Summarize this article:

If you believe in yourself, so will others. And it goes deeper than that—if you like yourself, you will treat yourself well, which translates to treating others well.  Practice becoming aware of your thoughts and beliefs when you encounter situations that make you feel bad. When you identify negative self-talk, challenge it. Do things like using hopeful statements, forgiving yourself, focusing on the positive, and encouraging yourself. You are much less likely to feel insecure with someone who understands you. You can generally tell when you have a genuine connection with someone. If someone finds you odd, they may criticize you and increase your feelings of insecurity. Ask yourself questions. Does this person make fun of my quirks? Do their facial expressions seem genuine or fake? Is this someone who will laugh with me or laugh at me? If you don't know yourself, no one else will be able to know you either. Start a habit of quiet time each day to explore your thoughts. This practice will also boost your self-esteem. Try doing some writing exercises and think about what your responses reveal about your values. Some writing exercises that may help you include:  Reflecting on an amazing experience. Think of a time when you felt really happy. What was the experience? Why did you feel so good? What does the experience reveal about you? Identifying what upsets you. What things make you really mad? What things annoy you? What are your pet peeves? List everything that upsets you, from major things to minor things and try to identify why these things are upsetting to you. Think about what you are good at. What do people tend to compliment you on? What do you think you do best? Figure out what activities or things are important to you. What do you like to do for fun? What things are precious to you? Even though sometimes it's uncomfortable to talk to new people, part of overcoming your insecurities is facing your fears. Answer phone calls, text messages, and emails within a day or so no matter how much a person intimidates you; pretty soon, new people won't make you nervous anymore. If you're used to friends who stress you out, don't return favors, aren't there when you need them, or are overly demanding, then you may have some toxic friends in your life. In order to be a true friend, you've got to show you know what a friend really is, so you may want to consider ending friendships that are one-sided.  Keep in mind that just because a friend has some flaws, that does not mean he or she is toxic. Try to weigh you friend's good traits against the bad to determine if the friendship is worth saving. For example, if you have a friend who annoys you because she is always complaining about her boyfriend, but she listens to you when you need to talk about something, then you may decide that her willingness to listen outweighs her frequent complaints.

Summary:
Boost your self-esteem. Be discerning. Know yourself. Respond to communications. Let go of toxic friendships.