Is having a high self-esteem vs. a low self-esteem the same as having a healthy ego? That’s a question many people who are struggling with their self-confidence and/or their ego have asked themselves. The answer is no. What’s important to understand is that there is a huge difference between having a high self-esteem and having a low self-esteem; the former is more about confidence and self-confidence, and the latter is more about self-confidence and motivation.
Think of it this way: Your ego isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you develop over time through your actions and the thoughts you’ve had in your head. You may have had a very self-confident parent that told you that you were special just because you were born, and nothing else mattered. This belief may have impacted your self-esteem, leading to a low self-esteem. Now, if you can change the beliefs that made you feel that you were “different” than everyone else, you can grow your own self-confidence and improve your self-esteem. But, of course, this requires that you first remove all the limiting beliefs you have about yourself.
If you have a very low self-esteem, it may be because you haven’t had much success in achieving goals in your life. You may be lacking in the skills you need to become the person you want to become, and your lack of confidence may be holding you back from getting what you want out of life. If you take time to assess your skills and your confidence, you may discover that you actually do have some talent, but your low self-esteem prevents you from realizing that potential. Once you’ve changed your thoughts and beliefs to remove any limiting ones, you can then work on building your high self-esteem.
Building your high self-esteem begins with making some positive changes to your lifestyle. This may mean that you no longer smoke, eat too much junk food or take tranquilizing drugs. These things will actually harm your confidence instead of helping you achieve your goals. Instead of focusing on how bad you feel about yourself, focus on the positives: your new diet, your new exercise regimen, and the success you are having in your personal life.
Another important step in growing your self-esteem is to eliminate any negative thinking patterns you may have associated with low self-esteem. For example, if you worry a lot about your appearance, you probably have low self-esteem. Thinking positively will help you feel better about yourself, which will increase your confidence.
Another thing that effects your level of confidence is your relationship with other people. Do you get angry when your friends make fun of you? If so, you are using your fears to control your own behavior. If, however, you take part in harmless chitchatting, you are showing that you enjoy interacting with others and don’t take things personally. Taking part in harmless chitchatting will increase your own confidence because you realize that everybody has their own sense of humor.
Finally, your level of personal confidence affects your feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life. When you are surrounded by people who are successful, happy, and satisfied with their lives, you tend to be as well. Conversely, if you spend your days watching other people who are miserable, hopeless, and depressed, you begin to have low self-esteem and low self-satisfaction with life. The more you observe the discrepancy between what you think is possible versus what you experience, the more your self-esteem and your self-satisfaction decrease. So, to grow your high self-esteem and high self-satisfaction, you must learn to put yourself in situations where success and happiness are abundantly present.
In our day of technological advancement, we are lucky that we can live in an age where it is virtually impossible for us not to have access to the tools necessary to manage our lives in a healthy, productive manner. We can listen to motivational speakers, read books about overcoming anxiety, and we can even watch inspirational videos. Use these tools to manage your time, your emotions, and your fears. If you make a decision that you will use these tools to better yourself, you will start to experience changes almost immediately. By improving your high self-esteem and high self-satisfaction, you are improving the quality of your life.