it’s easy to be insecure when you don’t understand who you are, why you do what you do, or why you feel the way you feel. take time to understand those things. explore your likes and dislikes, your passions, your feelings, and your thought patterns. research shadow work and journal prompts and try to see into the deeper parts of yourself and your personality. getting to know yourself will give you a more stable image of yourself and help build up your self esteem and improve the way you see yourself and those around you.
consume content that makes you feel good
unfollow everyone that makes you feel insecure or insignificant. get rid of people you constantly compare yourself to. focus on pages, blogs, and channels that help you and make you happy. i have two posts about productive and healthy youtube channels you can follow, but for building confidence, i recommend leo skepi, simonesimmo, tam kaur, and thewizardliz.
skincare, hair care, exercise, and eating a balanced diet are not just about the aesthetics or how they make you look. taking care of yourself helps you appreciate your body and makes you feel good about yourself mentally. exercise also releases endorphins, a happy hormone, and gives you a sense of accomplishment knowing you’ve done something good for your body. that being said, do not force yourself to do workouts you hate. there are so many different types of exercise out there. experiment with different ones until you find one that you enjoy and works best for you.
practice positive self-talk
it sounds cheesy, but it’s so important. we talk to ourselves so much more than we realize, and since we rarely say these things out loud, our thoughts are usually uncensored negative things. “that was so stupid, i’m so stupid” or “i can’t do this” or “why can’t i look like her?”
would you talk to someone else like that? would you talk to a child like that? would you want someone to say that about themselves? if the answer is no, you shouldn’t say it to yourself either. we all have things we don’t like or things we would change about ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we should beat ourselves up over them. be mindful of the way you talk to yourself. turn “i don’t understand this, i’m so stupid” into “i may not understand this now, but i know that if i keep trying, i will get it.” turn “i’m so ugly, why don’t i look like her?” into “she may be beautiful, but so am i. her beauty does not take away mine.”
understand that not everyone will like or understand you, and that’s okay
no matter what you do or who you are, there will always be people who don’t understand what you’re doing or don’t like you for one reason or another, and that is perfectly fine. unfortunately, it’s just how life and people work. but that doesn’t mean we should change ourselves to try to please everyone. you can never please everyone. you are the only person that has to live your life and deal with the decisions you make. do what makes you happy and what is best for you and leave everyone else alone. it may take time, but it is always worth it.