What If You Had A Positive Self-Image?
Where would you be if you hadn’t held yourself back all this time?
You are your own worst enemy.
Self-image is the most overlooked and underappreciated asset we have.
It’s made up of the character traits and expectations we perceive of ourselves, as well as those we have agreed to adopt from others. Every decision we make is weighed against our past experiences and then carried out in line with what we’ve come to expect.
These expectations limit our potential and impact our self-esteem and confidence to achieve greatness.
They make our goals seem impossible and cause us to give up or never even attempt to reach them.
A healthy self-image gives us the confidence that we can achieve our full potential.
Everyone is influenced and limited by their own self-image.
No one is exempt from this scrutiny.
Although this mechanism exists to drive us toward reaching our goals, in many cases it’s been compromised by the materialistic society that we live in.
Social media creates an unrealistic representation of society as a whole, resulting in an inferiority complex among individuals.
It’s a pandemic of the human spirit.
Imagine the possibilities.
Self-image is most fascinating when you realize just how much untapped potential you are wasting.
If you remove the social vale you realize just how much you can accomplish.
Think of all the little things that you overlook and how they would impact your life if things were different.
- You can wake up early.
- You can complete mundane tasks.
- You can squeeze in a workout.
- You can avoid sweets.
- You can quit smoking.
You can do all of these things despite constantly being reminded how difficult they are by society.
The best part is that these little accomplishments accumulate and provide you with momentum.
Once you see the results of these choices, that confidence will snowball and your self-image will drive you towards making positive choices rather than the comfortable, self-destructive ones.
That’s when you will appreciate yourself and strive for more of the same feeling.
You have to exercise.
What happens when you don’t use a muscle? It atrophies and becomes weak.
In order to gain and maintain a positive self-image, you have to work it out regularly.
Here are some simple exercises to get you moving:
- Take control of your self-talk. If you ever expect to turn off your vulnerability to external naysayers, you have to make sure you’re not one of them first. The obvious ones like insulting or doubting yourself have to stop, but some more subtle contemplations are where you’ll see the most progress. When you make a mistake, instead of coming down on yourself hard like, “Damn it I’m a failure,” or “God what a loser,” switch to, “man that was a funny mistake,” or laugh it off. It seems silly, but trust me, changing your perception of mistakes from absolute failure to a one-off keeps the door open to the possibility of success.
- Act with intention. Start by focusing on small tasks instead of allowing your subconscious to mindlessly do them. Change up which shoe you put on first or learn to tie them a new way and commit to this process for a period of time. This will force you to give your full attention to these little actions and keep you in control of your thoughts.
- Set micro-goals. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming big picture, find small things that you could do, that you would do, to make a positive difference. Make your bed in the morning, pick up that sock you would normally walk by, and throw out your Starbucks cup instead of leaving it in your car. Achieving small goals all the time will establish a baseline of confidence in yourself. You will feel like someone you can rely on when you commit to new things. It may not seem like much, but remember it takes time to rebuild your credit score.
Over time and with new confidence, you will explore more difficult goals that you never thought to be possible.
Try these exercises for two weeks and see what happens.
Imagine if everyone had a positive self-image.
The fear of being inferior to one another keeps us from stepping out of line and going against what society deems to be possible.
What could we do with all the time and energy we waste trying to keep up with one another?
The world would be a different place if we weren’t leaving so much potential on the table.
It is difficult to find this perspective.
We come into life without a concern in the world. We have no expectations. All we know is to cry and coo and our biological needs will be met.
We are exposed to a sense of comfort by our parents and quickly develop a dependency on it. A name is chosen for us, as they have decided what we will be called by society.
This is the first step in our domestication to the world.
As time goes on, we accept more expectations, and our compass is calibrated to fit the mold of society. We live by a set of rules that limit what we believe we are capable of. That’s why it can be so difficult to chase our dreams.
We can teach ourselves to return to that childlike innocence.
Through our imagination, we can strive for things that once seemed impossible and realize them.
You are your own worst enemy right now, but you don’t have to be. You can become your biggest fan and all the support you will ever need.
Free yourself of these chains and don’t be afraid to shoot for the stars.
