Counseling Center

Self-Esteem

Self esteem is related to the thoughts and feelings we have about ourselves, and what we believe others think and feel about us as well. How much we value, love and accept ourselves and how we feel valued, loved, accepted by others creates our self esteem. People with healthy self-esteem take pride in their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. They are able to feel good about themselves even when things don’t go perfectly. People with low self-esteem have difficulty believing that other will like them and may feel that they can't do anything well.

Everyone experiences problems with their self esteem at some point. Our self esteem can be challenged during times of transition, new challenges, and especially when we are trying to figure out who we are and where we fit in the world. Since self esteem changes over time you can improve it. You can:

Forgive yourself for your mistakes.
Celebrate your strengths and achievements.
Set achievable targets and get regular feedback.
Change the way you talk to yourself - stop putting yourself down.
Be sure that you are not judging yourself against unreasonable standards.
Look up these other web sites for more great information:

Better Self-Esteem

Coping.org: Self-Esteem

Self-Confidence

Building Self-Esteem

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