What is self-esteem? It is the ability to evaluate oneself with respect to their own abilities and accomplishments. In its most fundamental form, self-evaluation is simply an evaluation of oneself based on factual information about a person. In its more advanced form, self-evaluation takes the form of an analysis or rating of one’s own performance relative to pre-existing standards. When they are applied to other people, these self-evaluations can be demoralizing, even destructive.
Self-evaluation is a process through which we evaluate ourselves, usually in relation to how we see ourselves. Self-evaluation encompasses various attitudes, including guilt, achievement, shame, triumph, pride, self-depreciation, and other emotions. These may lead to an increase in our feelings of self-worth, self-confidence, or other positive traits, or they may result in decreasing them.
Self-evaluation is done primarily when we want to know how we measure up against others. We do this so that we can be better prepared to handle unfamiliar situations. How do we know how we compare, or the “unknown area,” between ourselves and others? That is where self-image refers to.
What is self-image? Self-image is our personal representation of ourselves in our minds. It involves accepting our flaws, our uniqueness, our strengths, and so on, and putting them in context. It also involves feeling good about who we are and what we have, as opposed to what others tell us we are or what they might say about us. It therefore has much to do with improving self-confidence and the other human relations components of our life.
Those who have a healthy sense of self-esteem and high self-confidence are in a great position to take advantage of the vast range of opportunities that exist in today’s global economy. But it isn’t enough just to have positive psychology, or a healthy sense of self-image. We must also be assertive, creative, flexible, and able to accept and respond to negative feedback from others. In fact, it is probably impossible to accomplish all of the things we want to in our lives if we don’t have healthy self-confidence and high self-esteem.
How can having a healthy self-image or self-confidence help us? It can help us by giving us the confidence to pursue our own goals, whether we have already achieved them or not. It can also help us by giving us the ability to respond to others’ negative feedback with grace and poise, rather than take offense. And, it can even help us by giving us the ability to do the things we were never really interested in when we were growing up – like playing sports, for example.
It might be hard to see how having a high self-image or a healthy self-image can help us in our personal lives. After all, if others view us in a negative light, how can we ever expect ourselves to do the same? The truth is that our sense of self-image or self-confidence is more about our perception of ourselves than it is about our true self. That’s why self-evaluation and the process of improving our self-image are an important part of building and maintaining healthy human relations.
So, if you have issues relating to self-confidence and/or low self-esteem, you definitely need to make some effort to build your own higher self-esteem. The good news is that the steps to build your higher self-esteem are easier than you think. The first thing you’ll want to do is to make a list of all the positive traits and attributes that you believe are important to you and that you can add to your own. Some of those qualities might include creativity, responsibility, a sense of humor, strength and independence, and so on. This should be a well-developed list. Now that you’ve made one, the next step is to take the time to really sit down and write about all the positive qualities that you believe are important to you and that you can incorporate into your life.