The Truth About Low Self Esteem

by: Amy Twain

It is very essential for an individual to have a healthy self esteem in order to live a successful and happy life—both on a personal level and professional level. Self-esteem refers to the amount or dose of realistic respect that you possess for yourself. Individuals with a healthy dose of sense of worth realize that they deserve the good and best thing in their lives while those who suffer from low self esteem feel that they truly deserve all the bad things that happen in their lives. Individuals who have low self esteem always have a more difficult time living a successful and happy life. Nevertheless, every one of us is responsible for our own sense of worth and can take action and seek help to improve their confidence thereby to improve their lives also. How do you spot the signs of having low self esteem? People with low self esteem have a poor track record in work or in school. They are poor risk takers and poor problem solvers. Mostly, people with poor confidence always require the approval of those around them. They often face the day with numerous fears, the common one being in constant fear of being rejected by some people. They oftentimes possess some irrational beliefs and may tend to think irrationally in some situations. These people are mostly feeling nervous, anxious and insecure and sometimes may overreact with anger and resentment if they feel someone does not accept them. Most significantly, an individual with low self esteem does not feel worthy at all of giving or receiving love, compassion and nurturing. They may blame other people because they don’t take the necessary responsibilities for their actions. So how about the signs of somebody who have a healthy self esteem? People who have a healthy dose of sense of worth could state clearly who they are, what they’re committed to and where they are heading in their life. They are concerned with the welfare of other people and they are not self centered. They readily accept their duties and responsibilities and the consequences of their actions rather than making up excuses or blaming others. They are creative, proactive and productive, goal-oriented and optimistic. And most importantly, an individual with a healthy confidence fully understands that he/she is deserving of being loved and being cared for as well as worthy of caring and loving others. An individual’s confidence develops throughout life. Childhood experiences may play a key role in establishing whether a person has a low or healthy self esteem. Therefore, children who grew up with a low self esteem may often experience being severely criticized no matter how hard they try, yelled at or even beaten, they are often teased, ridiculed or ignored by their peers or by those in authoritarian roles, they often experience failure in school or in sports and made to feel that these failures mean that they are failures, and some of their parents might expect them to be perfect all the time. Low self esteem could affect both your physical and mental health. If you discover you suffer from this, you should find options that will help you on improving your sense of worth which will in turn improve your quality of life.