OVERCOMING LOW SELF-ESTEEM

The 1990’s generation is deeply suffering from low self-esteem and many young people feel like they have lost it all. As I pen this down, I want to strongly assure our generation that we have the ability to create new champions in ourselves.

After last year’s training at ELF, I have thought about self-esteem in relation to Emotional intelligence and I can now clearly define it as an emotional opinion about oneself, how one feels about himself/herself as a person.

Many define self-esteem as ‘feelings of worth based on their skills, accomplishments, status, financial resources or appearance.’ However, from my school of thought I believe our sense of being a good person should not depend on what we do but rather on who we are in Christ (this is a Christian world view).

Our society seems to have it all wrong, there is a big problem with the society’s focus on self-esteem. The problem is that this focus involves measuring oneself against others, rather than paying attention to one’s intrinsic value.

Research shows that basing one’s self-worth on external factors (including academic performance, appearance and approval from others) is actually harmful to one’s mental health. The same research found that students who based their self-worth on internal sources (the unique qualities that make you- you) not only felt better; they also received higher grades and were less likely to use drugs and alcohol or to develop eating disorders.

From ELF’s training, I have learnt on how to apply a healthy view of myself and I can only achieve this by avoiding placing self at the center as the be-all and end-all of existence.

Iyanla Vanzant once said, “so many of us invest a fortune making ourselves look good to the world, yet inside we are falling apart. It’s time to invest on the inside.”

There are simple ways to help you increase your self-esteem and build confidence in yourself:

• Challenge bad thoughts about yourself
• Take care of yourself
• Be sure to relax
• Try new things
• Surround yourself with people who make you feel good
• Accept yourself
• Set goals for yourself
• Help somebody else out
• Take a different perspective
• Keep visual reminders of things that make you feel good

Each and every one of us have self-esteem. Self-esteem is made up of the thoughts we have about ourselves and plays a role in almost everything we do.

Having healthy self-esteem is really important as it helps you make positive choices in your everyday life, gives you the courage to be your own person, have good relationships and helps you deal with difficult situations.

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, spontaneous delight wonder, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

In conclusion, I believe that this piece will motivate someone and boost positive living. It’s not easy to like every part of the way we look, but getting stuck on negatives can really bring down your self-esteem. It’s important to believe that you can change. Change doesn’t necessarily happen easily or quickly, but it happens.

Submitted by

Stephen Muasya-cohort 8