How to Improve Your Self-Image and Why You Should

5 Ways You Can Build Your Confidence and Increase Your Level of Self-Awareness

5 min readMar 3, 2020

Your ability to improve your self-image will impact your confidence and the ease with which you create what you want.

Your self-image is with you all the time, therefore it is valuable to have ways to improve it.

What is Self-Image?

Your self-image is how you view yourself. It is your concept or mental image of yourself. The opinion you have of yourself is largely influenced by your self-image.

If you have a positive and healthy self-image, you will have a high opinion of yourself. If you have a negative and unhealthy self-image, you won’t have a high opinion of yourself.

Why is it Important to Improve Your Self-Image?

Your self-image affects your confidence and how you relate to others. It is important to improve your self-image because:

It will affect your mental and emotional health.
It will impact your relationships.
It will affect your ability to achieve what you want.
It will dictate how much you challenge yourself and the risks you want to take.
It will affect how you view the world.

You will never outperform your self-image. If you set a goal and don’t change your self-image, your paradigms will bring you back to the level at which you have always performed.

This means to achieve new results, you have shift your identity and develop a better self-image.

When I started my career as a speaker, trainer and coach, I had to focus on “being” the person I wanted to be. As my self-image was that of a corporate employee, seeing myself in my new career took practice.

To experience better external results, I knew I had to change internally first. I read books, attended seminars and training programs, and worked with mentors and coaches.

The interesting thing is you have to continually focus on developing your self-image, otherwise you will go back to what you already know and how you behave.

Even though I now have the self-image of a speaker, trainer and coach, I know I have to continue doing the internal work if I want to improve my results.

5 Ways to Improve Your Self-Image

Improving your self-image will reap many rewards. Here are five ways you can improve your self-image so you can achieve the results you want a lot easier.

Stop comparing yourself to others. The comparison game affects your confidence, self-worth and your motivation. It is better to focus on your priorities and your goals and do them to the best of your abilities. The outcomes you will get are the by-product of what you can affect or control.
Focus on your self-talk. Your self-talk is what you say to yourself about yourself, others and the world. To improve your self-image, you have to improve your self-talk. You can use affirmations or positive statements to grow into the person you want to become.
Acknowledge and celebrate your wins. Every win or success you celebrate will reinforce your belief in yourself and who you want to be. Having a list of successes or things you are proud of, are simple ways you can acknowledge yourself for the wins you’ve had.
Take action to get the outcomes your want. A powerful way to improve your self-image is to take action and create new results. The feedback you will receive when you take new action is your learning experience. That will help you determine what you need to adjust to continue making progress.
Have a positive peer network or support group. The people you surround yourself with will affect your self-image. To enhance your self-image, spend time with positive, uplifting people who will inspire you to continue taking action to get the outcomes you want.

Final Thoughts

A healthy self-image means you are confident in your abilities to achieve new results and create the life you want. The stronger your self-image, the higher your confidence, which means you are more likely to become the best version of yourself.

If you don’t improve your self-image, you will struggle to become the person you want to be or create the results you want. The sooner you focus on improving your self-image, the faster you will experience changes in your life.

Action Step: Assess the level of confidence you have to set big goals or pursue your dreams. If you know you don’t have a high level of confidence, it is time to focus on improving your self-image first. Use the ideas suggested above to focus on improving your self-image.

Question: What are other ways to improve your self-image?