What is Self-Esteem?
You can’t touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can’t see it, but it is there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can’t hear it, but it is there affecting every kind of communication you engage in.
To understand self-esteem, it helps to examine the term in two words. Let’s take a look at the word esteem first. Esteem is a fancy word for thinking that someone or something is important, or valuing that person or thing. For example, if you really admire your friend’s father because he does a lot of work for charity, it means you hold him in high esteem. And the special word for the most valuable player on a team is often called an esteemed trophy. This means the trophy stand for an important accomplishment.
And self means, of course, your self! So when you put these two words together, it is far easier to understand what self-esteem is. It is how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It is how you perceive yourself and how you feel about your achievements. You are going to read in more detail what self-esteem actually is later in this book.
Self-esteem is not bragging about how great you are, it is often people who lack self-esteem who behave like that. It is much more of a quiet sense of knowing that you are worth a lot; you have value. It is certainly not about thinking you are perfect in every way – because nobody is – rather, it is simply knowing that you are worthy of being loved and accepted; primarily by yourself.
Why is Self-Esteem So Important?
Self-esteem is not like a brilliant pair of running shoes that I start drooling over when I see them reviewed in a running magazine and start having desirous thoughts about, they are things that I would love to have but do not have to have. Good levels of self-esteem are important because it helps you to hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do. It gives you the courage to do new things and it gives you the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even if you make mistakes. It is when you respect yourself that others usually respect you, too.
Having good levels of self-esteem is also the ticket to making good choices about your mind and body. If you think you are important, especially as a child, you are far less likely to mindlessly follow the crowd and be easily led in directions that are wrong for you. When you have good self-esteem, you know that you are clever enough to make your own decisions that are for your better and higher good. You value your well-being, your safety, your feelings, your health – your entire self! Good levels of self-esteem help you to just know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting, even without consciously having to do so.
Also in this chapter:
How Do Children Develop Self-Esteem?
Project for the Day Steps 1-6 Example Preparation for Day One
