Many of us experience deep, emotional pain, that may stem from a negative self image and/or limiting self beliefs. At times, this self criticism and lack of belief or trust in yourself can be debilitating. It keeps us small, stops us from going after our dreams or trying something new. Self-confidence, self-esteem, and or self-acceptance, or lack-there-of, are often at the core of this pain.
It doesn't have to be this way, find out how to take control and develop all of these self domains.
Self-Confidence means to trust yourself, in particular your ability to successfully engage with the world. A self-confident person will embrace new opportunities and seek new and exciting challenges, deal with tricky situations, and take responsibility and appropriate action if and when things go wrong.
When we lack self confidence, we can become stuck, and/or avoid opportunities to grow and achieve success. Low self confidence can be debilitating and impact many life domains. However, it is something that can be developed and/or improved with the right assistance.
Self-Esteem means to appraise, rate and value yourself. It is our cognitive and emotional appraisal of our own worth. Moreover, it is the paradigm through which we think, feel, and act. It reflects and determines our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world. People with a healthy self-esteem don’t rely on externals props such as income, status, or notoriety. They don’t depend on crutches such as alcohol, drugs, or sex. Quite the contrary, they treat themselves with respect and take care of their health, the environment and the community. They are able to invest themselves completely in projects and people because they do not fear failure or rejection. Naturally, they still suffer disappointments and hurts, but they view these setbacks as glitches, and don’t allow negative experiences to damage or diminish them.
Self-Acceptance relates specifically to how we value, or how worthwhile we consider ourselves to be. Self-acceptance however implies a far more comprehensive affirmation of self. When we're self-accepting, we're able to embrace all characteristics of ourselves, not just the more "esteem-able" or positive facets, but all facets of ourselves. Thus, self-acceptance is unconditional, free of any judgement or evaluation. Self-acceptance allows us to recognise our faults, weaknesses, and limitations, however this awareness in no way impedes our ability to fully accept ourselves.
Only when we stop judging ourselves, can we become more secure and cultivate a more positive sense of identity. Self-esteem organically increases when we stop being so hard on ourselves. Self-acceptance demands more than self-esteem, and is crucial to our sense of well-being and of happiness.
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