How do I increase my self-esteem

It's very typical for teens to have low self-esteem because you are just finding out who you are. Ask ANYONE who is a great accomplished adult and I almost guarentee they struggled with this as a teen as well. The best thing that you can do to feel better about yourself is focus on the things you are good at and that you have fun doing. Strive to get better and make goals that you can accomplish! I still do this because it will make you a happy and accomplished person.

What are you into? Music? Art? Sports? Are you a good friend? Do you like school? Focus on those things. Even the best of looks will fade - will anyone care what Paris Hilton is doing when she is 50 - no, but to develop a skill or something that only gets better with time will help you forever!

Find a good church, what helped me was learning martial arts

Believe in yourself. Be you, people will find that attractive.

Do things that make you feel good, like you were able to do something. Sports, etc is always a good thing.

Why do you feel ugly, is it something you can change? If it is your clothes, see if you can buy a new set of clothes that you think you are attractive in. Or try using some makeup. Or if you don't like your hair, cut it.

Most importantly. Believe in you and love yourself.

To tell you that everyone feels this way is true, but probably not what you need to hear. I want to just say I am so sorry you feel this way!! I would not want to be a teen in this day and age, children are cruel....try to remember that you are your own best friend and worst enemy all in one. Make an effort to be kinder to yourself, remember that no one is perfect.....not even those you may view that way!! If I could tell you to do anything it would be to get involved in a group like Big Brothers Big Sisters....become a mentor to someone who is impressionable, it may put your troubles into perspective!!
I wish you the best of luck.....keep your chin up girl....remember that EVERYTHING is fixable!!

First I would say find something that you are good at that you like to do. A hobby, Art, Sport, computers, mechanical? Working on a hobby can create a sense of accomplishment and self worth.

Realize that what makes you different and unique also makes you beautiful.

Don't give into the hype from the media. Most images you see have been tweaked, photoshopped, and not everyone has a stylist to make them look good.

and last but not least. get to know yourself and love yourself for who you are.

Read the bible and look inside yourself and find things you like even if you start off with one build fom ther i too have the same problem but i started from the ground up and now i am on the second floor love yourself

Okay doll. I hope my answer answer helps you! It might be long..but if you read it all, take it in, and use it...i think youll get somewhere. good luck, k? dont give up.

You can't touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can't see it, but it's there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can't hear it, but it's there every time you talk about yourself. What is this important but mysterious thing? It's your self-esteem!

To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let's take a look at the word esteem first. Esteem (say: ess-teem) is a fancy word for thinking that someone or something is important or valuing that person or thing. For example, if you really admire your friend's dad because he volunteers at the fire department, it means you hold him in high esteem. And the special trophy for the most valuable player on a team is often called an esteemed trophy. This means the trophy stands for an important accomplishment.

And self means, well, yourself! So put the two words together and it's easier to see what self-esteem is. It's how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It's how you see yourself and how you feel about your achievements.

Self-esteem isn't bragging about how great you are. It's more like quietly knowing that you're worth a lot (priceless, in fact!). It's not about thinking you're perfect - because nobody is - but knowing that you're worthy of being loved and accepted.

Self-esteem isn't like a cool pair of sneakers that you'd love to have but don't have to have. A kid needs to have self-esteem. Good self-esteem is important because it helps you to hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do. It gives you the courage to try new things and the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even when you make mistakes. And when you respect yourself, adults and other kids usually respect you, too.

Having good self-esteem is also the ticket to making good choices about your mind and body. If you think you're important, you'll be less likely to follow the crowd if your friends are doing something dumb or dangerous. If you have good self-esteem, you know that you're smart enough to make your own decisions. You value your safety, your feelings, your health - your whole self! Good self-esteem helps you know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting.

Babies don't see themselves in a good or bad way. They don't think "I'm great!" when they let out a big burp, or "Oh, no, this diaper makes my legs look weird!" Instead, people around a baby help him or her develop self-esteem. How? By encouraging the baby when he or she learns to crawl, walk, or talk. They often say, "Good job. Good for you!" When people take good care of a baby, that also helps him or her feel lovable and valuable.

As kids gets older, they can have a bigger role in developing their self-esteem. Achievements - like getting a good grade on a test or making the All-Star soccer team - are things kids can be proud of. So are having a good sense of humor or being a good friend.

A kid's family and other people in his or her life - like coaches, teammates, and classmates - also can boost his or her self-esteem. They can help a kid figure out how to do things or notice his or her good qualities. They can believe in the kid and encourage him or her to try again when something doesn't go right the first time. It's all part of kids learning to see themselves in a positive way, to feel proud of what they've done, and to be confident that there's a lot more they can do.

Maybe you know kids with low self-esteem who don't think very highly of themselves or seem to criticize themselves too much. Or maybe you have low self-esteem and don't always feel very good about yourself or think you're important.

Sometimes a kid will have low self-esteem if his mother or father doesn't encourage him enough or if there is a lot of yelling at home. Other times, a kid's self-esteem can be hurt in the classroom. A teacher may make a kid feel dumb or perhaps there is a bully who says hurtful things.

For some kids, classes at school can seem so hard that they can't keep up or get the grades they'd hoped for. This can make them feel bad about themselves and hurt their self-esteem. Their self-esteem will improve when a teacher, tutor, or counselor encourages them, is patient, and helps them get back on track with learning. When they start to do well, their self-esteem will skyrocket!

And there are some kids who have good self-esteem but then something happens to change that. For example:

If a kid moves and doesn't make friends right away at the new school, he or she might start to feel bad.
A kid whose parents divorce also may find that this can affect self-esteem. He or she may feel unlovable or to blame for the divorce.
A kid who feels too fat or too thin may start thinking that means he or she isn't good enough.
Even going through the body changes of puberty - something that everybody does - can affect a kid's self-esteem.

Of course it's OK to have ups and downs in your feelings, but having low self-esteem isn't OK. Feeling like you're not important can make you sad and can keep you from trying new things. It can keep you from making friends or hurt how you do at school. Having strong self-esteem is also a very big part of growing up. As you get older and face tough decisions - especially under peer pressure - the more self-esteem you have, the better. It's important to know you're worth a lot.

If you think you might have low self-esteem, try talking to an adult you trust about it. He or she may be able to help you come up with some good ideas for building your self-esteem.

In the meantime, here are a few things that you can try to increase your self-esteem:

Make a list of the stuff you're good at. It can be anything from drawing or singing to playing a sport or telling a good joke. If you're having trouble with your list, ask your mom or dad to help you with it. Then add a few things to the list that you'd like to be good at. Your mom or dad can help you plan a way to work on those skills or talents.

Give yourself three compliments every day. Don't just say, "I'm so great." Be specific about something good about yourself, like, "I was a good friend to Jill today" or "I did better on that test than I thought I would." While you're at it, before you go to bed every night, list three things in your day that really made you happy. This one really worked for me :-)

Remember that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it is. If you are worried about your weight or size, you can check with your doctor to make sure that things are OK. Remind yourself of things about your body that are cool, like, "My legs are strong and I can skate really well."

Remember that there are things about yourself you can't change. You should accept and love these things - such as skin color and shoe size - because they are part of you.

When you hear negative comments in your head, tell yourself to stop. When you do this, you take the power away from the voice inside that discourages you.

By focusing on the good things you do and all your great qualities, you learn to love and accept yourself - the main ingredients for strong self-esteem! Even if you've got room for improvement (and who doesn't?), realizing that you're valuable and important helps your self-esteem to shine.

I struggled with that too when i was younger...so i hope my answer helped.

You can find beautifulgirls copy and paste answer here http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/self_esteem.html

You know what you do first off you take some time to take a long good look in the mirror .......say or write down all the things you dislike about yourself then write or say all the things you like about yourself......no you study it find put how you can change the dislikes and how you can make the likes even better and if you really want to do something every morning look in the mirror and say something goood about yourself ..................every morning and night it will really help like my hair is pretty..or what i have on is cute it fits me...something like that......one thing you dont do is seek for attention in the wring directions it's not very good......and listen to you on how you feel about yourself do not depend on anyone else to say something about you beauty is in the eye of the beholder.......i have experince low-self esteem and noww i feel beautiful because i did all of this.......just believe thatyou are beatiful and nothing else really ,matters..