4 WAYS A LEADER CAN IMPROVE HIS SELF IMAGE

Not many leaders know exactly what it means to have a good self esteem. To some people, self esteem is about social status; so they tie their self image to material things with the belief that if you want to improve your self esteem all you have to do is step up your material acquisition.  Get yourself a  new car, be in tune with the latest high- end fashion trends or anything that earns you the respect of others. Many who have taken this path of thinking have since discovered that its nothing but a delusion.

Good self esteem means appreciating yourself for who you are. It's all about acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses and not judging yourself as being better than or inferior to others.   "People with a good and healthy self esteem are able to feel good about themselves for who they are, appreciate their own worth, and take pride in their abilities and accomplishments.  They also acknowledge that while they're not perfect and have faults, those faults don't play an overwhelming or irrationally large role in their lives or their own self image (how you see yourself)" says John M. Grohol,Psy.D. Improving your self- esteem has more to do with your willingness to take control of your internal dialogue and channeling it towards thoughts that reinforce a good mental picture of yourself.

These suggestions may be helpful in  improving a leader's self image.

HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

The greatest destroyer of self esteem is striving towards the ideal. Measuring yourself against the ideal will exaggerate your weakness and give you legitimate reasons to condemn yourself and drag your sense of self worth in the mud. Truth is; the ideal only exists in the media and going after it puts you under pressure to reach an unrealistic goal that hurts your self esteem each time you fail. All you need really, is to aspire to be the best of you per time and nothing more. Simply put,make being your best your ideal.

DON'T BE HARD ON YOURSELF

If you are human then expect to make many mistakes in your few years on earth especially when you are   out to make a difference. When you make mistakes the right thing to do is not to mourn over what you should have done, focus on what people say, feel there is something wrong with you or label yourself as not  good enough. The right thing to do is to first admit your mistake, take the lessons and then move on. Never feel guilty about things beyond your control. Anything short of these will be a direct and successful attack on your self esteem.

FOCUS ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF THINGS

For everything you don't have there is what you have. Your sense of self worth will depend largely on which side of the divide you choose to focus on. Those who dwell on the things going on well for them instead of the things they don't have will generally exude a healthier self image than those who spend their time playing up all the negative sides of their life.       It is what you set out to look for that you see. If you choose to see and celebrate the good things about you, you will feel good about yourself but if you choose to only highlight the bad,  your self esteem will be on a free fall.

DON'T FEED YOUR SELF DOUBTS

An african proverb says; "I may not be able to stop a bird from flying over my head but I most certainly can stop it from nesting on my head". This proverb gives credence to the fact you have control over what takes root in your mind. Like the proverb,you may not be able to prevent self doubt and other negative thoughts from gaining access into your mind but you do have the power to stop it from building a castle in your heart. Negative thoughts don't run your self image aground overnight. It begins as a small innocent thought that creeps into your heart and then keeps claiming more room in your heart with every ounce of attention you pay to it, until it becomes an esteem destroying monster. Never forget, it is what you feed that grows. Therefore, not allowing a negative thought or opinion about you to settle in your heart in the first place, is the surest way to protect your self image. A stitch in time saves nine they say.