10 Y O U R S E L F mental wellbeing
WAYS TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT
As part of this issue's focus on mental health and wellbeing, Lisa Drake, RTT, NLP, TLT Practitioner and Life Coach, from Rapid Change Hypnotherapy & Coaching Practice in Rochdale, shares valuable advice on how to increase your confidence and self esteem...
Sometimes we all get stuck in a pattern of thinking, which over time, will begin to diminish our confidence and selfesteem, until we just don’t know how to sort it out. With this in mind, I’ve put together some tips to help you. Please note, this takes practise and will not happen overnight. But the mind learns by repetition and what you focus on - you get more of.
4. STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT Perfectionism is a form of self-sabotage as it’s like entering a race you can never win! You will constantly move the finishing line further and further, thus making yourself very unhappy and unsatisfied. Say to yourself “I am perfectly imperfect” and cut yourself a bit of slack.
1. LEARN TO LIKE YOURSELF Other people will like you to the degree that you like yourself. Think of all the compliments you’ve ever been given – what we look like is just the wrapping. If you’re caught in the trap of thinking negatively about yourself, every time you catch yourself doing it, stop and change the thought into something positive.
5. SET YOURSELF GOALS Without goals we can easily just drift along, feeling like we never really achieve anything or don’t even know where we’re heading. True, authentic happiness comes from setting your goals and moving towards them. The feeling of accomplishment, no matter how small the goal is, really gives a boost to your self esteem as you feel like you’ve achieved something.
2. FIND YOUR PURPOSE Whether you know this or not, we all have a purpose in life. This is directly connected to what we love to do. Think about this – what did you love doing between the ages of 7 and 14? We weren’t just put here to find love – we’re here to understand our talents and use them. 3. PRACTISE GRATITUDE Getting into the habit of looking for three things to be grateful for at the start of every day, no matter how bad things are, can really help to bring things back into perspective for you.
6. PRAISE MORE AND CRITICISE LESS Praise boosts our self esteem and criticism brings it down. Start by praising yourself at least once a day i.e “I’m a good person”, “I like myself” or “I did a good job”. Take it a step further and compliment someone else – when we compliment another person, it also boosts our own self-esteem, as long as it’s a genuine compliment!
12
www.issuu.com/stylemagazine
