Self-Esteem: Understanding and Building

Self-Esteem: Understanding and Building

• Self-esteem is feeling good about oneself and recognizing worth.
• It significantly impacts personal views and behaviors.
• Self-esteem is a fundamental human need, crucial for growth and self-actualization.
• Healthy self-esteem is expressed through respecting others and valuing oneself.
• Two forms of esteem exist: respect from others (recognition, success) and self-respect (self-love, confidence).

Characteristics of High Self-Esteem

• Internal locus of control: Self-worth comes from within, not others.
• Self-care: Physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being maintained, including healthy habits and avoiding risky behaviors.
• Emotional balance: Maintaining balance in thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• Learning from mistakes: Acknowledging and accepting errors.
• Personal responsibility: Taking ownership of life choices.
• Respect for differences: Valuing the individuality of others.
• Open-mindedness: Listening to different viewpoints.
• Taking responsibility for perceptions: Avoiding projecting issues onto others.
• Intuition: Valuing and acting upon inner guidance.
• Self-respect, confidence, and acceptance: Recognizing strengths and weaknesses.
• Continuous improvement: Embracing growth and positive risks.
• Self-love: Feeling warm and affectionate toward oneself.
• Ability to give and receive love: Showing unconditional love and acceptance.

Characteristics of Low Self-Esteem

• Self-blame and criticism: Frequent self-criticism and putting others down.
• Extreme behaviors: Over- or underachievement, overeating, excessive work.
• Victim mentality: Blaming external factors for problems.
• Lack of responsibility: Not taking ownership of life, or allowing others to control decisions.
• Over-responsibility for others: Dominating others, controlling their lives.
• Fear of change or risk-aversion: Reluctance to embrace change or avoiding risks.
• Negative or unrealistic optimism: Denying reality through negativity or unrealistic optimism.
• Emotional extremes or apathy: Reacting to others with intense emotions or no emotion.
• Boastful or passive behavior: Maintaining an inflated sense of importance or excessive passivity.
• Need for agreement: Demanding agreement or constantly seeking approval, or acquiescing to others' opinions
• Comparison with others: Feeling inferior or superior based on comparisons.
• Rigid thinking: Categorical, black-and-white thinking.
• Anxiety and fear: Experiencing constant anxiety, terror, or panic.
• Negative self-talk: Using phrases like "should," "ought," "could have."
• Interpreting negativity as personal failure: Viewing criticism as proof of worthlessness.

Building Self-Esteem

• Self-discovery: Understanding personal beliefs, values, interests, and aspirations.
• Growth-promoting actions & behaviors: Implementing actions in support of growth.
• Internal empowerment: Recognizing the inherent power to change oneself.
• Modeling high self-esteem: Learning and integrating positive behaviors of those with high self-esteem.
• Avoiding low self-esteem elements: Recognizing and avoiding behaviors connected with low self-esteem.
• Developing positive beliefs: Fostering positive beliefs about oneself.
• Positive impacts: Improvement in feelings about oneself leads to enhanced actions, achievements, and relationships, ultimately resulting in more love, joy, fulfillment, and contentment.
• Self-esteem as a seed: Fostering positive attitude, beliefs, and actions contributes to growth and fruition (positive outcomes).
• Self-esteem as a foundation: Understanding that self-esteem is the basis for a fulfilling life.