When you look in the mirror every morning, what do you see? A confident, capable individual who is ready to take on the day or someone who is anxious and fearful about what the day might bring about? It’s okay if you don’t have an answer. You are not alone. Most of us, in our rush to get on with our day, do not bother paying attention to our feelings. But it is important to do so, for our self-esteem determines our confidence and ability to deal with the many challenges that life throws at us.
If we have high self-esteem, we will know we are capable of handling whatever comes our way. This awareness gives us the confidence to face challenges with our heads held high. And even when we fumble or fall, we can pick ourselves back up. If we have low self-esteem, on the other hand, we tend to have some harmful psychological habits. We engage in negative self-talk, thinking we don’t deserve good things or opportunities, and we hold ourselves back.
Life is hard even for the strongest of us. With low self-esteem, we might make it even harder on ourselves. In this feature, Soulveda finds out why some of us suffer from low self-esteem, and what we could do about it.
Often, low self-esteem is a complicated problem. As Peter Michaelson writes in See Your Way to Self-esteem: “The problem cannot be separated from a person’s whole psychology, his psychological development.” Brooding over hurtful experiences, fixating on our perceived flaws and putting ourselves down with our thoughts are some ways we destroy our sense of self-worth. Therefore, in order to overcome low self-esteem, we need to get rid of the bad psychological habits that we have inculcated over the years.
We all have flaws. We all make mistakes and do things we are not proud of. While it is important to be aware of the parts of ourselves that we don’t like, it is unwise to brood over them. Unfortunately, this is what most of us tend to do in moments of weakness. Such constant negativity pollutes our thoughts and deepens emotional wounds, says psychologist and author Guy Winch in his Ted Talk Why We All Need to Practise Emotional First-Aid.
Evidently, low self-esteem has far-reaching consequences when it comes to our overall wellbeing.
Engaging in negative self-talk, fixating on perceived flaws, and dwelling on past failures can contribute to low self-esteem. Rejection, loneliness, and failure can also impact self-esteem, leading to negative thoughts and emotions.
Low self-esteem can have far-reaching consequences for overall well-being. It can contribute to negative psychological states like depression and anxiety.
Overcoming low self-esteem requires an attitude overhaul and the development of positive habits. It involves letting go of negative thoughts and actively replacing them with positive ones.
Positive self-talk involves consciously replacing negative thoughts with uplifting and encouraging ones. Treating oneself with kindness and compassion, as one would treat a good friend, can help foster a more positive self-image.
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