Welcome to Day 5 of the Self-Esteem Challenge. Wow, you made it! Congratulations! Aren’t you excited?
Today we’re going to be talking about the surprising power of affirming others.
Few people realize this, but affirming others is a powerful way to boost your own self-esteem.
It forces you to think through the things you appreciate about others, which in turn makes you more attentive to your own strengths.
Affirming others also strengthens your positive relationships, so you can continue to be surrounded by positive people.
Finally, affirming others often leads to others affirming you, which creates a circle of positive energy. You don’t want to affirm others to get compliments yourself, but it is one hugely valuable side effect.
Mike Gayle said: “No matter how sure you are of someone’s love, it’s always nice to hear it.”
By taking the time to affirm others, you build both their self-esteem and yours. It’s a total win-win.
Write down the three people who surround you with the most positive energy.
Now, under each person, write down THREE things that you really appreciate about them. This can be anything, from their sense of humor to their work ethic to their love for nature. It doesn’t need to be anything profound, just meaningful.
After you’ve written down three items for each person, contact them via phone, email, or text and tell them how much you appreciate them. Affirm their strengths and make no comments about their weaknesses.
Your goal is simply to affirm them and make them feel good about themselves.
What you’ll discover as you do this is that it creates a true cycle of affirmation, with you affirming others and others affirming you.
As this happens, you’ll see your self-esteem leap skyward.
Remember to affirm 3 people today. After you affirm them, come back and share in the comments how they responded.
CONGRATS ON COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE!
You’ve taken the first step toward more self-esteem. Toward loving yourself. Toward affirming who you are. Toward true joy and happiness.
Let me ask you: what was the most profound thing you learned?
I’d love to hear your answer. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.