Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself. When you have good self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and your abilities. Developing and nurturing a positive self-esteem has many benefits. When thinking positively about yourself, you become more aware of your strengths and abilities and feel more capable of achieving goals. Simply believing that you can achieve a goal provides motivation to work towards a challenge, whereas a lack of confidence can hold you back from escaping your comfort zone and accomplishing new or difficult tasks.
Self-esteem requires emotional awareness and defining your own worth. Having a distorted self-image leads to feelings of self-deprecation and a lack of desire to meet your goals. The issue is that constructive beliefs of oneself are hard to develop and are too often influenced by social comparison and performance. Comparing yourself to others can lead to high or unrealistic expectations and unnecessary negative feelings.
It is unclear whether low self-esteem is a cause or a symptom of depression, but it is indisputable that greater self-esteem leads to greater satisfaction across multiple areas in life.
In order to gain self-esteem, you should aim to think positively about yourself and clear your mind from self-doubt. Your attitude is your most important resource for success. Take time to have a good look at yourself and focus on your strengths, your accomplishments, and your potential for future success. With more acknowledgement that you are capable of achieving goals, you will be more encouraged to take on new battles.
References
- Gecas, V. (1982). The Self-Concept. Annual Review of Sociology, 8, 1–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 2945986
- Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2013). Understanding the Link Between Low Self-Esteem and Depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(6), 455–460. http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 44318705
- Yanal, R. J. (1987). Self-Esteem. Noûs, 21(3), 363–379. https://doi.org/10.2307/ 2215187
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