People with low self-esteem often find it very difficult to be themselves. They change the way they act depending on what other people are around at the moment, and they adopt their opinions to match the views of those around them.

If you never show who you really are, you can never be loved for who you are. It is sad but it is true. This is one of the many reasons to why people with low self-esteem have fewer real friends and more problematic romantic relationships.

The first step towards learning how to dare to be yourself is simply to make the decision that you want to be yourself. The biggest reason to why so many people with low self-esteem continue to act like somebody whom they are not is that they don't want to be themselves. They want to be liked by other people, and therefore they want to do anything it takes to make others notice them and look up to them. Also, low self-esteem people don't like the way they truly are, and it's unpleasant to continue to play a role that you don't like. However, if you think that you might want to start to learn how to be yourself, make it a conscious decision to want this.

Once you have decided that you want to be yourself, decide in which situations you want to be yourself. You may want to continue to put on a show in some situations when it can actually benefit you. For example, most of us try to make ourselves look better than we are during job interviews. If you know that your grandmother has strong political view that are the opposite to yours, you may choose to stay quiet rather than showing your true self because your relationship with your grandmother is more important than your decision to be yourself at that moment. It is okay to not always show other who you really as as long as you only at like somebody else in situations when it benefits you to do so.

Once you know in which situation you want to be yourself more than you are now, start practicing. Practice makes perfect! It is as easy as that! As with all other skills that you have learnt, start small and practice bit by bit. The first practice might be to be totally yourself for five minutes with your best friend. If that is easy to you, you can try five minutes with some people that you are not so close to. Make the time longer and longer. Eventually you will dare to be yourself for a whole day! Once you manage to do it for a whole day you will probably be ready to do it forever.

If you get stuck with your practice, you may want to try to raise your self-esteem in some other area first. Your low self-esteem is blocking you from showing others the wonderful person that you really are. Work on your self-esteem first, and then it will get easier to be you.

Liv Miyagawa - The Self-Esteem Coach

Self-Esteem Coach, Liv Miyagawa, helps adults with low self-esteem who want to learn how to believe in themselves and dare to be themselves. She can help you to see your own potentials and to become more comfortable in social situations. Liv Miyagawa offers personal coaching, group coaching, self-esteem distance courses, home study materials and other products that help you to raise your self-esteem. She is also the author of the book "The Self-Esteem Toolbox". Raise your self-esteem with Liv - http://www.livmiyagawa.com/.