[Discussion] Tips for Building a Healthy Self-Image

Submitted by EERMA t3_10s5igw in GetMotivated

Invest in yourself, and your self-image will flourish:

Identify and challenge your limiting beliefs. While they have many guises, most limiting beliefs can be distilled down to two essential beliefs: I’m not good enough & I’m not worthy. We may also carry over beliefs from our early years which served us well then but now hinder us as adults.

Recognize – and celebrate - your small victories. Whatever small victories are meaningful to you. Within the context of having strategic plans, each small step is a victory in itself and also a step towards something so much bigger.

Take responsibility for your current situation. When you take responsibility, you take control. And when are in control, you have options and choices.

Do something for others. Creating meaning for yourself and value for others helps build your win / win relationship with the world around you.

Take a step each day toward your ideal self. We all have the same 168 hours each week – that’s just physics – the issue is what we choose to do with them. Adopting the habit of frequently asking yourself: what would be the most valuable thing I can do right now that would be a step in the right direction?

Manage your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves – it’s just how our brains work. When we choose to take control of our internal dialogue, we can make it work for us.

Focus on the value adding activities. When we think about what we have on our plate, considering how important and how urgent each item is really puts things in perspective. When we focus our efforts on what is important – in the context of what we have chosen to achieve – we’re moving in the right direction.

Avoid comparing yourself to others. This points to the difference between self-esteem (externally focused) and self-worth (internally focused). The only valid comparison is our previous self.

A healthy self-image is central to our wellbeing. By adopting these habits, we can help ourselves to keep moving in the right direction.

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Sparrow_Flock t1_j7066rx wrote

I’m super tired of people saying the same old tired ‘tips’ and acting like these things are EASY! They’re not. They are very hard and complex psychological issues.

For example it’s easy to tell yourself your worthy, but not so easy to recognize imposter syndrome in yourself. It’s hard to connect ‘eh I donno why but I hate this art piece I made that everyone else seems to honestly love’ to ‘I chronically feel like nothing I ever do is good enough.’

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EERMA OP t1_j7106l1 wrote

Hence why we have trained professionals to help people work their way these issues: there for people who are ready to be helped.

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Sparrow_Flock t1_j7ivjzo wrote

And the trained professionals are, more often than not, not trained how to deal with these issues in real life, at best.

IF the person can even afford to go to the trained professionals in the first place. Therapy is a privilege.

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EERMA OP t1_j7jornq wrote

This hits on a couple of really important issues. The competence of the therapist and how therapy is funded.

When selecting a therapist to work with, choose one who has lived experience akin to what you're looking for help with: wile theory and qualifications are essential, it's having the lived experience that makes sense of it. On my own little corner of Reddit, I have posted a piece about choosing the right therapist.

Funding is a perennial issue for both potential clients and therapists alike. I'm in the UK and the NHS does not fund what I do: I often speak to clients who come to me out of necessity as the NHS provision simply does not fit their needs. Fees are a problem for too many people - often it is those who can afford the fees the least who would actually benefit the most. I'm currently establishing on-line group sessions which will emulate some aspects of what I do with my 1:1 clients for a fraction of the price of 1:1 sessions. I do however agree with your substantive point of therapy being a privilege: and it will remain so until the policy makers get it into their heads that therapy is a highly cost effective means of improving the population's wellbeing.

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Sparrow_Flock t1_j7myzxk wrote

You are making one huge assumption here that is false.

That the majority of the policy makers CARE about our well being. This is especially not true in the US.

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EERMA OP t1_j7ycp2z wrote

Yeah - it's the same here in the UK: policy makers are not interested in the population's health (the current corrupt UK regime are interested only in either feathering their own nests, serving their far right paymasters or both).

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We will need major political changes i.e. such that politicians actually serve the electorate, rather than themselves, to establish smart systems and processes for our wellbeing provision. In the meantime, those who can st have to keep on keeping on doing the best the can.

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Sparrow_Flock t1_j80h40p wrote

Honestly at least I’m the US we need to instill term limits on the house and senate, and take care of the wide spread gerrymandering, and it’ll fix itself. Unfortunately the right has managed to drive a wedge between the people using religion to control them, so half the population votes against their own interests and another quarter of them is so poorly educated that they don’t understand how the government actually works.

I’ve been thinking about this problem a lot lately and I am absolutely stumped on how to get past it.

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