By Eleanor Beeslaar, HRI Graduate Assistant
Because experiencing rejection can often hurt our self-esteem, it’s important to be intentional about building ourselves up and increasing our sense of self-worth. We encourage you to reflect on the things that you love and value about yourself! When you make an effort to recognize aspects of yourself that you are proud of, it will improve your self-esteem and remind yourself that you are strong and worthy of connection and happiness!
To get started, try some of these tips to help you build up your self-esteem:
- Engage in positive affirmations as you start your day each morning. This may look like looking at yourself in the mirror and reciting a positive affirmation of your choice. Some examples include:
- “I am strong.”
- “I am kind.”
- “I am capable.”
- “I am worthy.”
- Write a list of qualities that you love about yourself. Once you write the list, go through and reflect on each quality. Think of how this quality applies to you and how you can use it to build strong, healthy connections with others moving forward.
- Give yourself grace. When you notice yourself making a mistake, acknowledge the mistake and practice self-forgiveness. When we experience rejection, it can be easy to focus on our mistakes. To build up your self-esteem and work towards healing, be intentional about maintaining a positive mindset that allows for grace and self-forgiveness.
- Keep a self-gratitude journal. Journal about your successes and positive characteristics that you notice about yourself. This can help you identify personal qualities that you are proud of, improving your sense of self-worth and confidence.