My friend asked me to write about self-esteem. As you can guess that’s what I will break down and build up just like the walls we build that inhibit our self-esteem, self-respect, self-belief, and self-awareness. I write this, like most of you out there, as someone who has had low self-esteem. Whether you like to admit it, like to recognize it, or like to believe it at some point we have said or thought “I can’t,” “there’s no way,” “I’m not good enough,” “why can’t I do that,” or whatever the destructive saying may be. I’m not going to try to define, discover, or describe the source or reason we have low self-esteem. The only thing to know is that there is a reason you have low self-esteem. By the end of this you will be able to find the source and break it down and build yourself up stronger, happier, and further along in life. I promise!
I have had my fair share of self-doubt. Just like you I have thought I would be better off doing the minimum and get by because there’s no way I will be one of elites in society. Wanna hear a secret? That is bound to happen if we keep thinking that way. Our minds are the most powerful think we can ever have. If we think it surely enough we will do it. How do we change that? There are answers that will be specific to your situation but I have a couple tips that are universal. These ideas are not new, they have been in existence for centuries and they have been proven to be true. First I want to explain what self-esteem is and how it works.
Self-esteem can be summarized into one word-awareness. If we are aware of who we are, what we are, and why we are then we can be in control of all that we are. Our self-esteem comes from a deep understanding of our potential and of our limitations, of our strengths and of our weaknesses, of our dreams and of our fears. Self-esteem is not a pride issue but a humility issue. If you have high self-esteem then we understand how great you are but keep it inside to show by your works not by your words. If you have high self-esteem you obviously know what you are capable of but you are humble enough to recognize where you lack.
If you dwell on your weaknesses and disregard your strengths your self-esteem will be destroyed. If that happens what people say or do to you will affect you deeply. Soon you will not do anything good for yourself, if you do manage to succeed you won’t be happy with yourself. Self-esteem needs to come from within you and not from external sources. There is a reason it’s called “self” esteem and not “them” esteem or “her” esteem. People don’t know how great you truly are. Quite frankly none of us do because we all underestimate ourselves.
Our biggest critics, our worst judges, our most powerful under-estimators are ourselves. Why would this be? Well, honestly I think it comes from a dark place that doesn’t want to see the people on earth live to their true eternal potential. It’s hard to give a universal answer to that because we all underestimate ourselves for different reasons. The key here is to find out why. Maybe it’s your upbringing, your desire, your effort, your surroundings, your culture, society, etc. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself. Were you told you can growing up? Did/do you give it your all? Who told you, you couldn’t? Why? What/who holds you back? Who are you living for?
Once you have found the reason, accept it as the cause then reject it as truth. Soon enough you will be able to fully estimate yourself for who and what you are. I have seen many people be at a dead stop in life and take off like a rocket once they realized they could. I know this is cliche and sounds like a broken record but there’s a reason. Experts everywhere say and repeat the same thing for a reason. Let me get you started off on the right foot.
Take a deep breath and imagine this, you have no limits, no barriers, no obstacles in life you cannot defeat. Why? Because you have no limits on your mind unless you allow them. What are your weaknesses? Once you recognize them put them aside and quietly acknowledge them but don’t let them distract you from your strengths. What are your strengths? Once you recognize them hold on to them, even if it is just one. Make them stronger. Once you do that pick one weakness and make it a strength. Work on it, build it up, educate it, soon enough it will be a strength.
No more underestimating yourself because you are a human being the most powerful thing in the universe. You have a power and eternal potential within. It’s become second nature for self-doubt, self-destruction, and self-loathing. As easy as it was for you to let those vices in, it’s equally easy to let self-construction, self-motivation, and self-aware. Now take what you learned here knowing how infinitely powerful your mind is and find yourself. To be self aware you need to fully recognize and accept both strengths and weaknesses. Don’t underestimate yourself anymore and you’ll notice no one else will either.
be happy.