The last of the Esteem needs identified by Maslow, at least as far as we are concerned, is that of ‘strength’. Again, we may well ask what is meant by this?
There are various ways that we can consider ourselves to be strong, by that physically, psychologically, perhaps even spiritually. I think the simple message here is that any of these on their own maybe helpful, but one without the others highlights a deficiency that can result in low self-esteem.
For example, working out at the gym and building a strong physique might help with your physical level of fitness and overall health, but for some it is little more than a coping mechanism for some other distress. The levels of childhood trauma, including neglect & abuse is higher among body builders than in the general population. For some, the size & strength gained in training is a defence strategy – If I’m big & strong no one will mess with me again! But… No matter what is achieved or how great they think they look, somehow it’s never quite good enough.
Physical strength & fitness is good because it helps to promote better general health and, as we invest in our health & fitness, it can lift our sense of self-worth. However, address this in isolation and we could be leaving ourselves vulnerable. Anyone who’s ever got fit only to be knocked back by injury or illness will have their own tale about how frustrating & depressing it can be when, at least in your own mind, you can quickly feel like you are sitting & watching all your hard work slowly come undone.
If we attend to our our physical, psychological and spiritual strengths & weaknesses then we can cultivate greater resilience to face adversity and greater self-esteem.
These things are easy to say and perhaps, make everything sound so simple. We all know that life is more complicated than a simple sentence or two could ever really explain. However, we are just trying to get you started on a path towards greater self-esteem, here, and fortunately there are some fairly straight forward steps that you can take improve your inner-strength in these 3 categories:
Improving Physical Strength
- Diet & Nutrition: Reflect on your basic needs for a well balanced diet & good nutrition as discussed in our article earlier this year. An honest appraisal of your diet and effecting any necessary changes is the first step.
- Get Active: Getting active doesn’t necessarily mean exercise in the formal sense. Formal example, if you want to go to the gym or sign up for your local couch to 5km, great, but getting active is really about simply moving more. This can be anything from gardening, going for a walk, taking the kids to the park. Anything that gets you moving and physically exerts you. The usual advice is to exert yourself to the extent that you breathe hard but remain able to have a conversation.
- Set Goals: Whether you are working on your diet or your health & fitness, set yourself goals to work towards. This can help focus your efforts and serve as a means for motivation.
Improving Psychological Strength:
- One Step At A Time: If you’ve been working through the hierarchy of needs & the 5 Minute Therapies series you will have already started to attend to this. If not then it’s not too late to start. The 5 Minute Therapies series started at the turn of 2022 so simply pull up the articles on the blog: The Craic, and take those first steps. Build things from the ground up. Don’t rush it. Take your time & get it right. No journey was ever completed quicker by heading in the wrong direction.
- Help: It’s one of the bravest things you’ll ever say. Also one of the most useful and under-utilised. Some people see asking for help as an admission of weakness or evidence of giving up. In fact it is exactly the opposite. Knowing when to ask for help is a strength and indicates your refusal to give up. Use it wisely and when ever necessary and it can be an opportunity to connect with others & learn.
- Failure As Your Friend: No one is excused the pain and disappointment of failures. They can really knock us back and if we’re not careful they can place false limits on our potential by undermining our confidence. Learn to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and improve and our failures can be turned into the method of success.
Improving Spiritual Strength:
- Get To Know You: Life is busy and can be complicated. With so many distractions our focus is so often shifted to our jobs, our responsibilities, those with whom we share our lives, that in it all we can lose sight of ourselves. Time can fly, as the saying goes, and before long it’s been so long since we paid any real attention to ourselves that we become out of touch with who we are. Make a commitment to get to know yourself again. Make no assumptions – just let the journey of self-discovery take you where ever it goes.
- Improve Self-Awareness: There are many ways of doing so. Practices like meditation & yoga are popular and very effective but if these aren’t your thing – and do give them a go before you decide that – some simple & regular mindfulness exercises is a great free way to improve your self-awareness; And it doesn’t have to be too time consuming, either.
- Connect With Nature: There is so much evidence to support the notion that getting out & about in open spaces, preferably in natural surroundings like woodland, trails, coastal areas, etc, improves your spiritual strength that it feels like I’m stating the obvious. And yet, the amount of people that don’t take advantage of this free resource that is so beneficial always amazes me. Get up, get out, get moving! What have you got to lose?
These are not intended as exhaustive lists of all the things you can do to improve. We have simply picked 3 tips for improving your strength in each area and in particular, 3 things that can be free & available to almost everyone.
In short then, improving our physical, psychological & spiritual health is something we can all do and the tools & methods needed to do so are freely available to all of us. You already you have everything you need to get started.
If you would like to talk, BroadMinds Therapy offer a free consultation during which you’ll get the opportunity to describe what’s on your mind & we’ll be happy to help you, either directly, or help identify the best options for you.
If you’d like to discuss Counselling & Psychotherapy for yourself or someone you know, contact BroadMinds Therapy and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have and discuss options for you. Call 0899420568, email: help@broadmindstherapy.org , contact us via this website or visit our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/jpbroad
If you like what you read please like & share to help us reach & help as many people as possible.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this article.
Integrative Counselling And Psychotherapy 