How to Increase Teenager Self Esteem Effectively

Focus on experiences, not appearance., Provide opportunity for accomplishments., Take responsibility.

4 Steps 4 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Focus on experiences

    It’s not healthy for anybody’s self-esteem to be rooted in their appearance.

    Our physical appearance changes rapidly, can be negatively affected by many things, and definitions of beauty vary from person to person.

    Choose something more stable to be proud of: experience and accomplishments which cannot be taken away.
  2. Step 2: not appearance.

    Do things with your life that you are proud of.

    This is generally good advice for anyone of any age.

    If you see someone who seems to do everything in life that you want to do, go do those things.

    There are lots of different things to do so choose something that you think is rewarding or important.

    This will go further than anything else to raise your self-esteem.

    Learn an instrument.

    Choose an instrument that you always wanted to be able to play and then learn how to play it.

    This will give you a great sense of accomplishment and happiness.

    It takes time and effort, but music classes are easily available through your local community center, community colleges, high schools, and through private tutoring.

    Travel.

    Travel the world and see things that you think are interesting.

    This doesn’t have to be expensive.

    Money can be saved by using youth hostels, couch surfing, traveling by train or carpool, or just keeping an eye out for great deals on plane tickets.

    Lots of amazing things to see are located nearby and can be seen or experienced for free.

    Traveling will give you confidence, as well as more than a few great stories to tell.

    Learn a visual art or sport.

    Which one of these you do will depend largely on if you are naturally a more physical person or a more mental person.

    Both, however, take time and a lot of practice to learn.

    You can take classes but you’ll learn best by doing, and especially doing them with other people.

    Doing art or sports will give you a great way to ease into interacting with others and meeting new people, since doing those activities with others is much more fun than doing them yourself.

    Make academic accomplishments when you can.

    Get better grades, consider taking honors classes, and do your best in extracurriculars.

    These will make you feel good but will also help you later on in life.

    You will have better opportunities to make money and will be able to get much more satisfying jobs by working hard in school and going to college. , Taking responsibility is a great way to build self-esteem and confidence.

    In doing important things, you will not only assure yourself that you are a capable person but also provide yourself proof that you have a positive impact on the world.Get a job.

    Getting a job will not only give you money to save for college or spend on things you want, it will also give you something to be proud of.

    Try to get a job that helps others, like an attendant at a nursing home or a grocery bagger.

    This will make you feel good about what you are doing.

    Volunteer.

    Volunteering is a great way to boost your self-esteem.

    You will do valuable things for others and you can often boost your own skills while doing it.

    You can work in a local soup kitchen, build houses for Habitat for Humanity, or start your own volunteering group based on an issue which is important to you.

    These types of experiences also look very good on college applications.

    Tutor or mentor other students.

    Using your life experiences to help other teens and younger students will make you feel much better about yourself.

    You can help students through your high school or middle school, or you can try to help at a local school which is designated low-income or high-risk.

    This will let you help the people that need it most.
  3. Step 3: Provide opportunity for accomplishments.

  4. Step 4: Take responsibility.

Detailed Guide

It’s not healthy for anybody’s self-esteem to be rooted in their appearance.

Our physical appearance changes rapidly, can be negatively affected by many things, and definitions of beauty vary from person to person.

Choose something more stable to be proud of: experience and accomplishments which cannot be taken away.

Do things with your life that you are proud of.

This is generally good advice for anyone of any age.

If you see someone who seems to do everything in life that you want to do, go do those things.

There are lots of different things to do so choose something that you think is rewarding or important.

This will go further than anything else to raise your self-esteem.

Learn an instrument.

Choose an instrument that you always wanted to be able to play and then learn how to play it.

This will give you a great sense of accomplishment and happiness.

It takes time and effort, but music classes are easily available through your local community center, community colleges, high schools, and through private tutoring.

Travel.

Travel the world and see things that you think are interesting.

This doesn’t have to be expensive.

Money can be saved by using youth hostels, couch surfing, traveling by train or carpool, or just keeping an eye out for great deals on plane tickets.

Lots of amazing things to see are located nearby and can be seen or experienced for free.

Traveling will give you confidence, as well as more than a few great stories to tell.

Learn a visual art or sport.

Which one of these you do will depend largely on if you are naturally a more physical person or a more mental person.

Both, however, take time and a lot of practice to learn.

You can take classes but you’ll learn best by doing, and especially doing them with other people.

Doing art or sports will give you a great way to ease into interacting with others and meeting new people, since doing those activities with others is much more fun than doing them yourself.

Make academic accomplishments when you can.

Get better grades, consider taking honors classes, and do your best in extracurriculars.

These will make you feel good but will also help you later on in life.

You will have better opportunities to make money and will be able to get much more satisfying jobs by working hard in school and going to college. , Taking responsibility is a great way to build self-esteem and confidence.

In doing important things, you will not only assure yourself that you are a capable person but also provide yourself proof that you have a positive impact on the world.Get a job.

Getting a job will not only give you money to save for college or spend on things you want, it will also give you something to be proud of.

Try to get a job that helps others, like an attendant at a nursing home or a grocery bagger.

This will make you feel good about what you are doing.

Volunteer.

Volunteering is a great way to boost your self-esteem.

You will do valuable things for others and you can often boost your own skills while doing it.

You can work in a local soup kitchen, build houses for Habitat for Humanity, or start your own volunteering group based on an issue which is important to you.

These types of experiences also look very good on college applications.

Tutor or mentor other students.

Using your life experiences to help other teens and younger students will make you feel much better about yourself.

You can help students through your high school or middle school, or you can try to help at a local school which is designated low-income or high-risk.

This will let you help the people that need it most.

About the Author

P

Pamela Harvey

Specializes in breaking down complex practical skills topics into simple steps.

69 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: