As Eleanor Roosevelt so eloquently put it, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Mrs. Roosevelt was talking about self-esteem when she made this statement, and she couldn’t have said it better! Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, and it is determined by you. Like any habit, self-esteem is learned, so if you currently have low self-esteem, take comfort knowing that you can change. It all starts with your thoughts.
Negative Inner Self-Learning
Negative inner self-learning leads to poor self-esteem. It involves harsh criticism and negative thoughts about oneself.
- Always find fault with the behavior
- Demand of oneself to change the behavior
- Try hard to do the behavior correctly
- Find fault with the results, which leads to repeating the bad behavior
Positive Inner Self-Learning
Positive inner self-learning involves visualization, or seeing yourself complete a task the way you want to complete it. So much of our success is dependent on first believing that we can achieve, and then actually putting that belief into practice.
- Watch behavior without judgement or finding fault
- Decide what changes are necessary and recall the way to act by remembering the correct way to do it
- Allow the activity to happen, again holding back judgement
- Watch the results until the behavior is achieved and becomes a good habit
Success Profiler
Self-esteem is a cycle that starts with positive thinking and visualizing success. Since your thoughts control your actions, if you visualize success, you will achieve success. With success comes positive thoughts about yourself and high self-esteem. Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” Our Success Profiler features a Self-Esteem Skill Building Unit that teaches users positive inner self-learning so they end up on the front end of that statement.
