SpottiOtti Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Recently I've noticed that some posters on here suffer from low self-esteem. I've engaged in a lifelong struggle with that as well, and I think it is always something I'll have to work on. I thought maybe we could all benefit from a thread where we share activities or ideas for improving self-esteem, or even engage in writing exercises in the thread to improve self-esteem. Here's a link to a site that I found, with six steps to work on self-esteem. link removed The first step is to take an inventory if your strengths and weaknesses, at least ten of each. That one I will probably work on in my next post, because it's the middle of the day here and I would rather do it at night with a cup of tea next to me. Another idea that I found is positive journaling, where you list something you did well or accomplished today, something positive about the day, and what you look forward to about tomorrow. Here's mine for yesterday: Today I avoided having anxious thoughts for an entire day, and I also did something new which I've never done before - went to a beer and wine tasting in a different town. I didn't let myself get sucked mentally into a situation that was bothering me, and I tried to help another person who is in the same situation. Something positive about today is that I spent a lot of quality time with my boyfriend listening to music that I enjoy. Tomorrow I am looking forward to yoga class, to a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and possibly a trip to the museum. Any other ideas or thoughts for/from those of us struggling with self-esteem issues? Link to comment
treesandbees Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I get down on myself a lot, but I always chalk that up to my on going depression. It gets hard to see positives when the smallest negative has me reeling for days. Nice thread, SpottiOtti. I'll read your linked article later too ( bookmarks it ) Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 Today, I am proud of myself for resisting the temptation to eat bad food. I ate well all day long - no sweets, no tacos, no fried food, even though all three were readily available. Also, I've been listening to physics lectures lately. Something that I value about myself is my love of learning. Link to comment
Lucia Amman Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 10! That's a lot. I'll try to do this tomorrow. Thanks for the link and opening the topic Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Something I accomplished today: I ran further than I typically do. I've been trying to add distance a little bit at a time, and it's getting easier and easier. Something positive about today: I had fairly good experiences at both of my jobs. They both went pretty smoothly. Something I'm looking forward to tomorrow: Spending time with my boyfriend. Something I value about myself: I have unusual taste in music, for a girl, and am well-rounded when it comes to music. I value my oddity when it comes to stuff like that; I'm glad that I'm not typical. Link to comment
happy_snapper Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 My accomplishment for today was getting to the gym before work, even though I wanted to stay in my flat watching youtube videos. Link to comment
Lucia Amman Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Accomplishment already made today: cleaning the house and enjoying my new dining table. I'm very pleased how my house is turning out! Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 Accomplishment for today: Managed to actually relax all day and sit around watching Netflix without feeling guilty. Something positive: Had a lucrative evening at work, no rude customers, coworkers in positive moods as well. Something I'm looking forward to tomorrow: Going for a run. Haven't been able to go since Monday. Something I value about me: I can easily empathize with people and offer them comfort. Link to comment
happy_snapper Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I feel really good about forcing myself down to the gym again today before work. I'm still not quite hitting my goal of doing it every day, but I'm getting more exercise than I have for ages! 3 hours in the gym in the past 7 days Link to comment
WithLove Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Hey Spotti - I've always wanted to go to a beer and wine festival. I don't like beer, but friends insist it's because I just haven't found one that I like yet. I'd like to go to a festival where you can try a lot of different ones so I can find one I like! How was it? I like this thread a lot. Keep it up, everyone! Link to comment
TMifune Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Self-esteem? I've never seen any of that. I don't believe it exists! ;-) Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 I don't understand your post, TMifune. Please clarify. Are you referring to your own self-esteem, or are you taking some kind of issue with the wording of the phrase? WithLove - I actually went to two different places, a winery and a brewery, and tried samples at each place. It was interesting, although not as educational as I'd hoped. Honestly, I think the owner of the winery was a tad drunk and he seemed more interested in ragging on the customers than in educating us about his wine, which was unfortunate. The brewery was more interesting - got to relax there for a bit and try several different beers, and the people were much nicer. I've never been to a festival, but there are festivals of that sort here all the time and I probably will eventually! Nice job with the exercise, Peter. Link to comment
TMifune Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I don't understand your post, TMifune. Please clarify. Are you referring to your own self-esteem, or are you taking some kind of issue with the wording of the phrase? It was just a self-deprecating joke. Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Well then, welcome to the thread! Link to comment
treesandbees Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I accepted a compliment without trying to negate it somehow. If you ever saw the Amy Schumer sketch you'll know what I mean obviously the sketch is an over the top version of how it can be...if not google Inside Amy Schumer - Compliments. If you are easily offended then probably don't bother checking it out lol Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Something I accomplished today: I ran further than I ever have before! Almost twice my normal distance. Something positive: Something I said to a client in group stuck with them. I said it last week, and the client brought it up today. That felt good, like I'm actually making a difference. Looking forward to tomorrow: Seeing some friends, having one of my favorite salads, watching a new TV show I'm hooked on. Something I value about myself: I can talk to a wide variety of people about a wide variety of subjects. Link to comment
Lucia Amman Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Looking forward to friday: I'll be having a birthday-breakfast with a good friend of mine. We've never done that before and it's my birthday present to her. I'm really great full for her friendship because she seems to value our friendship quite a lot. She's always making an effort to see me and always excuses herself when she can't. Looking forward for today: making a vegetarian shepherd's pie. I'm enjoying to be making healthy dinners this week Must be because the school of the kids started again and it shifts my priority to a more healthy lifestyle again. Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 ^^^ That sounds amazing, could you share the recipe? I love going out to breakfast/brunch with friends. We have a bunch of good Sunday brunch locations here, I'm grateful for that! Link to comment
itsallgrand Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I would rep you for this thread if I could. It's great. Today I talked through something difficult and clearly expressed my feelings and needs in a situation where I normally would not have. I would have pulled away and tried to deal with it solo (really just a way to isolate out of fear). It feels good to move in this direction. Also I have been taking more effort in my appearance. I am slowly getting used to the idea that it is ok to buy myself new clothes and to look nice just because I want to. Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 ^^ Do you notice an increase in your self-esteem when you wear nice clothes and makeup? I always do. I'm glad you like the thread. Accomplishments for today: Cleaned the kitchen (it wasn't terrible, but I'd been putting it off for a couple days). Stuck up for a colleague who was sort of being ganged up on by other colleagues. Finally went and bought an item that I'd been meaning to buy. Ate only two bites of a highly caloric dish that I would have scarfed down in the past! Positive for today: I have my kitchen stocked up with good, healthy food, so I was able to make a good, healthy dinner. Looking forward to tomorrow: That's tough, because I have both jobs tomorrow. I suppose . . . I'm looking forward to not knowing what tomorrow will bring, to the unexpectedness of tomorrow. Something I value about myself: I am pretty self-aware. I can usually tell when I'm headed off of the Logic Express and into La-La Land. (Still trying to figure out how to re-board the Logic Express and not hang out in La-La Land for too long, though.) Link to comment
Lucia Amman Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 ^^^ That sounds amazing, could you share the recipe? I love going out to breakfast/brunch with friends. We have a bunch of good Sunday brunch locations here, I'm grateful for that! Recipe: link removed We usually eat breakfast at home. It's not very dutch to eat at a restaurant. Lunch is very popular. We do have two places where one can eat breakfast. For my boyfriends birthday I planned a high tea during breakfast hours. Everyone laughed about it but it was the only time the kids were at school and we could have a little one on one I've actually know idea where we're going tomorrow as she has picked the place - I'm going to her city. My self-esteem took a little downfall because of another forum I posted a topic on and a lot of people thought I was a troll. It's hard to explain what happened. The good thing about yesterday was that I went to yoga again! Today is pizza day (every Thursday!) so I'm excited for an easy meal and get some reading done. Link to comment
WithLove Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Today I brought my gym clothes with me to work. I even remembered my lifting gloves. I will change at the end of the day here and go right to the gym. I also remembered to take out some chicken cutlets to brown in a skillet afterwards. I bought a bunch of really yummy things to add to the lettuce I bought earlier. Cucumber, carrots, corn, mushrooms. There's this light Caesar vinaigrette dressing that was on sale that I grabbed to try out. With the chicken and all the yummy add-ons, my dinner will be tasty for sure! It's always a good day, if you have the right attitude. Link to comment
itsallgrand Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Do you notice an increase in your self-esteem when you wear nice clothes and makeup? I always do. Yes. I think it's the taking the time for myself, the extra care on myself, that makes most of the difference. I rarely wear make up, minimal, still. And that will probably stay like that. But it feels good to get back to allowing myself to put more time into how I am presenting myself. For a long time, it has been just do the basics and go. Today I am going to the beach. I'm looking forward to it. Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Oh my gosh, Lucia, I cannot WAIT to try that. Thank you. Sorry about the other forum . . . hope you are much recovered. My accomplishment for today was eating healthy all day long. Positive: Had a quick, painless, lucrative shift at my night job. Looking forward to: Doing some research tomorrow about going back to school/getting certified for something related to my career. Something I value about myself: I am not afraid of going back to school, or of hard work. Link to comment
SpottiOtti Posted September 9, 2015 Author Share Posted September 9, 2015 Ugh, today I am NOT feeling really good about myself, or about anything in general. So that probably means now is the time I should attempt to engage in this exercise, right? Sigh. Accomplishment for today: I went to the bank. I . . . spent time with friends, which felt like an accomplishment, because I felt like isolating. I just made myself do some ab exercises in an attempt to lift my mood. I feel like drinking, but I am not, because I know that will make me feel worse, so I'm having tea. This is an accomplishment, because in the past I would have just had a few drinks, so I could make myself sleepy, go to bed and forget all about what was bothering me in the first place rather than dealing with it. Something positive about today was that I ate something sweet and didn't beat myself up about it. I just enjoyed it. Tomorrow, I am looking forward to a nap after work, then a leisurely run and cooking myself dinner, getting some stuff done around here and then watching this TV show that I'm kind of hooked on right now. Something I value about myself is that I'm an introspective person who is usually pretty good at figuring out the root of what is bothering her. Now I am going to go and journal about it. You know, this exercise does work. I feel a little better now than when I began posting. Link to comment
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