I’d contend that our self-esteem becomes strongest when we’re alone working towards our grand goals. It always seems to ask us what we’re actually made of in finishing even just a single task.
It sucks sometimes. Do we work best when we’re alone?
Anyway, understanding how to overcome low self-esteem entails understanding how it starts in the first place. There are things we tend to forget whenever we feel down, worthless … the downward spiral and all that.
It’s so easy to think how icky you’re supposed to feel when procrastinating. You might think, I’ve been there. I’ve been a terrible procrastinator. Surely, procrastination is the thief of time I’ll never get back … But is it all really just a phase? Should unlearning procrastination be easy, too?
Procrastination is a learned habit. (Yes, a habit, that thing that essentially shapes our future.) The good news is that it can be unlearned, although it might not be easy.
To say that having a session of overthinking—thinking too much—from time to time might not be that bad. Overthinking, that dreaded term. We know that it doesn’t really help, it only leads to headache, it’s hassling.
Yet we do it, perhaps for fear of being called an idiot for a wrong decision made.
I’ve said in other posts that I myself tend to overthink. I’ve yet to discover why. Maybe visiting someone who knows about this stuff (a shrink?) might help. That’d be an awesome experience to look forward to.
(Image: Chris Fort)
The world is full of uncertainties—whether they’re perceived or just real.
Have you mastered how to find peace of mind already?
It all starts when you wake up. If you’re not a morning person like me, turning the alarm clock off is a curse. What happens if I didn’t go to work today?
You hurriedly eat your breakfast, while thinking you shouldn’t be late at work today.
(Image: Dragan)
If you’re a doer, you should be a goal-setter.
Goal-setting is an essential; it’s a must. There’s just no other way around it if you truly want to achieve what your heart desires.
Goal-setting is exciting—especially if we’re talking about personal goals. Have you ever wondered why there’s just a lot of talk about SMART Goals … why you should even care?
Yes, setting personal goals is exciting. Knowing that you can turn your life around just by sticking to goals helps you open doors and discover things really worth looking forward to.
However, let’s face it—goal-setting takes time. It may sound easy or glorious or anything that’d make you feel like you’re the undiscovered hero of the world.
Who doesn’t want respect? Whoever you are, you’d want—or need—respect, in one way or another. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a “someone” in a semipolitical culture, or the new kid on the block … far, far away from home.
People will either respect you or not.
When everything seems irreversibly wrong, however, especially when you find yourself alone, do you still know how to respect yourself? Like, when the people you used to trust turned their back on you? Or—they simply showed you who they really are, only different from how you’ve known them?
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
So you set goals. Every day you take a look at your tasks list, glance over the to-do list you just made this morning—then decide to update it, again. Oh, there’s a lot of work to do, you say. How can I possibly do all of this? You watch out for whether your stress levels compete with everything else again. Time is running out.
In any case, do you appreciate the importance of setting goals in the first place? Do you see light amidst this seemingly dark times (read: era of information overload)? Do you still believe in this whole goal-setting thing?
Sometimes, facing criticism is simply hard.
The very first criticisms you’ve ever heard might’ve been alright, but as you get older, as your responsibilities abound, as the day gets longer, criticisms could just wear you out. The message may be well-intended, but you begin to notice the tone that message is delivered with, and then you think—quite differently—about the person who says it.
The good news, however, is you can learn how to deal with criticism like a boss. Even if generally, criticisms bear the red flag. Even if they’re vague. Even if they’re ridiculous. Who wants criticism? Who wants to be criticized? Who loves critical people?
“You can have all the tools in the world but if you don’t genuinely believe in yourself, it’s useless.” – Ken Jeong
Do you still know how to believe in yourself, especially when the tough gets going?
Let’s pretend that you’d like to learn how to play the guitar.
And that you’re only 12 years old.
You start looking for and watching videos of your favorite rock, or jazz, or classical, guitarists. You start imitating them. You get dumbfounded by their skills, and there will be days you’ll just put your earphones on and daydream you were them, song after song—for minutes, if not for hours.
How can one possibly know how to live in the moment while achieving goals at the same time?
Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? It seems that you must enjoy, savor or fully experience everything there is right now, while being able to handle the stress and pressure out of your responsibilities, all at the same time.
First off, you can live in the moment—you can practice mindfulness—even though you’re one of the busiest persons on earth.
But this doesn’t mean that doing it is easy.
I myself am just starting to practice mindfulness, pretty much in everything I do. It can be funny, because the moment you decide to do it, you realize it can be hard. And you may think, “What on earth have I been thinking? What have I been doing?”
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