These ten tips for improving self esteem will help you see your own worth. Most people occasionally feel bad about themselves, sometimes for good reasons. None of us are perfect. However, if you consistently feel bad about yourself, you may be needlessly beating yourself up. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take that will put you on the road to building positive self esteem.

Get a checkup
Low-self esteem can be linked to depression, which can, in turn, be linked to other illnesses. If you have been feeling blue for several weeks for no real reason or if you have a reason but can’t shake the feelings, make sure that you get a thorough medical checkup.

Take care of yourself
This covers getting exercise, eating a healthy diet and doing things that you enjoy doing. Wear your favorite shirt or learn to play the flute. Plan lunch with a friend that you haven’t seen for some time. Be good to yourself, and in addition, be good to others in your life.

Practice time management
Sometimes big tasks seem incredibly overwhelming. However, if you break those tasks into small pieces and schedule them out over time, you won’t be waiting until the last minute to finish the job. Reward yourself when you complete a project.

Tackle the tough stuff first
Do the stuff that you hate the most first. That way you will get the dreadful things done, you won’t be procrastinating and the horrible tasks won’t be hanging around in the back of your mind. For example, if you hate math homework more that anything else, do it before you attack your other homework.
 
Start monitoring how you think about yourself
If you have a lot of negative thoughts about yourself and what you do, these negative thoughts can become self-reinforcing. When you catch a negative thought, stop yourself and change it into a positive one.

Write lists
You know that you have strengths. Write lists of what you do best, what is terrific about you, what you enjoy most and what your favorite rewards are. Make sure to sprinkle the “enjoy most’s” and “favorite rewards” into the pattern of your life.

Reach out to others
Sometimes we become so self-absorbed that we really don’t realize how good our lives are. Do some volunteer work. Smile at strangers.

Stop the comparisons
Stop comparing yourself to others in your life. You will almost always be able to find someone better than you at a given task. However, you will be better at that same task than many others. What’s the point?

Take and savor compliments
Accept compliments and listen to them. Compliments are usually heartfelt, so learn to appreciate getting them.

Nightly evaluation
Before you go to sleep every night, think of everything that you did well during the day. Then shut your eyes and drift off as you prepare for a new day.