5 More Ways to Fatten Up Your Personal Independence Piggy Bank

Breakups are rough -- not just on our emotions, but also on our self-esteem, our self-worth and our confidence in our ability to succeed in life and in new relationships. It's important to make sure you're as happy and healthy (both emotionally and otherwise) as possible all the time, but it's even more important right after a breakup to give your inner self a hug, and make sure you're doing everything you can to support healing and making that inner you feel safe, confident and happy again. This is the second in a two-part series about how to boost the level of the pile of change in your personal independence piggy bank. Here are five more ways to make sure you're doing everything you can to make sure you're happy and healthy as possible.

1) Take a pole dancing class. There are lots of people coming from lots of different backgrounds (psychology, fitness, health & wellness) who recommend pole-dancing for many different, very positive reasons. It's fun. It's a great workout. It's a great way to express yourself. But mostly? Mostly it lets you tap into that inner goddess -- the one who's sexy and confident. Bring her out as much as possible, and you'll find your self-esteem, self-worth and confidence fly right back up the scale to a higher place than they've ever been before.

2) Plan your dream vacation. Even if you can't actually go on it for another five years, start planning it and figure out how much you need to save each month to make it happen. Acting on a dream and planning for the future is a great way to remind yourself of your ability to succeed and follow through, and also gives you something to look forward to -- a very useful thing on those bad days.

3) Teach yourself a new skill. Whether it be flower arranging, cooking, candle-making, sewing, knitting or playing the guitar, not only is a new hobby a great way to focus on the future and give distract yourself from the negative, but it's a great way to show yourself what you're capable of. This is a great confidence booster. Plus, you'll walk away knowing how to do something new, and if you took a class to learn how, you'll probably have some new friends as well.

4) Volunteer. Contact a charity you believe in and sign up to volunteer your time, even if it's only for an hour a week. Soup kitchens, animal shelters, beach/lake/highway clean-ups or child and adult literacy programs -- whatever you feel strongly about is where you should go. Donating your time is a great way to help out a good cause, it's a great distraction, an excellent way to meet like-minded good people and it feels good. What's not to like?

5) Hang with friends on a Wednesday night and laugh as much as possible. Organize a mid-week outing with good friends. Whether it be trivia night, dinner and drinks or a movie, mixing up your routine and throwing some unexpected fun into the middle of the week is a great pick-me-up and a great way to remind yourself of the good in your life. When you know you have good around you, it's a whole lot easier to deal with the non-ideal things that life throws at us.

Life can be tough, and we have to stay on our toes and actively make an effort to make sure we're happy and emotionally healthy. Choosing activities that you know will boost your confidence, self-esteem and self-worth is a really good idea anytime, but especially so when you're feeling less than stellar. So give your inner self some flowers, a hug and some gentle prodding to get them (and you) bouncing back to where you want to be -- safe, happy and confident.

Originally published by BounceBack, LLC on www.bouncebacktolife.com, where I'm the dating expert.