The process of boosting self-esteem can often be multi-layered, and usually, people have to change many aspects of the way they think about themselves. In the short term, individuals may benefit from focusing on the positive aspects of their lives and the important things they have achieved, allowing themselves to see their own best sides more clearly. Often people also need to understand and modify their inner belief systems, dealing with thoughts and ideas that cause them to think poorly about themselves. Some people benefit from setting and achieving new life-goals, providing them with personal proof of their own competence, and giving them more reasons to feel happy about their inner qualities.
According to experts, self-image problems often start when people are still children, and the deep-seated nature of the limiting beliefs formed at that time can make boosting self-esteem much more difficult. For example, if a person lives his whole life in an environment where his achievements are never praised, or grows up in a home with parents who constantly focused on his negative qualities, he might have an inner belief that he are less valuable than other people. This sort of belief is often so deeply ingrained that a total reexamination and evaluation of thought processes is required to deal with it.
Many experts recommend that people track their daily thought patterns, looking for problem areas in their thinking, and questioning the veracity of each idea that makes them suffer a negative feeling towards themselves. Becoming self-aware of these sorts of inner thinking processes helps some people find new ways of thinking, and allows them to immediately notice when they're venturing into a falsely negative rut. In many cases, therapists can help with this sort of self examination.
For boosting self-esteem in the short term, many experts recommend that people take an inventory of the things they can be proud of, including both inner and outer qualities. For some people, this may involve actually writing down a list, while others might go through the process mentally. This sort of exercise can sometimes provide a new perspective and a quick change to the inner thinking process.
There are some cases where people might actually need to change aspects of their lives in order to improve their self-image. For example, a person may feel bad because of something serious that is wrong in his life or something he has failed to accomplish; in those cases, setting a new goal in the problem area might be a good way of boosting self-esteem. Sometimes, the process of achieving new things might actually make a person see himself in a new light, and the positive life changes that come through these achievements might add to that perception.