Four Ways to Improve Self-Esteem

Working to accept all of our feelings is key.

In a culture where having good self-esteem is equated with feeling happy, insecurities abound! A stable self-valuation can’t be based in any one feeling—a  spontaneous occurrence that is always subject to change. But a secure, positive self-esteem can be rooted in a commitment to work toward accepting all of our feelings as valid—whether pleasant or painful.

We all aspire to be happy. The pursuit of happiness is an unalienable right written into the Declaration of Independence. And yet, when we dismiss our painful feelings and privilege happiness, we might be swapping our long-term sense of stability for a short-term high.