Self-Esteem
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Your self-esteem is your most valuable asset. With high self-esteem you can move mountains. Without it, you can never be a success. Self-doubt makes you question your accomplishments and interferes with your path to success. Even when things are going your way, if you feel undeserving of the things you have, you will be unable to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You may even unwittingly sabotage yourself when everything starts going the way you would like it to.
Our self-esteem is a result of the validation or lack of validation we received throughout our lives. One's self-worth can also be damaged following traumatic events such as childhood abuse or abandonment. Anger can also have a negative impact on one's self-esteem. When you hold in anger, the anger eventually turns against you and lowers your self-esteem.
If you want to feel better about yourself, there are a number of things you can do:
- learn how to turn off the "inner critic"
- focus on how good you are
- challenge yourself and take on tasks you may have been putting off
- examine whom you need to forgive and then let go of feelings that no longer serve you
- seek help from a qualified professional to find your self-worth
Empowering Questions:
- What risks do I avoid taking in my life?
- What stops me from taking risks that might make me feel better about myself?
- What are three things I can do for myself today that would raise my self-esteem and make me feel better about myself?