Strengthen Your Sense of Self-Worth

You know you’re a child of God and of great worth in his sight. But, even knowing that, sometimes it can be hard to feel good about yourself. Try a few of the following suggestions. You’ve got nothing to lose but bad feelings.

Set Goals

Life is more exciting when you’re working toward goals. Remember these principles when you’re setting goals:

• Keep your goals realistic—not so high they’re impossible to attain. Set some little goals. The more you reach, the better you’ll feel about yourself.

• Write each of your goals down. Remember, a goal not written is only a wish.

• Share your goals with a friend, and encourage that person to set some, too. That way you can motivate and applaud each other.

• Be committed to your goals. Do what you have to do to achieve them, and don’t become discouraged if they’re challenging to reach.

• Don’t compete with others. Compete with yourself. Don’t make your goals depend on another’s performance. Decide to attain a certain level of personal excellence no matter what others achieve.

• Share your goals with Heavenly Father. Talk to him in prayer. Ask for help in reaching your goals—or in understanding why you didn’t. He’ll help you feel good about the positive things you achieve.

Vary Your Routine

Boredom, monotony, routine—they can make our lives seem dull and discouraging. So why not break out of the old habits and experience something new?

• Try something different. Go somewhere in your town you’ve never been before. Listen to a different radio station. Read a different type of book. Do something with a new friend.

• Try something productive. Plant something. Learn to cook something. Build something. Write a letter to someone.

• Try learning something new. Pick a topic that interests you, and start collecting information on it. Read books and magazines on the subject. Talk to people who are involved in it.

• Try giving service. You would not believe how many needs there are in your community. Find out what needs to be done and volunteer to help. Or go to your bishop or branch president and ask what needs there are in your ward or branch.

Look beyond Yourself

Do your little flaws bother you? If your hair doesn’t look quite right, is your whole day ruined? The small things you dislike about yourself probably go unnoticed by those around you. Forget about them by trying to—

• Shift the focus to others. Instead of dwelling on your weaknesses, look for the good in those around you. Point out those good things to them.

• Listen to others. Listen to understand, not just so you can prepare a response.

• Remember: the people around you are probably just as insecure as you are; they are all painfully aware of their weaknesses. So don’t, for a second, think that yours are necessarily worse than anyone else’s.

Photograph by Scott Tanner