[Book Sip] How Can You Boost Your Self-Esteem on Your Own?

Kim Min-kyung's 'A Book to Open When Your Heart Feels Heavy'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We present meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

"Try a little harder," "Cheer up"?these are common words of comfort. However, Professor Gabad, famous for psychoanalysis, advises not to rush to encourage those who are depressed and deeply hurt. If you want to give advice, he suggests you rather listen to what they have to say. The book is filled with content that helps understand those who need emotional prescriptions.

How can we manage Hwabyeong well and live happily?

A good method in such times is to set goals by comparing your past self with your present self. Whether reading or studying, doing it steadily every day is a better way to feel happiness than cramming all at once. You need to try more often rather than just once a week because frequent attempts help dopamine secretion flow smoothly. If you memorized 10 English words yesterday, today memorize 11, or memorize 10 words every day for a week?this way, you set your own plan and feel a sense of accomplishment.

How can we make good decisions?

Observe yourself and others. Observing yourself from a distance requires quite a bit of practice. Then, to break the habit loops that repeatedly appear in you, it is important to willingly acknowledge your own mistakes more than others. It is not easy for anyone to admit their mistakes. People feel relieved when they just say they were unlucky or blame their surroundings. The next important thing is to properly recognize others' abilities. How difficult this is can be understood through the proverb, "When a cousin buys land, it hurts the stomach," which reflects human psychology.

How can you boost your self-esteem?

It is very important to stop criticizing yourself and to comfort and encourage yourself. (...) At such times, thinking "I am a competent person" helps. (...) If you reduce your expectations and desires for yourself and increase experiences of success starting from small things, your self-esteem can rise. If your actual grades are at the bottom of the class but you think you must be first, your self-esteem cannot improve. Considering reality, lowering your expectations a bit and instead leveraging your strengths to increase your sense of achievement can be a good method.

A Book to Open When Your Mind Feels Stifled | Written by Kim Min-kyung | SISO | 230 pages | 14,500 won

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.