Building Self Esteem

Building Self Esteem




The importance of building self esteem is finally catching on. All successful people in our society now realize their egos are an asset. Top performers in athletics, business, or any other career are always convinced they can be heroes. And it shows.

There's nothing wrong with being proud of what we've done, of what we think we can do, or of who we are and where we come from.

The higher your self-esteem, the more you like yourself, the better you get along with others, and the more you accomplish.

Small successes give us greater self-confidence, which leads to the pursuit of bigger challenges, and then bigger successes.

Margaret Thatcher once said, "I wasn't lucky, I deserved it." This pride is necessary to improve our present situation.

So how do we go about building self esteem?

Most people increase their self esteem by DOing. They take action over and over again. Then, when evaluating their self-image, they referrence all their success instead of their failures (even though there's almost always more failures).

Look for new and significant challenges. Look to do more and open new horizons. Building self esteem is the result of taking challenging actions and emphasising your successes.

There might be a degree of security in repeating the same little tasks that you know backwards and forewards, but that doesn't raise your opinion of yourself.

It's the unusually difficult task that instills a sense of accomplishment and builds self-esteem. If the challenge is great enough, even failing can leave you with a positive feeling about yourself, as long as you gave it your best shot.

Here are two more simple ways to feel good about yourself:

1) Feel good about your appearance. Feeling clean, well-groomed, and not sloppy looking will help you feel more assertive and sure of yourself. Most of the time, you'll know the people you're going to see and know what "appropriate appearance" is.

Before you leave the house, you will either feel good about yourself, or not. If not, don't leave until you fix it. Why spend the whole night feeling self-conscious and trying to hide whatever it is that bothers you?

2) Do something nice for somebody else. This is a very effective way of building self esteem, and it's soooo easy.

Simple ideas for building self esteem through generosity:

--Participate in a community service event.

--Join a club or group that does things for charity.

--Visit a nursing home and spend time with the residents.

--Teach an illiterate person how to read.

--Be a big brother or sister.

--Give your seat on the train to an elderly person.

--Offer directions to tourists.

This list could go on and on. Do something nice for somebody and the person who benefits most will be you.

Building self esteem and feeling good about yourself comes from within.

It comes from correct principles deep in your mind and heart.

It comes from living a life of integrity in which our daily habits reflect our deepest values. (A life of integrity is the most fundamental source of personal worth.)

You can accomplish these things without fanfare and acknowledgement. Self-satisfaction, not recognition, becomes the motive.

Over the next few days make an honest effort to do some of the things described on this page. If you don't act, you won't change. If you do act, you'll be amazed at the results.