Being young also means being in constant comparison with others. Sometimes you feel enough and other times not so much. One day you like the way you are, but the next day you doubt everything: how you look, what you do, and whether you are “good enough” or not. You should know that the same thing happens to many young people.
Therefore, there is something very important that is worth working on from now on: your self-esteem and your self-love. It is a process that is built progressively.
Self-esteem is the way you perceive, value, and treat yourself. It involves recognizing your qualities, accepting your mistakes and understanding that, despite everything, you have value as a person.
It doesn’t mean thinking that you are perfect, but learning to accept yourself, respect yourself and trust that you can grow and improve. Healthy self-esteem helps you make decisions, relate better to others, and not depend completely on their approval.
Reflect
Many times you are harder on yourself than on anyone else. You criticize yourself, demand too much of yourself, or compare yourself to others without realizing it. That wears you out.
That’s where self-love comes in: how you talk to yourself, how you take care of yourself, and what you allow in your life. It’s not about ignoring your mistakes, but about understanding that making mistakes does not make you less valuable.
Start with something basic:
- Recognize your value: Don’t do it taking into account your achievements or what others think of you; Do it considering that you are a person who deserves respect, starting with yours.
- Change the way you treat yourself: Sometimes it can be as simple as stopping telling yourself things like “I’m no good” and starting to say: “I made a mistake, but I can improve.”
- Learn to set limits: Saying “no” when something is not good for you is not selfishness, it is self-care.
Pay attention
Self-love also means accepting that you are not always going to feel good about yourself. There will be bad days, insecurities and doubts, and that is completely normal. The important thing is not to stay there: reconnect with yourself, listen to yourself and make the necessary changes.
These steps will help you analyze your self-love:
🔴 Stop: If your internal dialogue is too harsh, stop. Don’t make decisions based on insecurity.
🟡 Think: what are you really telling yourself? Would you talk like that to a friend you love very much?
🟢 Change: Do something that does you good, no matter how small. Take care of your energy. Take a walk, talk to someone you trust, and think about what you can do to help yourself.
Remember that no one is born with perfect self-esteem. It is built little by little, with practice, mistakes and intention. It’s worth doing. When you start valuing yourself, it doesn’t just change how you see yourself: it changes what you accept and what you decide for your life.
Having self-love helps you:
- Feel more confident in who you are
- Stop depending so much on the approval of others
- Make better decisions for your well-being
- Relate better to others, without losing yourself
Self-esteem test
Adolescence Series
Adolescence is the series that Free press that provides practical and reflective tools that help young people strengthen their emotional intelligence from a close and understandable perspective.
Each topic includes a self-test designed so that young people can identify how developed they have that specific skill.
In total there are six topics and two will be published per week with these themes: self-knowledge, emotional regulation, emotional communication, self-esteem and self-love, interpersonal relationships and emotion management. In the print edition look for the plates on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, April 7-22.
With information from Violeta Velásquez. Source: MA Silvana Ferrari, educational coach, educational psychologist and university professor. Website: ProEducación Gt. https://638a650893374.site123.me/