What is self-esteem? To put it in plain English, “self-esteem” is the attitude we have about ourselves. What is self-esteem exactly? It is a person’s personal appraisal of his own worth and ability to do things and be successful.
Self-esteem is one of the most misunderstood concepts in our world. Many people confuse it with self-confidence, or even assertiveness. But there is a huge difference between these two concepts. Self confidence is a positive self-image that makes us feel good when others see us in public. Self-esteem on the other hand is not only a positive self image but also describes a certain attitude we have about ourselves.
In order to understand what self-worth is it is important to understand what is self-confidence. Self-confidence is our capacity to believe our ability to do whatever we set our minds to. We feel self-confident when we believe that we are capable of doing whatever it is we set out to do. This belief is based on three steps: our inner critic, our inner strength and our positive response to our environment. The inner critic is our self-sabotaging habit of constantly criticizing our self and others for the smallest negative things.
If we examine our self-image, it will show us the defects and weaknesses in which we are deficient. We then need to find ways to correct this so that our self-image matches our potential to do well in certain areas. Once we correct the defects in our image we feel better about ourselves and our self-image is restored. However, if we continue to live with our inner critic this process will continue to be a continuous yo-yo. We can get back to believing that we are worthy of good things but in our inner critic we continually criticize ourselves for not living up to our high expectations.
One way to reduce self-negativity is to get help from a qualified personality coach to give you feedback on how you are progressing towards your high self-esteem. A coach will help you identify areas where you need to get support and encourage you to address these issues. You might also need to work on changing some of your negative self-talk into positive self-talk. Changing the way you talk to yourself can be as difficult as changing the way you talk to others but it is a worthwhile exercise.
It is important to take an honest and candid look at the quality of the relationships you have with other people. The people you are involved with and the way they treat you will have an effect on your self-image. The way we behave towards those we care about will also have an impact on our self-image. Poor personal relationships will also affect our self-image, because the way we see and judge the people around us will inevitably impact our own self-image.
The quality of our relationships with our partner, family and friends will have a significant impact on our self-worth and self-image. When we have low self-worth or low self-image, we tend to be reluctant to ask for help from people who can improve upon what we already know. It is our natural reaction to being dependent on others that lead to a negative self-image, therefore developing strong relationships that offer support and confidence can go a long way to improving our self-esteem.
Developing healthy ways of relating with others goes a long way to improving self-esteem. When we are able to better manage and deal with our emotions, it is possible to build higher levels of self-esteem and better self-compassion. A well-balanced approach to dealing with negative feelings such as anxiety, anger and frustration will also help to improve our emotional health. This approach can have a positive influence on our self-esteem and self-confidence.