone the first time, but you do need to work towards getting a little further outside of it each time.

 

Give yourself at least one compliment a day

 

We’re often way too hard on ourselves, not giving ourselves enough credit and refusing to see the good within us. A good way to break this habit is by giving yourself at least one compliment a day.

 

We understand that this may feel weird at first, but given time, it’ll become second nature to you. Before you know it, you’ll subconsciously compliment yourself all the time and your confidence and self-esteem will skyrocket through the roof!