Building Self-Esteem and Finding Greater Fulfillment

Self-esteem is the manifestation of how we feel about ourselves. While it's natural to sporadically feel down about ourselves if these feelings last they can have more intense negative impacts. Low self-esteem makes us prone to anxiety, depression, and general stress. Over time this erodes our relationships with others, our personal growth, and our performance at work.

It’s vital for our mental health to constantly build up and preserve our self-esteem. While this entails a ton of time and effort, there are a few important principles we can all understand and implement to get us on the right track.

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Getting In Touch with Ourselves

We get lost in the fray of daily life. A barrage of to-dos, news, and other people’s needs can completely consume our lives. The problem is that all these forces pull our focus outwards. Boosting our self-esteem requires shifting our focus inwards and getting in touch with ourselves.

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Self-Reflection

This requires a deep introspective process to reflect on the things that truly make us happy, make us stressed, and excite us. Understanding this comes down to a few things.

Situational awareness: Reflecting on moments that made us feel a certain way and understanding why

Goals and values: What do you unwaveringly believe in? What do you want to achieve in your life? How do you define success? Understanding this can fuel your journey with passion and excitement.

Executing: What will go into achieving your goals? A career shift? A mentality shift? How does your mental, emotional, and physical health factor in? How will you reach the necessary balance to avoid burnout and ensure your steady growth?

These are all comprehensive questions worth reflecting on. In the end, you’ll learn valuable information about yourself, and be well on your way to living a more fulfilling life.

Establishing the right boundaries

As you set off on this journey of fulfillment and self-improvement, there will be ups and downs along the way. Having the right boundaries in your daily life will preserve important balance and help you through challenging times. Boundaries manifest in two ways: There are boundaries you have with others, and boundaries you have with yourself.

Boundaries with yourself: This means being honest with yourself as you craft out a map of your goals and desires. Knowing your limitations are as important as knowing what makes you happy. This knowledge helps us anticipate challenges along the way.

For example, you might want to lose weight but also know you have obsessive-compulsive tendencies. You will have to weigh the benefits of achieving your goal with the risks of your known limitations. If you find yourself obsessing over your diet or workout routine, the consequences might outweigh the rewards.

Boundaries with others: Along the way, we will need to set boundaries with others. Many of us with lower self-esteem fall into the ‘people-pleasing’ trap. What others often see as kindness is actually a deep desire to be liked. Overcoming this trap entails setting clear boundaries with others but also with ourselves. You’ll often find the anxieties of saying no were overblown.

Another typical example happens with mentor figures who are eager to help but misguided in their intentions. Sometimes people who care about us overstep and over-involve themselves. It's important to enforce your boundaries if their influence is becoming more harmful than helpful.

?Living a More Fulfilling Life

Building strong self-esteem is a complex and never-ending process. It starts with coming to terms with our strengths and weaknesses is the first step to building our self-esteem. From there we’re empowered to understand and pursue the goals and relationships that make us truly happy. What values, routines, and other disciplines must be fortified to successfully build up our self-esteem? How do we ensure our efforts are sustainable and bring us long-term fulfillment? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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