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SELF-ESTEEM AND BELIEFS
Your self-esteem is created both internally and externally. The outside world, the media, your friends and family tell you how you should be. Your inside world has the set of beliefs you have created that form your personal worth. Self-esteem is an intimate and deeply personal issue. Deeply personal because your mind created it--whether it be positive or negative. Even though our Self-Esteem Inventory is helpful to get you started, your personal assessment is also useful. To locate the culprits of any low self-esteem issues, it is important to look for the irrational beliefs you may have about yourself.
SELF-ESTEEM AND PERSONAL GROWTH
The most significant challenge in personal growth is enhancing self-esteem. By placing a value on your life you can begin to make significant changes. Through self-esteem you can tackle problems and face difficult issues. It is much easier and healthier to work and challenge yourself out of a space that self-esteem creates. It is more difficult and harmful to work and challenge yourself out of demands to prove your worth. As you learn more about yourself and become accepting of who you are, you will experience energy to travel the pathway of personal growth.
SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE
Self-esteem and confidence are two different personal characteristics. It is possible that you are a very confident woman; one who is very successful in many aspects of life. This confidence, known as self-efficacy, is acknowledging your intelligence, abilities and creativity. People who are confident may or may not have high self-esteem. In personal growth work it is important to realize the difference because one is not a good substitute for the other. Through increased self-esteem work, you may want to become more competent and confident.
SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Having self-esteem means you accept yourself just as you are, with all the imperfections. Through self-esteem work you are able to make improvements. For example, maybe you have the irrational belief that you are weak and helpless. What this means is sometimes you act weak and helpless. Through self-esteem work you can separate who you are from how you act. By looking at your weak and helpless behavior, you can also recognize your strength and willingness to choose new behaviors that will support what you want to accomplish. Yes, it is all about what you believe.
TELLING THE TRUTH
Irrational beliefs of self are harsh, critical and overgeneralized. The very best thing to do is look at what is true. The rational approach is not to be confused with false positives. The truth might sound like this: