The Self Esteem Factor

http://www.heart-2-heart.ca/women/page13.htm

The Self-Esteem Factor

Healthy self-esteem means feeling good about yourself...

When you have high self-esteem, you create energy in your life to make things happen.
When you feel good about yourself, it is easier to know you matter, and what you do does make a difference. Be aware that every negative belief diminishes your ability to value yourself.
Low self-esteem comes in a variety of packages. Some try to cover up their low self-esteem with lots of accomplishments and trappings while others almost flaunt their failures. Low self-esteem manifests itself in diverse ways and is often illusive to self and others.
Healthy Self-Esteem means feeling good about yourself, and this does not mean you are conceited. Rather, you have a positive attitude about yourself and pride in your accomplishments.
 "Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

Symptoms of Low Self -Esteem

If you answer "Yes " to any of these, then stress, anxiety, fear could be affecting your life, with or without your awareness.

• Do you have self-blame, self-consciousness, shame or guilt?
• Do you find it difficult to trust others?
• Do you feel guilty without always knowing why? Worry, anxiety, obsessive thinking?
• Do you have feelings of negativity, pessimism, irritability?
• Do you have feelings of alienation, of hopelessness, indecisiveness, confusion, hard to think?
• Is living alone or independently unthinkable?

What Causes Low Self -Esteem?

• Dysfunctional family
• Death of a loved one
• Abused as a child
• Divorce (especially a bitter one)
• Destruction or loss of personal or sentimental property
• Inability to manage finances or hold a job
• Insufficient emotional or physical comfort
• Emotional, physical, mental, verbal... all types of abuse

Self-esteem is the value we place on ourselves. Enhancing and repairing your self-esteem is the best thing you can do for your health and recovery. Self-esteem determines how you live. It determines how you talk, how you handle your relationships, what career you choose, what kind of lifestyle you create, and how you think, feel and act.

Your self-esteem is one thing in your life that is in your control, and it influences everything in your life.

Building Up Your Self-Esteem - Use these stepping stones

• Stand and walk with good posture.
• Take a strong commitment and a conscious effort to succeed in building your own self esteem.
• The next time you make a mistake, be forgiving of yourself.
• Redefine "selfish". Learn to love yourself and to take care of your needs effectively. You can get your needs met and still have love in your life.
• Take responsibility for your life and your well-being and STOP taking responsibility for other people's lives. It's great to help people, but they are still responsible for their own situations and actions.
• Spend more time with people who encourage you, and less time with people who discourage you.
• Eat nourishing meals and exercise, and remind yourself that you are worth it.
• As you make new choices, set out a plan and get a support partner.
• Treat yourself with a warm bath, a massage or a good book. Treat yourself with deliberate acts of

The Ten Commandments of Self-Esteem

  1]   Thou shalt not consort with people who make thee feel bad about thyself.
  2]   Thou shalt cease trying to make sense of crazy behaviour.
  3]   Thou shalt not keep company with those more dysfunctional than thyself.
  4]   Trust thy body all the days of thy life [ Thy mind doth fornicate with thee ].
  5]   Thou hast permission at all times to say "NO", to change thy mind, and to express thy true feelings.
  6]   What is not right for thee is not right for thy brethern.
  7]   Thou shalt not give beyond thine own capacity.
  8]   What thy brethern think of thee mattereth naught.
  9]   Wherever thou art, therein also is the party.
10]   Thou shalt sing thine own praises all the days of thy life.

[ The Ten Commandments of Self-Esteem  © by Catherine Cardinal.  Thank you for making this information available ]

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