Self Esteem Building Exercise

Last week, I wrote about one of the most important aspects in achieving goals, whether it is for weight loss or any other goal. The importance of self esteem.

There are 3 things you can do to increase self esteem.You can read about the first one here.

And the second one I wrote in this newsletter a while back.

Let's get onto the third very powerful tool to increase self esteem.

A simple self esteem building exercise

A friend recently recommended the book Finding Your Own North Star, claiming the life you were meant to live, by Martha Beck. It is a great book for those who may be questioning a career change, or if you are getting tired of the same old, same old.

There is one very powerful exercise called Story Telling.

Storytelling 

First, write a brief time line of the major events in your life. Read it over, and see whether you've written a happy story or a sad one. 

When I did this my story was sad. 

If you want to go more in depth into this exercise you  can do parts  2 and 3, or if you prefer, skip right to part 4.

2. Rewrite it selecting events and recounting them in  ways that show you as a helpless victim (this is just to get it out of your system). 

3. Then, try still another personal history, this one is designed to make your reader laugh. 

4. Finally, tell your story as an adventure saga in  which you are the resourceful hero, a modern Odysseus overcoming every obstacle on his perilous voyage, a Joan of arc beating almost infinite odds to lead the French to victory. 

When I did this I had just seen the movie Wonderwoman. So that probably helped! 

But I found it so incredible to look back and see all the hardships that I had overcome, how I continued to achieve so many awesome things, follow my dreams, and thrive! 

You'll see it When you believe it! 

Martha Beck writes, "Learning to look at yourself in this way is an incredibly effective step toward psychological freedom, personal power, and mastery of your circumstances. Most people think they'll believe in their own potential for success when they see it; truth is, you'll see it the very instant you decide to believe it. 

If you simply can't see anything but victimization in your history, She suggest you read Angela's Ashes, An unquiet mind, or The Liars Club. Every one of these authors was stuck in circumstances that seem utterly devastating, and each describes his or her bad luck with honesty, humor, and not a trace of victimization."1

I highly encourage you to do this life changing, self esteem building exercise. You area a hero! Recognize and acknowledge your incredible strength and how you have come out on top and conquered all of your dragons! 

References:

1. Beck, Martha.  Finding Your Own North Star, claiming the life you were meant to live. 

New York, NY: Random House Inc. c 2001, p 94-97.