A positive self-image is essential to success. When you feel good about yourself, your self-confidence and performance skyrocket. People with a positive self-image generally:
- Believe they are worthy
- Think they deserve success and happiness
- Feel proud of themselves and what they accomplish
It’s easy to see how these feelings you have for yourself can be translated into the energy and enthusiasm required to reach your personal peak. Conversely, a negative self-image can hinder your performance and make it impossible to summit the peak. Numerous traits are associated with low self-image, but those that may have the highest impact on your ability to reach your peak performance include the following:
- Reluctance to take on challenges
- Hesitation to trust your own instincts or opinions
- Self-neglect or treating yourself badly
- Expecting little out of life for yourself (which is perhaps the most worrisome)
How do you determine if you have a positive or a negative self-image?
Because the consequences are so high (being able to achieve at your highest level in life) and the symptoms not entirely obvious, you may want to explore this issue further to ensure that if you do have a lower self-image than you once thought, you can take steps to improve it.
If you have a low self-image, what can you do to improve it?
Dr. Leslie Sokol, Ph.D., licensed psychologist and author of Think Confident, Be Confident, suggests a six-step approach that includes such things as:
- Post a picture of yourself with a big smile on your bathroom mirror. When you see it, smile back at yourself and think about positive characteristics that define you.
- Reflect on a disappointment or how you handled a difficult situation and write down five things that went right during the event.
- Look in a full-sized mirror every day for a week and think about five things that you see that you like. Try this every day for a week.
- Recognize and make a list of your positive qualities, including skills, experiences, talents, and what makes you feel good about yourself. Then add any compliments you’ve received from others. Review this list at least weekly.
- Think of problems and challenges that you have faced and overcome – big and small. Write these down, and give yourself credit for your competency and the effort it took to deal with them. Read this list on a weekly basis.