The Art of Building a Positive Self-Image

We all perceive ourselves a certain way. Good or bad, every human feels a certain way about themselves. The numerous experiences and events that occur in our lifetime add up and help us create a concept of our self-image. Whether we like it or not, this collection of feelings about ourselves projects into our day-to-day living. 

Think about your self-image like a mirror. When you feel poorly about yourself, it reflects and displays itself in the way others see you. It’s almost as if we internalize these feelings and they become a strong part of our identity. A positive self image allows us to boost our physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. A boost in these areas of yourself can motivate you to seek success. Despite the challenging hurdles you endure, your positive self-image allows you to overcome and persevere. Meanwhile, a negative self-image makes us feel smaller and less significant amongst the sea of other individuals. This negative energy slowly starts to translate into your work and the people and things you love. 

You should remember that your self-image isn’t permanent. You always have the ability to improve how you feel about yourself. Achieving this positive self-image of yourself can be difficult, but it isn’t impossible. Here are just a few ways you can build your self-image in a more positive light:

• Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Celebrate the things you are good at and focus on the aspects of yourself you need to work on. 

• Our self-growth isn’t linear. Make sure to not formulate a rigid and unchanging image of yourself. Remember that you can always evolve and make yourself a better version of yourself.

• Make attainable goals for yourself. Work towards them in small increments in order to make substantial progress.

• Working on yourself takes time. Give yourself the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them in order to become stronger. 

• Surround yourself with people who value you. This will encourage and enable you to love yourself and build your self esteem. 

Your positive self-image can help you with the life experiences that come your way. A good example that displays the hardships a person can endure to overcome their negative self-image is the movie, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness.’ A classic film starring Will Smith, a single dad struggling to take care of his son due to his unemployment. Everyday, he finds himself trying to put food on the table and a roof over his family's head. These troubles seemed to be stemming from his low self-esteem and lack of determination to succeed in a cutthroat world. Through some much needed self-awareness and self-confidence he is able to open up many doors to success. All he needed to do was tell himself, “don't ever let somebody tell you can't do something,” and “you got a dream, you gotta protect it.” He learned the valuable lesson that people in the real world will only take you seriously when you take yourself seriously. In order to be seen as a successful person, he had to first feel like a successful person. In the end, this new attitude helped him lead a life of positivity and happiness. 

Altering your negative self-image is one of the first steps to leading a rewarding and fulfilling lifestyle. Every human being deserves to feel loved by others and also by themselves. Try these methods to master the art of developing a positive self-image.

— Amrutha Banda