3 Self-Care Practices That Boost Self-Esteem
This is part of my blog series Practical Self-Help for Introspective People.
Hey, friends!
I want to briefly walk through three basic self-care practices that charge our self-esteem battery. Now, none of these will magically solve all of our self-esteem problems, but in my experience, people with high self-esteem do these things.
(And if you're already doing these things daily, you're ahead of the curve!)
One: Be clean.
Shower daily and brush your teeth twice a day. Take care of your hair, nails, etc.
Taking care of our body reminds our subconscious that we have value. That we matter. And that we deserve to feel good.
This also communicates to others that we have value. That we deserve respect. As a result, people respect us more when we care for ourselves.
So when you have a terrible day/week/month/year, resist the urge to skip the shower and teeth brushing. Take care of your body.
Two: Wear clean clothes that fit properly.
Wearing dirty clothes makes us feel gross. Wearing clean clothes makes us feel good.
The same idea applies to how well our clothes fit us. Clothes that are too loose or too tight make us uncomfortable. They make us feel self-conscious. And they subtly communicate to others that we don't value ourselves as much.
In contrast, clothes that fit properly make us feel good. They communicate to ourselves and others that we have value.
I've seen this happen with myself. Last year, my body composition changed, and my old button-down shirts don't fit the way they used to. So a month ago I bought a few new shirts. I felt so much better wearing shirts that fit properly. I told my wife, "I shouldn't have waited so long to buy new shirts!"
So don't be like me and wear ill-fitting clothes for several months. If your body composition changes, buy clothes that fit well.
As one friend said, when we look good, we feel good
Three: Try a touch of cologne/perfume.
I work from home and spend a chunk of my day in video calls, yet I wear a small amount of cologne each day. This might sound like a strange thing to do since nobody at work can smell it.
But I can smell it, and that's the point. When we smell good, we feel good.
So experiment with fragrances. There are even monthly services that mail out a new cologne/perfume every month. Or, if you don't want to spend a lot of money, experiment with different lotions, shampoos, body washes, aftershaves, etc. Even generic brands can smell great.
Find a fragrance that works for you. And boost your confidence.