We all know acne is brutal for self esteem – there is no point denying that. But I know each and every one of you is a beautiful, wonderful person, acne or not, and I want you to show it to the world!
Here are 7 quick things you can do to make sure you are harnessing as much of that inner wonderfulness as you possibly can:
Stop Putting Yourself Down
Catch yourself every time you think a negative thought about yourself, your skin, or your life. The number of personal put downs sure adds up doesn’t it? How can your raise your self esteem when you are always keeping your own spirits so low?
Give Yourself Compliments
Don’t focus on what’s wrong, focus on what’s right . And there is plenty that is right with you, my friend! Write down everything that makes you great – physically, personally, or otherwise.
Always Accept Compliments from Others
Do you find that when someone gives you a compliment, you tend to reply with some reason why it’s not true? (“Oh, these old rags?”). When someone compliments you, reply with a thank you and leave it at that.
Only Associate with Positive People
Do you have toxic friends or relationships? If you find that you hang out with a lot of unsupportive people, it’s a good idea to change that. There is no need to put up with people who don’t support your personal growth or allow you to be who you are.
Get Involved with Things That You Love
If you spend all your time at a job you hate, and spend your free time sitting in front of the TV, there is no room for you to feel good about your accomplishments. Do things you enjoy and can be proud of.
Take Action
Do you have a plan that you can’t seem to get motivated to put to action? You can do anything you put your mind to, but if you don’t challenge yourself, you will feel like a failure before you even start. You will feel so much better when you take the steps forward and see a plan take shape – regardless of the result.
Be True to Yourself
Always be in the place in your life that you want to be because you want to be there! Never make decisions about your life based on what you think others want or expect from you. When you aren’t true to yourself, you will never feel truly empowered!
Ps. I love you 🙂
26 Responses
I love your articles, they’re always so sweet and to the point. Keep up the great work, Tracy 🙂 🙂
I need to print these and put them right on my wall. Right now. In a big ass font. 😀
I really love your articles. <3
This I like in particular because low self esteem is something I've always had a problem with. The past year I've been in love with this guy who's quite my oppusite in some ways. He just speaks forward if something is on his mind and has strong opinions. I admire him for that. When I first started to get a crush on him I kinda put him on a pedestal in my mind, which I now think wasn't very good or healthy.. I used way too much energi being nervous around him. However things has changed a lot! He's been interested in me all the time! I just didn't have the courage to do something about it.
I think I'll just do something crazy now, no matter the result. We used to go in the same class but we just finished school some days ago. It's better then keep thinking what would have happened.
Thank you for this wonderful article! It’s so enjoying and inspiring to read! 🙂
I always compare myself to others and I just realized that there’s nothing good or benefit I’ll get from it but insecurities and deep sorrow.
Thank you Tracy!
Keep smiling everyone! 🙂
An herbal 5-HTP supplement helps also. I don’t really recommend people take antidepressants or anything like that, but 5-HTP naturally helps your brain produce more serotonin (which is often lessened in people who are lacking Omega-3s and eat a high sugar diet) so your entire mood is lifted up and you feel better. .
I’ve just been reading all about brain supplements, including 5-HTP… good suggestion! I definitely agree that natural supplements should be tried before antidepressents!
Tracy thank you so much for all the good stuff that you share with us!!! You are awesome!!
Thank you!! and you are so very welcome!
this is a very random question but I think that you might be the person to ask! 😀
so i basically need some tips on how to smile back at girls. Whenever they smile at me, I kind of get really shy and do some awkward smile (i don’t know whether to open my mouth and smile or do a closed mouth smile or whatever) … soo, yeah. any tips on how to smile back naturally at people without looking creepy? 😀
Hahah I kinda get shy about smiling at strangers too so I don’t know if I have great advise. Are these girls who are smiling at you just… strangers walking past you? friends or acquaintances that are talking to you? What kind of situation is this?
they’re random people, haha. just walking by them at some random place 🙂
Hahah well I don’t know what to really say, except put your fear aside for a second and just DO IT! Often the fear of doing something is much scarier than really doing it…. and the consequences we imagined are never as terrible as reality! If you need help smiling, think for a second about the funniest movie you ever saw and then emulate the way you’d smile with the laughter…. laugh smiles are the most natural!
hahaha okay hopefully I don’t start laughing like a maniac, scaring them away LOL.
Wow, #5-7 are great suggestions, and related to one another. They’re all great suggestions. None of these are very easy to do! But what worth doing ever is? 🙂
This is what I’m battling with right now in my life. My family and friends say just what you have. It is hard. Thanks for telling us what we need to hear.
Thank you Tracy, I needed this. I appreciate all your advice and honesty, thank you 🙂
This is kinda funny because I’ve been going through some self image problems lately because of my acne, and it just felt like I’ve been battling it for so long that I don’t think it will ever go away. I’ve been reading about self affirmations and I’ve also been reading the book, Skin Deep, and it’s helped some, and the fact that you posted this really makes me feel as though God is actually listening to my problems. Thanks for posting! 🙂
I toadally like to be reminded of this, very to te point^^
Especially, I find that I am challenged every day when it comes to no.7! I always think trough it one more time at once, and I ACTUALLY feel free about my path in life, but its so easy to get insecure and let other people judge you.
But you know what? Some people just dont accept it if I dont give a fuck about their opinion on how we should live our life. I mean ; I ACTUALLY dont give a fuck “in the very end”. But I dont want to be rude or make a point out of it all the time. You know what I mean? I suppose, the worst of these people that I know of, all of them older than me, is the ones I know that get too “toxic” to me, obviously.
Thanks for reminding me that I am not focusing on a “silly” little problem when I am trying to get cleared up. If it actually IS so minor, is for me and everyone with acne to decide! And our stress level from it etc. And we want to gradually figure out what to do with it, holistically! I love that YOU focus so much on over -all health. And especially emotional stuff 🙂 You can just go on researching and posting and end up as a toadaly awesomme acne- psychology…-jedi-master XD
I am tired of going all over the internet and get all suck into different opinions, myself. And the best is that you dont pretend to know what would work for everyone the same way, etc.you knw… So thank you for having such a wide amount of info, right here. ^^ Gosh this was a session of writing, sorry for the long comment XD
Btw: Have you expeerienced having to deal with “toxic teachers”, if you know what I mean? The problem is; I cant really escape from my teacher! So I get more and more stressed out… Sorry for my bad written english. I´m from Norway, so….But, hey: At least we have great tap water here! Hanna
hehe… toadally awesome acne-psychology jedi master.. I like it. It’s got a ring to it 😉
Oooo! I like this post. I just heard one more idea from Jeff Olson (author of The Slight Edge). The idea is this: Make a list of things you have started and never completed, and finish something. The completion gives confidence and momentum to continue and do more – which goes hand in hand with your number 6 I think. He goes on to say that completing something doesn’t have to mean finishing it all in one day but that saying you will do even fifteen minutes on it in one day can help build confidence etc. Anyway, thanks for sharing Tracy!
i have a serious self esteem problem. i see myself through the eyes of others and so when they put me down, it really hurts. i generally put myself down all the time. i’m never good enough for my own self. i started reading this because of my acne. i ended up trying to change my diet to a healthier one. i still have spots on some parts of my face and my skin isn’t smooth but its the best it has been since it the acne came. i’m not sure if it has to do with me.
Thank you so much, Tracy, for always giving such wonderful advice and inspiration!! They are all powerful points, but I recently realized how important #4 is. Toxic people are sort of like emotional vampires because they take the joy out of living and entangle others in their enervating drama. I try to avoid them, too, as best I can and keep putting out my own good vibes, even just by smiling at people generally (Granted, I now live in a small town…I probably would not do quite this so often to strangers in a big city. When I lived in D.C., I tried not to make eye contact with people on the bus or the street–not because I felt bad; it was just a self-protective-girl-alone measure). I notice that people really do respond well to a casual smile, even if I don’t know them. Even when I was (and sometimes still am) somewhat self-conscious about my skin, I would smile and people would usually smile back or positively acknowledge my gesture (like nodding). I made myself do this, so I felt more comfortable with myself (strange as that sounds), that I could still hold my head up and be my normal self even though I felt like I wasn’t my ‘best me.’ And this really helped me just to keep on keepin’ on. (Sometimes the song “Keep on Movin'” by Soul II Soul goes through my mind, which is my own way of reminding myself to do just that). And I really feel that if you give good out, it does come back to you.
P.S. As I was scrolling up, I just now saw the question from Jeff about smiling at people he doesn’t know (I honestly hadn’t seen that before I wrote about smiling at strangers in my post). My advice for Jeff is that, if someone else smiles at you first, that’s even better. It’s a kind of invitation to send good vibes back. Smiling actually makes me feel better somehow (I’m not sure why or how, but it really does). Definitely don’t be afraid, Jeff! You’ve got nothing to fear at all–a smile is a universal gesture of good. 🙂
Hey Savannah, thanks so much for your lovely comments! Actually it’s funny – there is apparently some kind of science out there that backs up the fact that your emotions actually follow your outside expressions (instead of just your expressions following your mood)… meaning that if you force yourself to smile even if you feel bad inside, it will actually make you feel better … it triggers something happy in your brain… http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2013/02/26/fake-smile/
Hello Tracy! I love your celestial videos and information! My problem is my obsession with perfect skin. And no only perfect skin…All of my appearance should be…Is an obsession that surge from my acne problems(4 years ago). Is so frustrating. I hate photos, because I look so ugly. I’m 90% acne free with some scars over my cheeks and that make me feel so bad. Months ago my diet was stricted but lose much weight. I hate the way I look and start to eat more bread, manchego cheese etc so I brokeout but with tiny zits. Is drive me crazy and my selfesteem is allways over the ground. I just dream with my skin clear and oil free. This is controlling my life: My ultra low selfsteem. What do you recommend for me? Thank You so much!