Why is it important to have positive beliefs about ourselves?

Our beliefs are the lens through which we experience the world around us, dictating our judgment, decisions, and even emotions. When we cultivate empowering self beliefs and are aware of our own worth and capabilities, we are not easily swayed by discrimination and thus better equipped to pursue our goals head-on, maximize our potential, and live a life of success and fulfillment.

Our self-beliefs come from within. They are formed through everything we have ever experienced, building the references that ultimately create what we accept to be true in our minds. When individuals have negative self-beliefs, or low self-esteem, it is actually very harmful to their overall well-being. When we have a negative image of ourselves, it often causes us to seek validation and fulfillment from external sources. 

The good news is, it is possible to shift our mindsets, reframe our perspectives, and work towards building empowering self-beliefs. Here are 4 tips on how to do so: 

Practicing social media mindfulness

Everything that we see online is accepted by our subconscious mind. One of the ways we subconsciously build our negative self-beliefs is when we compare ourselves to other people. When we go on social media, we encounter an endless stream of seemingly flawless individuals and perfect lives, and we tend to compare what we have, which ultimately makes us feel as though we are lacking, missing out, or doing too little, and we end up questioning our own worth and capabilities. 

Many try to cope through reassuring themselves that there is no perfect life or that these people surely have their own problems, which could easily be true, but the truth of the matter is that while it is safe to assume that what we see on social media is just a little part of a whole bigger picture we know nothing about, trying to protect ourselves in this way isn’t all that effective. Practicing mindfulness when on social media, simple as it is, could go a long way in keeping a peaceful, grounded, decluttered headspace. 

Find content that serves you

While we do not have control over the loads of content produced in social media by the second, we do hold the power to choose what we consume – the people and pages we follow, channels we subscribe to, and groups we join. When we combine this step with the first, we are then able to discern whether or not what we are consuming is inherently good for us, and act in accordance to it. Choosing to go for the kind of content that we find genuine, truthful, and substantial can not only have a positive influence on the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us, but also massive benefits our overall well-being.

Different people like different things – some find inspiration from artists and musicians, some seek motivation from life coaches or individuals such as Empower U or Tony Robbins, some feel more aligned with different things which is why even if some find certain content to be beneficial, others opt for something different, and that is okay. The ultimate goal is to ensure that, as much as possible, the content we allow ourselves to consume contributes to our growth and helps us feel good about ourselves.

Uncovering our limiting beliefs

The tricky part about our beliefs is that we sometimes are not aware of the ones that are already holding us back as they are kept on a subconscious level. Luckily, there is a simple method of uncovering the limiting beliefs we have in any area of our lives: 

It works through identifying the area/s of our lives that we feel unsatisfied with, are lacking, and are repressing our growth. We may do this through reflecting on what we want to change and how we would like to improve in terms of how we feel. We may also do this through studying the beliefs we associate with what we deem important and recognising the nature of the beliefs we foster. Whether in terms of finances, personal relationships, or even work, all of our beliefs reflect back to our own self-image. Digging deep and unearthing those that drag us down takes us a huge step forward into discovering our true remarkable potential.

Reframing our limiting beliefs

When we are clear on our limiting beliefs, have assessed and gained a deeper understanding of their roots, recognise their negative effects, and decide to act upon change, we may now work on creating new and empowering beliefs.

To do this, we must go back to the limiting beliefs that we have identified and evaluated and re-word them in order to shift our perspective to one that is more aligned with our values and goals.

Here are some examples of how limiting beliefs may be reframed into more positive and empowering beliefs:

We must take our I’m nots, I can’ts, and I don’t haves, and reframe them into I am’s, I can’s, and I do haves.

Showing up for ourselves

Real and lasting change may take a lot of time and effort. If we are working on cultivating a more positive self image, we must recognise that the old limiting beliefs we had, we probably held for years. Thus, they might be ingrained in our minds that might keep emerging as we try to alter our beliefs.

We must remind ourselves that it may take time to completely shift our old beliefs into new ones and imprint them into our subconscious. Whether through writing them down somewhere we would be sure to see everyday, making it a daily habit to read them as affirmations, using them as wallpapers on our phones or laptops, there are various ways we can keep reinforcing our new empowering beliefs, we only need to keep showing up for ourselves in our own way. The more we practice this, the stronger our empowering beliefs are, and the better results we see manifesting into our reality.

For more information on how we can work with your teenager to build their confidence and strong self beliefs, click HERE.