Self Esteem
Talking about something as “lame” as esteem is often avoided so that you don’t look like a fool in front of your friends. However, esteem needs to be talked about because it’s an important issue that all of us deal with at some point or another. Esteem issues can either happen personally, professionally or combination of the two, so it’s important that it’s talked about and resolved. Esteem, by definition, is how you look at yourself; basically self-confidence.
From the age of five until your deathbed, self-esteem is something that never totally goes away. We all have moments of inferiority where bosses or coworkers will put us down and make us feel as though we’re not doing a good enough job. The truth is we are doing just as everybody else. A lot of esteem issues are due to the fact that we take things personally instead of rolling them off our shoulders like we should. We have to learn not to take things so personally, and feel good about ourselves, even when we don’t have anyone around to tell us how great we are.
Some of the biggest issues with esteem is that we never feel as though we are good enough for anybody else. On a professional level this means that we don’t feel as though we are worth any kind of promotion, be at monetary or anything else. We are surprised when we get promotions: we don’t feel as though we deserve them and we will always say that to other people which makes us feel worse when they don’t argue with us, or only do so half heartedly. We will feel as though it is a rejection even though usually it’s just because most people don’t know how to fight for others. Esteem has a lot to do with how do you see yourself not so much with how others see you. The next time you get a promotion, see yourself as being worth it. If it was given to you, there’s a reason, and you need to celebrate that and share with others around you.
On a more personal level, self-esteem has a lot to do with how we relate to family members and other loved ones. When there is some sort of fight, it is easy to blame yourself and tell yourself and others that it’s all your fault when in reality, a fight always takes two. The sooner you recognize that you’re just as important as the other person, the sooner you will stand up for yourself. You’ll feel much better about yourself, which means that your esteem is much higher.
It’s natural to want to hide what you do and what you’re good at, but it’s important to show some of that off when the time arises. It helps you feel good about yourself and that you are worth something, not just somebody that goes along and does what they’re told. We are all worth the same and don’t let anybody try to tell you otherwise.