Believe in yourself

 Believing in yourself can help you live a more fulfilling and satisfying life. It’s linked to greater resilience, improved mental health, and better decision-making.

Greater resilience

A studyTrusted Source of 1,015 middle school students found that self-esteem positively predicts resilience. The authors of the study note that resilience can be thought of as a personality trait that can help you adapt to negative stressors and maintain psychological function.

When you believe in yourself, you have greater confidence in your abilities and your capacity to overcome challenges. This can help you bounce back from setbacks and failures and allow you to stay motivated and persevere through tough times.

Improved mental health

Believing in yourself can help reduce anxiety and stress, improve your mood, and boost your overall sense of well-being.

In contrast, 2019 research shows a link between low self-esteem and increased anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Better decision making

When you trust yourself and your abilities, you’re more likely to make decisions that align with your values and goals. This confidence can give you the courage to make decisions that you might otherwise hesitate to make.

You’ll also be less likely to second-guess yourself or be swayed by the opinions of others.

Better relationships

When you believe in yourself, you’re more likely to form healthy relationships, less likely to rely on others for validation, and more likely to show up authentically in your relationships.

An analysis of 52 studies involving more than 47,000 participants looked at the links between self-esteem and social relationships over time.

Not only did the authors find that positive social relationships, social support, and social acceptance can help shape positive self-esteem in people of all ages, but they also found a significant effect in the reverse direction.

In other words, feeling good about yourself can improve your relationships.

Next steps

Believing you’re “good enough” is extremely important for your overall well-being. It can improve your mental health, relationships, and decision-making skills, among many other things.

If you’re having one of those days, in which you’re feeling “less than,” take the time to ask yourself the five questions above. Remind yourself that you’re a unique individual who has so much to offer the world. You’re not alone.