One of the most difficult tasks in life is learning to be happy with who we are. I don’t believe there is a single person who is completely happy with themselves. It’s okay not to like everything about yourself but we have to learn not to focus on our shortcomings and weaknesses. Life is too short to allow these aspects overshadow everything that’s good about you, even if you don’t think there is any. That’s why it’s important to recognize your strengths and weakness, but more importantly learn to be happy with yourself. There are a few things to remember in order to succeeding in this.

It’s okay to fail. Failure is part of life. You’re not always succeed in everything you do. This might seem a bit contradicting, but you can gain more from failing, if you’re willing to learn from your mistakes. It’s okay to feel depressed after falling short but you have to get back up and try again. Let failure be your stepping stone towards success, because it’s better to grow from it then to allow one time to hold you back.

No one is perfect so it’s important to stop comparing yourself to others. Someone is always going to be better than you at something. You’ll never be happy if you constantly look at others and compare what they can do. It’s almost a superiority/inferiority complex (can be either when comparing yourself) to think you’re better or worse than someone. We need to learn to look at ourselves as individuals instead of statistics of the general population. If you’re unhappy with your ability then work at improving instead of feeling overshadowed by someone else’s shadow. There’s no easy route to becoming better but working hard will prove to be worth it while making memories on the way.

You can get far working hard but know that no one is entitled to anything in this world. Sometimes you’ll feel like you worked hard for nothing and it happens, but why do you need others’ gratitude? A simple thank you goes a long way, but we don’t always receive it after a long day. It’s better to contribute and not be thanked than to bring the whole work environment down. Not everyone will recognize your hard work right away so be the existence that they notice is missing when you’re not around. Never complain about the recognition you don’t get for all the good you do because it’ll actually cause a negative image. The people who matter will notice all your hard work, don’t strain yourself to gain acknowledgment from people who don’t care because you’ll find yourself in misery.

These few aspects usually causes low self-esteem but if we work at overcoming these mental obstacles and learn to love ourselves then we can become a happier person. Set your own standards for yourself instead of trying to live up to someone else’s standards of you and you’ll see a huge change. This may all sound simple and easy to do but the hardest and most draining thing you can do is to battle with yourself mentally and change your way of thinking.