February is Annual Boost Self-Esteem Month. To observe it, Kindness-Compassion-and-Coaching.com is publishing a series of posts about the many aspects of this intriguing subject. If you would like to read the series from the beginning, please start with this piece: Self-Esteem: What You Need to Know and Secrets Revealed. Today’s article focuses on how a self-preservation mindset contributes to healthy self-esteem, how we can work to achieve a healthy self-preservation mindset, and more.
If the topic of self-esteem interests you, be sure to subscribe at KindCompassCoach so you don’t miss a post in this month-long series.
“Self-compassion is not self-indulgence; it is self-preservation.” – Christine Arylo
What’s a Self-Preservation Mindset?
A healthy self-preservation mindset involves prioritizing well-being, setting boundaries, and making choices that promote our physical, mental, and emotional health. It focuses on self-care, self-awareness, and maintaining a balanced perspective to protect and nurture ourselves.
Here are some key behaviors that help us build a healthy self-preservation mindset:
Prioritize Self-care: We must practice habits that promote well-being, such as regular exercise, healthy eating and quality sleep. We must also take time for relaxation. It helps to prioritize anything that rejuvenates and nourishes our mind, body, and soul including hobbies that bring us joy.
Set boundaries: We must establish clear boundaries to protect our time, energy, and emotional well-being. This involves learning to say no when necessary and prioritizing our own needs to protect ourselves and prevent burnout.
Build Self-awareness: We must work to develop a deep understanding of our values, emotions, strengths, and limitations. This awareness helps us make choices that align with our authentic selves.
Choose a Positive mindset: We must cultivate an optimistic outlook by focusing on our accomplishments, and positive qualities, and by surrounding ourselves with supportive people who encourage us and lift us up. It also helps to practice gratitude and self-compassion as these habits help counteract negative self-talk and boost our self-esteem.
Manage Stress: We must develop our own techniques to manage stress, such as mindfulness or deep breathing exercises. It is also helpful to regularly assess and address sources of stress in our lives.
Set Goals: We must set realistic, meaningful goals that align with our values and aspirations. When we break them down into manageable steps it can help us to maintain motivation and measure progress.
Self-reflection: When we engage in self-reflection, it allows us to identify areas for personal growth and learning. Adopting a growth mindset allows us to take a positive approach to the developmental opportunities we identify.
Commit to Continuous learning: To stay active, inspired and fresh, we must engage in lifelong learning. This includes seeking out opportunities to expand our knowledge, acquiring new skills, and challenging ourselves intellectually.
How to Attend to Self-Preservation and Boost Self-Esteem
A healthy self-preservation mindset requires self-awareness, self-reflection, self-compassion, practice, patience, and continuous effort.
By prioritizing our well-being and making choices that support our physical, mental, and emotional health, we can cultivate a resilient and balanced approach to life, a strong sense of self-worth and healthy self-esteem.
If you’re ready for the next post in the self-esteem series, it’s ready for you:
Self-Acceptance: How to Tap Its Power to Improve Self-Esteem
Thank you as always for reading.
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Joan Senio is the founder of KindCompassCoach. Her career includes 20+ years as a health care executive and 15 years (and counting) as a consultant. The common thread through Joan’s professional life has been a commitment to lead, mentor and coach current and future leaders, and women from all walks of life. KindCompassCoach provides information and advice grounded in Joan’s personal experience; however, all articles are backed by research and provide facts and advice from a wide variety of experts. Joan also serves as a thought-leader for KuelLife.com and is a regular contributor to PsychReg and Sixty and Me.
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