A beginner’s guide on the road to Self Improvement

Life's not easy, so below is a beginner's guide to helping you stay calm and serene both inside and out and building and maintaining your self esteem against all odds.

Imagine a target and yourself as the bull's eye. The arrows represent drains on your self esteem which they absorb when they hit the bull's eye. Now, imagine yourself and even those around you as arrows hitting you again and again, draining your self esteem and confidence. Some arrows aren't so bad, but others you should try your best to avoid – here's a quick guide on how to do just that.

Arrow No. 1. Negativity at work.

Many work environments and those in it, particularly in high pressure industries operate under a ‘dog eat dog' ethos. These are the places where the more you do, the more will be expected of you, and probably without any extra recognition or appreciation. Missing meals, working later and harder will be totally lost on those higher up the ladder than you. Don't get mixed up in this vicious circle if you can possibly avoid it. Competition is a good thing, but only healthy competition in a healthy working environment.

Arrow No. 2. Other people.

By ‘other people' we mean those who stoop low to get what they want. You know the sort, the gossipers, those who will and do walk all over other people, ruthless people, whingers, and the controllers. This is by no means an exhaustive list and these represent just the type of arrows which will suck the self esteem out of you, let alone your plan of self improvement.

Arrow No. 3. Change

Learn to view change as a positive, not a negative thing. You have to move with the times and although you may find it stressful for a while, you will find that it will bring out positive facets of your personality you didn't even know you had. Adapt, be flexible, and you will reap the benefits.

Arrow No. 4. Previous experiences.

A knee jerk reaction is to express pain when we feel it. That's all very well and is human nature, but don't let it affect you any more than that. Treat each failure as a learning curve and don't let the memory of that failure haunt you forever.

Arrow No. 5. Don't approach every situation with negativity.

See the world for what it is – it's certainly not all negative. Appreciate the good and the bad points of every situation and how to use them to your advantage. Turning a bad situation on its head resulting in a good one can boost your self esteem no end.

Self esteem is the building blocks of self improvement, and to build it we have to firstly take responsibility for our actions. Once you start to get a sense of who you are, by assessing yourself and your capabilities honestly, then you can take control of your goals, morals and self discipline. It feeds on itself, growing with your confidence. How to begin? You begin not only with looking at yourself and being happy with a positive outlook, but other people can help you without them even realizing. Compliments go a long way – not only do they make the recipient happy but you will feel good about it too. Treat others as you would want to be treated and you'll be rewarded tenfold. Positivity is not only an attractive quality but also your first step on the road to self improvement.