Low self-worth and low self-esteem are two problems many people face in the corporate world. Some people feel intimidated by their corporate responsibilities and despite being reassured severally of their competence, feel they cannot do up to what is required of them to earn how much they are naturally deserving of. This is the reason why some folks reject promotion.
Your self-esteem greatly affects your income. Sometimes job interviewers ask questions like: “How much do you feel we should pay you for this job?”, “how much are you willing to accept if you’re hired for this role?” These questions are sometimes asked to ascertain how much worth you place on yourself. Also, two different people might be rendering the same service under the same conditions and one person charges $10 (and may even take pennies off if you ask), while the other person would charge $25 flat rate for the same service. This may be as a result of the worth they place on their selves- How much they feel they deserve for the service they are rendering. The amount of money one makes is proportional to how much value they believe they can add.
Self-worth boosts self-confidence. People with high self-confidence always believe in their abilities and thus do not feel incompetent when they land a job or promotion they are deserving of.
In life, it is very important to know your true value and to demand it when necessary. This is the only time you can earn what you deserve- most times higher than what you are earning now. The following are ways through which you can boost your self-esteem and in turn earn a larger income:
Improve on your dressing
Our dressing affects what we think about ourselves. We are always more confident when we look our best. Apart from boosting your self-esteem, you might just get that promotion and salary raise you deserve, because your boss will now see you as someone who ‘looks the role’.
Become assertive
One way of boosting your self-worth is by becoming confident in your abilities without necessarily being aggressive. When you believe in your abilities, others too will. At some point, people would get tired of believing in you when you prove to them recurrently that you do not believe in yourself. Your boss too would soon stop believing in you. Be assertive and your self-esteem will be boosted, then you can make a larger income.
Understand that it is okay to not be perfect
People with low self-esteem often fear that if they are given an opportunity to take on a higher role, they will not succeed. They are often fear coming out as failures. Many times, this is not because they actually fail or because they know for sure they will fail, it is because of their perfectionistic inclinations. They often believe that anything that does not come out perfect is an indication of failure- they are hard on themselves and this greatly affects their self-esteem. Understand that it is okay not to be perfect. That you feel you wouldn’t perfectly carry out the responsibilities assigned to a higher role does not mean you are not deserving of it, take on the role and strive to do it well not perfectly. Even your boss is not perfect; they just do their jobs well. That you failed in a single task doesn’t make you a complete failure. That you feel you are a failure doesn’t make you a failure.
General steps you should pay attention to:
- Get to work!
Work and work more. Working and learning from your failures is a good morale booster. When you work and understand the nitty-gritties of the role you deserve, your self-esteem will be rekindled. You wouldn’t feel incompetent fitting a higher role if you’re prepared for it. Also, that side job that might just be your ticket to a higher income needs you to work on it. You wouldn’t know if you can until you’ve tried.
- Put yourself in uncomfortable conditions
One way your self-esteem can be increased is by putting yourself in those conditions you are afraid of. Sometimes the reason why we are not yet earning more is because we have not asked for more. If you are someone that is afraid of asking, put yourself in a situation where you would have to ask for more. This might be very difficult as first, but after resiliently practicing it, you would be surprised at how much it would boost your self-esteem and in turn affect your income positively.
- be positive
Always think of yourself as being good enough. Do not tell yourself how much of a failure you are but rather tell yourself how much of a successful person you can be. Positive mindset backed up with positive speech will boost your self-esteem. Know that you can, say that you can, because you can. Do not dwell on your failures but rather remind yourself of past successes. With this, yourself confident will soar and you’ll position yourself for that promotion. When negative thought come, challenge them.
- Fake it until you make it.
Hey, this is me telling you to live a fake life. One of the best ways to becoming self-confident is by acting self-confident. Even if you don’t feel self-confident yet, carry yourself as a confident person, make people around you see that aura of a self-confident person around you, and with time self-confidence would be your reality and you’d then be able to realize how worthy you are of that higher opportunity.
Conclusion
You are less likely to ask for a promotion, a salary raise or a higher pay for a service you deliver if you have low self-esteem. Also, low self-worth is easily identified by others, so your boss or clients might not want to give you that promotion or higher pay you deserve for your service because they believe someone with low self-esteem would be incompetent and would lack motivation. So it is best to tackle the issue of self-esteem for you to be able to earn that higher income you deserve.