Do you like what you see in the mirror? Is your reflection telling you more about your personality than you know yourself? The image looking back at you is how you perceive yourself. Self-perception can be tricky, at times confusing and yet, essential to our being.

A positive image of self can do wonders and is the first stepping-stone towards a happier, successful life. Improving your perception of self is simple. It is similar to developing other skills. With time and practice, one can perfect it. It involves creating a positive attitude, first, towards us, knowing our worth and appreciating it. However, this positive attitude should be realistic. It should not become self-absorption but ‘self-respect’.

Creating a pleasing self-perception needs a lot of work; from within as well as on the outside. We need to change the way we think, how we communicate with others and ourselves. And while doing all of this, we need to remain entirely honest and sincere to our personalities.

We must believe. Here are six simple ways to create a positive self-perception of oneself, which can then become the key-deciding factor in our lives:-

Erase the negativity

Our thought patterns are often negative and these shape our outlook on life. Avoid thinking in extremes. We need to recognize these negative patterns and erase them. We need to tell ourselves that we can do it. Mistakes are life lessons. Most importantly, being positive is not about lying but about recognizing our real abilities and playing to our strengths.

Love thy self

We strive to be compassionate human beings. However, this compassion should not be limited to others. It should stem from within us for ourselves as well. We need to be kind to ourselves and believe in second, third and even fourth chances. Trust your self.

Judging self and others

We tend to judge people based on first impressions; how they speak and behave. People judge us on the same parameters. Go easy when forming judgments, and analyzing appearance. Leave room for change and corrections. Notice the congruencies.

Seek happiness in what you do

We need not wait for a momentous occasion to be happy. Seek happiness in the smallest of things.

Don’t be a bully

Forget about the could-haves and should-haves. Don’t beat yourself over what you could have done better. Focus on what you have and how you are going to do better. Punishing yourself for perfection is a waste of time.

Be yourself

We need to work on our image, not to impress others but to communicate to them who we indeed are. If we dress to please, we may come across as fake. Our outer appearance and inner personality should match. Nailing this will help us break stereotypes while maintaining honesty and integrity.

Encourage yourself  

Don’t nag yourself over every little thing. Go with the flow and learn.

At times, the inner critic cannot be silenced, but we can ensure it doesn’t rule our lives.