By Patrick Cole
Five Ways to Nurse Your Ego to Health
Low self-esteem is a common problem among us. Even those who you will deny it might find hard to say that they have never faced a situation in which they were left with a bruised ego – either a bad breakup, a job loss or just a bad hair day.
Of course, some of us take these moments a bit more to the heart. It also might lead to several conditions and complexes, from a simple and long crying day to depression. So, if you are dealing with any of these situations right now, here are five ways that you can apply to your life so to try to nurse your ego to health, and make yourself feel worthy again.
1 – Accept your flaws
It might sound strange that the first way mentioned here regarding how to nurse your ego is accepting your flaws, but this is the pure and simple truth.
If you wish to ensure that you will become happier about the person that you are, you will have to accept that you aren’t perfect. But the goal here is not to feel sorry for yourself, but to forgive yourself, and to understand that you are worthy of a great life despite it.
2 – Nothing out there is perfect
On the other hand, you should be sure that nothing and nobody are perfect out there. People have flaws and problems even if they are billionaires, sex symbols, or the CEO of the biggest companies in the world. Tabloids are full of countless stories of anorexia, bulimia, cheating, bankruptcy, corruption, and more from the world of celebrities, just as an example.
So stop comparing yourself to the others and rest assured that most of what you call perfection is just Photoshop and good PR. Understand the world is as we dream it, and get ready to build yours.
3 – Congratulate yourself
If nobody is there to do it, do it yourself. If you are getting compliments, do it anyway. Being able to congratulate yourself even for your smallest accomplishments will nurse your ego and make you feel good about yourself. That is to say that you don’t need to get a promotion or win the Olympic Games so you can congratulate yourself. Anything significant that happens in your life should be used as an excuse in this case.
This is called positive self-talk, and it is a proven way to boost self-esteem. It also means to stop listening to your inner critic when it doesn’t have anything useful to say. You can also take short self-appreciation breaks throughout the day and make it part of your routine.
4 – Keep a list of your best characteristics
If you tend to forget how good you are and your best achievements in life, make a list of them and keep it where you can find it. Don’t be shy or afraid to be overestimating your qualities – here what matters is what you consider as important. Remember that this is your private list and that you can write whatever you want.
So put everything into words and you will see how writing is good for your brain – and how it will make you feel better about yourself. Studies have proved it, and you can see their applications in the classroom and real life in many schools and universities nowadays.
5 – Help other people
We all know that we should be doing it just to be a helpful part the community, but it is also true that supporting other people is a great ego booster. Nothing better than hear a thank you or see the smile on their faces after giving a hand to someone. So, make of love your true goal, and look for volunteering opportunities, or, at least, try to be more available when you know that you could be of help. It might be what you just need to feel better about yourself.
In Conclusion
There is nothing wrong in nursing your ego if what you are looking for is to increase your self-esteem. And the simple and easy five ways listed above will help on your mission that makes yourself a happier person, proud of who you are and of your achievements.
And rest assured that it will reflect on the way that you see and participate in the world. So this will be a win-win situation for everybody, starting with you.
About the Author: Patrick Cole is an entrepreneur and freelancer. He is also a contributing blogger for several websites. Patrick loves self-education and rock music. Connect with Patrick via Facebook, Google+, and his professional blog.
