Improve Your Self-Esteem With Mindfulness
Defining self-esteem is not an easy task. We could say that this is the emotional part that arises from our self-concept, that is, the emotions that arise from the way we perceive ourselves. These emotions generate thoughts, behaviors and emotions that tend to reinforce this self-concept. This is why improving our self-esteem is such an easy and difficult task at the same time.
Mindfulness, for its part, brings together a set of proposals with the same objective: to regain full consciousness, full attention or the attentive and thoughtful presence which consists in being present here and now by being observers of what is happening to us, without judgment. It’s about experimenting, being open to experiences with as few prejudices and filters as possible.
The self-esteem scale
Here we will consider self-esteem as a particularly sensitive element in five processes. These would be as follows:
- C The self nowledge. Know yourself, with our faults and our virtues. The positive and the negative are part of our way of understanding life. We should not confuse this with social acceptance. We can listen to what others think, but it is up to us to decide whether or not to put an element in our drawer, an element that defines our ethics, at the same time conditioning our self-concept and our self-esteem.
- Self-acceptance. Accept what we are not able to change now. In any case, the present offers us the possibility, apart from any future projection, to reconcile ourselves with the person we are today.
- Self-assessment. It is about our ability to value our virtues and our abilities, both physically and intellectually. This step is one of the most important. Some of us find it difficult to separate the skills we are good at from those we are not so good at.
- Self-respect. Many people think they don’t deserve what they have or can have. Respecting oneself means giving way to an internal dialogue that does not destroy us, does not nourish negative emotions and which does not implement harmful behaviors in order to punish or reprimand us.
- Surpassing oneself. Getting to know yourself is the first step in improving yourself. We will be able to enjoy a good self-concept and healthy self-esteem if we can achieve the previous four steps.
How To Improve Self-Esteem With Mindfulness?
Now that we know the five factors that significantly influence our self-esteem, let’s now see how we can work on these factors through meditative mindfulness practice. It is a question of working them one by one, on the basis of a plan and following an order.
N e will perform a series of exercises and guided meditations to improve self esteem with Mindfulness. These are focused on each of the components of self-esteem that we have detailed previously.
Self-knowledge, one of the processes of self-esteem
This practice can be introduced as follows.
We will adopt a comfortable, calm and relaxed posture, keeping our mind focused on the here and now, at all times. We take in air and observe our breathing as we become aware of how the air enters our nose and expands our lungs and abdomen. Finally, we expel the air.
N ll try to focus on three faults, then three virtues. Once we are aware of our faults and virtues, we will observe them as part of us. Let us not forget that they are necessary and make us unique and special. We will then observe them without judging them, without judging ourselves.
We slowly open our eyes and move slowly.
Duration: 10-15 min.
Self-acceptance
The process of self-acceptance is undoubtedly the most difficult step in surpassing oneself . Almost all people want to improve something for themselves because of not being satisfied with some part of their being, whether it is related to their body, their personality or the way they act.
Like what we have seen for self-knowledge, we will carry out a practice related to meditation. However, we will now focus on self-acceptance. Accepting the qualities that we don’t like is not easy, but it is a necessary step in improving self-esteem.
Here again we will adopt a comfortable and relaxed position. We breathe and focus on our breathing. This is to let our prejudices and external evaluations behind us and we limit er to accept them. Let us accept who we are, with our good and bad qualities, our strengths and our weaknesses, our lights and our shadows.
We focus our attention on the faults that we have previously identified, we observe them and accept them as part of us. We repeat the following sentence to ourselves when we observe the defect: “I accept myself completely and deeply”.
When it comes time to focus our attention on our virtues, we will get some fresh air and focus on one of them. We watch it and let it go. We gradually come out of this state of meditative semi-consciousness and slowly open our eyes, move our hands, legs and other parts of our body. Improving our self-esteem with mindfulness is therefore possible on the basis of self-acceptance.
Duration: 10-15 min.
Self-assessment
This phase is not compatible with modesty, quite the contrary. Take a notebook and write down all the things you are good at and appreciate them as they deserve.
It is not necessary here to try to order them. Each of us has different qualities and we should be proud of them.
Self-respect
Needs and wants are inherent in living. They are indeed part of any path to happiness. So let’s try to respect ourselves. So let’s find out what our skills are. Let us also try, in all circumstances, to keep space for positive emotions .
Let’s try not to blame ourselves for our mistakes and not measure feelings of happiness in comparison to other people . There is nothing wrong with feeling happy when we think we are doing the right thing.
Surpassing oneself
The last stage we will reach to improve self-esteem through mindfulness is surpassing ourselves. A person can always improve in his personal life if he knows himself.
It is important, as we said before, to know yourself, to accept yourself, to value yourself and to respect yourself. Only in this way can we overcome and improve our self-esteem. This will then help us to make the appropriate decisions and effectively solve the actions or our daily problems.
We have seen that it is possible to improve self-esteem with mindfulness . For that, we must know ourselves, accept ourselves, value ourselves and respect ourselves in order, later, to surpass ourselves . It is important to follow the points just mentioned. It is indeed impossible to be satisfied with oneself and to surpass oneself personally without following these different steps.
Our thoughts Self-knowledge must be one of the existential goals of every human being, for this path must be taken on the road to happiness.
