Boost your confidence and self-esteem with these tips from Sydney psychologist Jacqui Manning.
1. Reduce social media use: Stop checking how many friends or followers people have and remind yourself that social highlight reels are designed to cultivate an illusion even they don’t live up to.
2. Treat yourself like a friend: “I ask women, would you put down your daughter, best friend or mother in this way? Of course, not! So it’s obviously not okay to say these things to yourself,” says Manning.
3. Focus on the positive: Frame your aspirations in terms of improvement rather than fixing something broken. For instance, lose weight to invest in a healthier life, not because you hate your thighs.
4. Congratulate yourself. Give yourself a back pat when you finish that report at work, donate clothes to charity or eat well for the whole week.
5. Embrace compliments: A simple ‘thank you’ will do – and resist bookending it with self-deprecation.
6. Think ‘good enough’: Walk, talk and relate as though you deserve to take up space and you’ll begin to believe it.
7. Audit your assets: List at least 10 things that you value about yourself. Then write a list of the things you don’t like about yourself and re-frame them in a more positive way. E.g. “I am shy but that makes me a good listener.”
NEXT: Stay on track with these top motivational tips this new year.