How Can I Improve My Self-Image? 5 Steps to Getting Unstuck
Posted on October 04, 2017 by MiMi Dabo, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.
How to move beyond being stuck or feeling unfulfilled in life and work can be overwhelming, but just a few simple steps can get one moving forward.
“I really want to create a good self-image for myself, but I don’t know how,” Stacy said. “I honestly don’t know where to start.”
“What do you want, Stacy?” “I don’t know. I want my friends and family to respect me. I want to go after the things I really want. I don’t want to be insecure anymore, she said.” “How can I improve my self-image?”
What about you? Do Stacy’s self-image questions resonate with you? Have you ever struggled with self-image issues? How has your relationship to your self-image kept you stuck?
Have you ever wondered what a healthy self-esteem, self-worth and self-love would mean in your life? What would it look like? What would it feel like? How will life be different for you?
Creating a positive self-image or positive mindset is more than just having the respect of friends and family. It is also more than just improving life as it is. It is a transformation of who we are being, and how our lives are fully aligned with our core values. Any form of deep transformation happens from the inside out, and starts with a healthy dose of kindness and compassion toward self. Knowing who we are, who we are being, what we want, and taking off any self-imposed limitations is the first step toward self-love.
The way we think forms our perceptions and belief systems about ourselves, others and the world. This shapes our daily reality. Any negative beliefs about ourselves creates ongoing stories about what we can and cannot do or have, and builds subconscious mental and emotional blocks that keep us stuck. These same limiting beliefs influence how loud our inner critic gets every time we move toward a new goal or plan. What we think or believe about ourselves has a stronger chance of self-sabotaging our lives than what others think or say about us.
Learning to develop an authentic relationship with self, and trusting that you’re the expert on your life, and know what you want creates a basis for moving forward. Use these five simple steps to shift your beliefs about yourself and transform your relationship to your self-worth, confidence, and an irresistible self-image.
Identify and Explore:
1. The stories, beliefs and experiences that have shaped your life up to today. What have you made them mean about you? How have they affected who you are, what you do, and what you believe you can achieve in life? What if these were those stories? Just broken, empty stories. And what if you are not your story? What if you’re whole and complete, and the only thing broken is the story? What happens if you choose to step outside the stories and look at yourself in a whole new light? What will be possible?
2. Your positive qualities – Create a list of everything that is amazing and wonderful about you. Ask friends, families and colleagues for their input too. Focus on the positive. Ignore any stories or limiting beliefs that come up about what certain words mean or don’t mean. Finalize your list with 10 to 15 positive qualities about yourself. These will motive, inspire you and challenge you to live up to them.
3. Your core values – Create a list of the things you believe are important to you. Where and how are they showing up in your life right now? How do these core values show up in your personal relationships, professional life, finances, health, wellbeing, romantic relationship, spiritual life and community? Are you currently living a life aligned with these core values? If not, what is in the way? What is possible for your self-image if you aligned your lifestyle with the values that truly mattered to you? With the values that serve as your basis for integrity in your life?
4. What makes you unique – Figure out what makes you stand out. What makes you unique? What life experiences and skills have you acquired that make you uniquely qualified for the goals you have for yourself? Notice any judgements that come up about experiences or things you have used to disqualify yourself in the past. Embrace what you have deemed imperfections about yourself. What can you learn from them? To whom will they be an asset? What is possible if you embrace everything about yourself to live authentically and show up fully every day, everywhere. What would your relationship to self-doubt, limiting beliefs and other opinions about you change? What would you think about yourself? What would your relationship to your self-image look like?
5. Your passions, your dreams and the people, places and things that give you the most joy. Take time to discover your life purpose and create a vision for your personal and professional life that makes you want to jump out of bed every morning. Create specific and measurable goals aligned with your values and purpose, and take an inventory of your skills. What skills do you already have that you can use? Who in your life has other skills that could be a resource for your goals. Build a mindset that lets you live your life purpose. Shift your relationship to fear, doubt, anxiety, overwhelm, lack of money, lack of time, and create an abundance breakthrough for yourself. Finally, create an optimal environment to succeed. What and who drains your energy? What motivates and inspires you? What is possible if you add more of these to your life?
In each step, what obstacles did you identify that could be in the way of making this transformation happen? What plan to do you have for dealing with them? What do you need? Be specific.
Now that you have gone through this transformative process and answered all the questions above, how will you complete the next sentence? I AM _______________________.
Peace and Love,
Your Life and Business Coach
MiMi Dabo, MBA, CPA, JD
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I work with women business owners, life coaches and entrepreneurs to create soul-happy 6-figure+ businesses, while working less hours, and living the life of their dreams.
Ready to create or grow a 6-figure+ business that gives you the FLEXIBILITY to have fun, work less and make a difference so that you can ENJOY more FREEDOM, TIME, MONEY, ABUNDANCE and IMPACT?
Take the FREE Life Purpose and Business Vision Quiz at www.lifecoachforwomen.com.