Forming a solid foundation.

I believe that self esteem, just like a house needs a solid foundation.

It is important to learn self forgiveness for your past mistakes, and failures, or inadequacies. We are all human and subject to the human frailties, weaknesses and tendancies to make mistakes that abound.

This is the beginning of self love, self acceptance, and self esteem. A vital step in building that strong foundation.

Regularly monitor your self talk (your own chattering monkey) and make a record of all the negative thoughts countered with a positive thought i.e. "I'm ugly" and then the converse: "I'm fairly good looking".

The next time you become aware that you are thinking one of you negative thoughts, visualise, as vividly as possible, a miacat holding up a huge "STOP!!!" sign, and/or a stern faced you wagging a finger at yourself, and deliberately repeat 5 times, either aloud, in a big voice, if alone, or subvocally (to yourself, in your mind), the oposite to your negative thought.

Some people keep a wide rubber band around their wrist and when they realise they are thinking negative self thoughts they pull and release it. This sudden action helps to reprogram their mind and dismiss the negativity. Often the thought of pulling the band is sufficient.

Negating your negative thoughts about yourself will go a long way to improving your self esteem.