Having Healthy Self-Esteem

Your self-esteem may have become damaged inare honoring yourself when you start treating yourself
your childhood. A significant caregiver of your pastas though you are valuable. This doesn't mean you
gave you messages that you were not as good asdon't wish to change and evolve, it just means you
you should be. They did not esteem you in theaccept who you are.
appropriate way. These messages then became partHaving healthy self-esteem is a process where you
of your own opinion of yourself. You believed thelose needing others approval and you learn to develop
messages that you were worth less than others.your own appreciation for yourself. You also learn how
You may have never learned to value yourself fromto accept compliments from others. You may have
within. You may have false self-esteem revolvinghad a hard time doing that because you did not see
around your possessions based on what you 'have'. Ifyourself as worthy of any praise.
you do not have good self-esteem, you judge yourselfBut you are worthy. You have the right to stand up for
harshly. Sometimes you build your self-esteem onyourself. You have the right to say no to things you do
what is beyond your control, which is dependent uponnot want in your life. You don't have to take on
the choices of others and how they view you.additional responsibilities you are not ready for. You
Often what people refer to as thinking with regards todon't have to compromise your integrity because
your self-esteem is actually just taking the opinions ofothers want you to do something you don't want to.
others and reprocessing them. Thinking independentlyAnd you never have to feel guilty or apologize for
actually develops self-esteem within you. Beingwhat you do, think or feel.
responsible for yourself without relying on the opinionsYou must love yourself before you can truly love
of others will enhance your self-responsibility, which isothers. If you don't love yourself, you will continue
essential to self-esteem.looking outside yourself for confirmation of your worth.
Taking control of your own lives is the foundation ofOnce you build your self-esteem and start extending
honoring yourself. When you learn self-acceptance,that self-esteem and honoring others, you may be
you will grow. You were born a remarkable being. Youamazed at what it does for your relationships.