How would you describe yourself right now? Would you use mostly positive or negative words? Where did those thoughts come from?
How often do you:
- judge or criticize yourself?
- criticize your abilities?
- brush off compliments?
- ignore your positive traits?
- focus on your mistakes?
- dwell on what you “should” have done?
- compare yourself to others?
- believe or hold on to negative comments from others?
- become easily upset by criticism from others?
- take extreme measures to please others?
- become self-conscious?
- withdraw from others?
- avoid challenges?
How many of those struck a chord with you? Were there one or two that struck hard?
I want to tell you this:
You are good enough. You are worthy of love. You belong and have value in this world. You’ve got to believe that!
Still need more convincing?
It’s imperative for you to feel good about yourself and to accept yourself even when you make mistakes or fall short of your hopes for yourself.
One way to increase your self-worth is to practice self-compassion.
Start being kind to yourself; start saying nice things to yourself; start doing nice things for yourself.
My Mind & Body Restore program might be a good place to start. Check out my 4 week online course, “RENEW: A Good Start Guide to Restore Your Body and Mind”. Just click the link to see how it might help you.
Notice when you struggle and what thoughts and feeling arise. Allow yourself some time for those thoughts and feelings to roll by. Then remind yourself that you are human and every human being is just as capable of making mistakes and messing up as succeeding.
Also, consider that it’s not successes and achievements that define our worth. Those may boost self-esteem, but self-worth comes from feeling good about yourself no matter what.
Another way to build self-worth is to discover, or remember, your strengths, your unique gifts, what makes you special.
Here are 25 questions to help you highlight your strengths and gifts:
I’ve also created a printable PDF journal page for you. Click the button below to DOWNLOAD it now!
Gift yourself the time and space to answer these questions. Write down whatever comes to mind–however small or unimportant it might seem.
- Aim for 3 strengths or responses to each question.
- Repeating answers are okay – this highlights important strengths and themes!
- If your answer is not a strength ask, “What strength could lie underneath this?”; or “What qualities helped me achieve this?”
- Wrap-up by looking for common themes and patterns; review your answers and circle re-occurring strengths and themes.
- Then write out what you consider to be the Top 5-10 Strengths on a separate piece of paper. Refer to this list often!
Getting Started – Make a list for each question:
1. What are the first 3 strengths that come to mind?
2. What do you like about yourself?
3. What are you proud of in your life?
4. What do you enjoy or love doing? (we usually enjoy what we’re good at)
5. What small things do you do that you find extremely satisfying? What strengths could this point to? (eg. organizing closets, helping people feel welcome, remembering to buy cards/gifts)
What Others Think – Consider positive ways you are seen by others:
6. What do you get complimented on? What could be the strengths that lie underneath?
7. What would your partner or best friend say are your top 3 strengths?
8. What would your family say your strengths are? To go deeper, consider each family member in turn.
9. What do your friends admire about you? What do you get asked to help with?
10. What would your co-workers say are your strong points?
Times You Have Been at Your Best – What lies underneath your success?
11. What were your favorite subjects or classes in school? Why? What did you bring to the class?
12. When have you felt most energized? What were you doing?
13. What have you created and brought into the world? (from childhood to now, anything you’re proud of)
14. Consider your various achievements (big and small): What personal traits would you give the credit to?
15. What would not be like it is, had you not been part of it? What value did you add? (eg. volunteer or work projects, home life)
Finding the Best in the Worst – What gifts are underneath those tough times?
16. Think about when you have stood out and felt uncomfortable: What strengths have you learned to hide?
17. Thinking about the worst experiences you have had: What strengths or abilities shined through?
18. What challenges have you overcome? What strengths helped you along the way?
19. What have you been told not to be big-headed about? (this could point to strengths and talents)
20. When do you do the opposite of everyone else? What strengths could lie underneath this?
The Unusual and Unexplored – Yearnings, Admiration & More!
21. What do you yearn to do? (this suggests possible strengths or talents)
22. When have you been criticized for something that is really a strength? (think of a parent criticizing you for “too much energy/enthusiasm”, teachers criticizing you for your “curiosity/voice”)
23. What are your unusual or unexpected talents? What does not “fit” or get used in your life?
24. What is the strength you have been avoiding?
25. What do you admire most in others? Now, where do you already do this in your life?
Now, review your answers and look for reocurring strengths and themes. Make a list of your top 5-10 strengths on a separate piece of paper. Make it special with some creative doodling; or use the worksheet I provide in this printable document.
Refer to your list often. Post it somewhere you frequently look, like a closet door, mirror, or on your refrigerator. Make copies to keep it handy at work, on vacations, in your purse, car or gym bag.
If you need more support or help to realize your self-worth, get in touch HERE.
Live, love and be well!
Jen
Hi! I’m Jennifer, your life, love and wellness coach! I help men, women and couples figure out what’s keeping them from being happy and healthy so they can overcome those blocks and determine and implement steps to truly improve their lives, relationships, and physical and mental health. I’m a certified Holistic Health Coach with a background in professional counseling. I’m ready to help you.
Proxies Buy says
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admin says
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. It’s nice to know you enjoyed spending time here.
Elite Proxies says
Hey! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My blog addresses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Terrific blog by the way!
admin says
Hi. Thank you for your compliment about my blog. What is the name of your blog?
Squidproxies says
Superb site you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really love to be a part of group where I can get feed-back from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Bless you!
admin says
Hi. I’m so glad you found something helpful here on my blog. Thanks for leaving a comment to let me know. Are you looking for online groups specifically for self-worth, the topic of this blog post, or some other area of self-development?