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Developing Positive Self Esteem 1

This document discusses developing positive self-esteem. It defines self-esteem as how much you value yourself and your place in the world. Healthy self-esteem is important for happiness, health, relationships and success. Early experiences, successes and failures, and how one was treated by others influence self-esteem development. Strategies to develop positive self-esteem include increasing self-awareness, focusing on strengths, allowing mistakes, using positive self-talk, and building supportive relationships.

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2K views

Developing Positive Self Esteem 1

This document discusses developing positive self-esteem. It defines self-esteem as how much you value yourself and your place in the world. Healthy self-esteem is important for happiness, health, relationships and success. Early experiences, successes and failures, and how one was treated by others influence self-esteem development. Strategies to develop positive self-esteem include increasing self-awareness, focusing on strengths, allowing mistakes, using positive self-talk, and building supportive relationships.

Uploaded by

api-290878974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Counselling & Learning Support

Developing Positive Self-Esteem


What is self-esteem?
The degree to which you value yourself.
Your thoughts and feelings about yourself and your place in the world.
Self-confidence, self-respect, self-acceptance and self-love are all elements of self-esteem. There
are two basic components of self-esteem:
a) Feelings of personal competence feeling able to accomplish and succeed in tasks,
school, work, sports, etc.
b) Feelings of personal worth feeling worthy of love and friendship.
A balance of these two components is needed for healthy self-esteem.

Why is healthy self-esteem important?


Your level of self-esteem influences all aspects of your life: your happiness, your health, your
relationships and your success in school, work and leisure activities. Healthy self-esteem allows
you to feel relaxed, capable, lovable and at ease in relationships. Low self-esteem can make you
feel worthless, anxious, incompetent and unlovable.

What influences your level of self-esteem?


Many factors can influence the development of ones self-esteem. Early experiences play an
important role in how a person feels about him or herself. Your successes and failures along with
how you were treated by the significant people in your life create the foundation for self-esteem.
Some types of early experiences that help to build healthy self-esteem are:
being valued, respected and cared for
being encouraged and supported in our efforts
experiencing success in school, sports or other activities
having positive relationships with family and friends
Some experiences that can hinder ones self-esteem are:
not being accepted for who we are
being criticized or ridiculed regularly
being ignored, bullied or picked on for being different in some way
experiencing failures in school or other activities
having too high expectations placed on us

Counselling & Learning Support


Birch Building, Room 267, Phone 604.984.1744

http://www.capilanou.ca/services/personal/counselling.html

Characteristics of people
with healthy self-esteem

Characteristics of people with unhealthy selfesteem

1. They feel good about themselves. They


have self-love, self-respect & self-confidence.

1. They have negative feelings about


themselves. They dont like themselves and
they feel unlovable and incompetent. They
often feel as if they are not good enough.

2. They have a positive attitude about life.


They are optimistic and hopeful. They use
positive self-talk.

2. They have a pessimistic, negative attitude


about life. They expect bad things to happen
and they use negative self-talk.

3. They feel capable of meeting lifes


challenges. They dont expect to be perfect
and they are not crushed by failures. Rather,
they see mistakes as learning experiences and
they are willing to take risks.

3. They are reluctant to take risks for fear of


failing. They perceive mistakes as crushing
defeats rather than opportunities to learn.

4. Their self-esteem does not depend on


external circumstances; it stems from within.
Their feelings about themselves are not
dependent on others opinions & they dont
spend a lot of time comparing themselves to
other people.

4. They need the approval and praise of


others to feel good about themselves. They
often compare themselves with others and
they have difficulty resisting social pressures.

5. They are comfortable in their relationships


with others. They respect their own rights
and the rights of others. They can be
assertive as well as compassionate, accepting
and understanding of others.

5. They often feel isolated and disconnected


from others.

6. They have a sense of harmony and peace


within and with the world.

6. They have difficulty connecting with their


inner selves. They may not have a high level of
self-awareness.

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July 2010

Self-Esteem and Self-Talk


There is a close relationship between our inner voice and our self-esteem. All of us have a
continuous inner dialogue that takes place whether we are aware of it or not. What you believe
and say about yourself and about the world influences how you feel about yourself. Self-talk can
be positive and encouraging or it can be critical and self-blaming.
People with low self-esteem often have negative self-talk. Their inner dialogue is made up of a lot
of self-criticism, blaming and complaining.
Our self-talk is usually rooted in our past experiences and the messages we received about
ourselves from significant others. These original messages become internalized and they
continue to influence how we feel about ourselves.
For example, if you grew up in a family in which you were supported, valued and encouraged, you
are likely to have positive self-talk and positive expectations of success. On the other hand, if you
were regularly criticized or ignored or were surrounded by people who have very negative views
about life, you may have the following types of beliefs:

I can never do anything right.


Nothing good will ever happen to me.
Im not important, no one cares about me.
The world is a dangerous place.
Im a loser.

The problem with these types of thoughts is that they lead to self-defeating behaviours which in
turn cause us to feel worse about ourselves. It is a vicious negative cycle.

What you can do to Develop Positive Self-Esteem


First, remember, self-esteem is not a static thing. It can be improved. Once you understand how
low self-esteem is often the result of being stuck in a certain way of thinking, you can begin to
make changes.
The following strategies can all be helpful in developing positive self-esteem:
1. Increase your self-awareness. Take time to get to know the real you. Ask yourself: What
do I value? How do I want to live my life? What brings me satisfaction? What makes me
unhappy? What changes do I want to make in my life?
2. Understand what has influenced your level of self-esteem. Where did your negative
beliefs come from? What patterns have you developed to maintain a negative selfconcept? Identify the ways in which you may be sabotaging your positive sense of self.

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July 2010

3. Focus on your strengths. We all have both strengths and weaknesses but many people
with low self-esteem tend to focus only on their weaknesses. You have many good
qualities and talents. Notice them and find ways to develop them. By recognizing your
strengths and focusing on the positive aspects of life, you will begin to feel better.
4. Allow yourself to make mistakes. No one is perfect. If we expect ourselves to be perfect,
we will never succeed. Making mistakes is part of learning and growing. Without taking
risks and trying new things, we cannot achieve our full potential.
5. Use positive self-talk. Many people allow negative thoughts to keep them stuck and
feeling bad about themselves. You, alone, have control over your thoughts. You can
choose to focus on either the negative or the positive aspects of yourself. By choosing to
develop a positive mental attitude you will open the door to positive experiences and
outcomes. Remember our actions usually follow our thoughts.
6. Put yourself into situations in which you will do well. Try to do at least one thing
everyday that you are good at. By doing things that we are good at, we build up our
confidence. Having confidence in one aspect of our life can help us to take risks in new
areas. Taking risks helps us to grow and feel more confident about meeting lifes
challenges.
7. Develop relationships with people who are supportive. Being with people who are
positive and accepting helps us to recognize our positive qualities. Avoid people who put
you down or only focus on negatives; these people reinforce your negative views and
make it difficult for you to initiate positive changes in your life.
8. Start with small goals. Changing a negative self-concept may take time. Do not get
discouraged if you do not see big changes happening quickly. Start with one aspect of
your life that you want to change and set small goals that you can continue to build upon.

Need More Information?


If you want to meet with a counsellor to learn more about what you can do to develop your selfesteem, please contact Counselling & Learning Support in Birch 267 or phone 604.984.1744.

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July 2010

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