“Self esteem” literally means “how we honor and believe in ourselves”. Self esteem is all about how we feel about ourselves. There are two kinds, quite simply ‘high’ self esteem and ‘low’ self esteem, though most of us move up and down a lot at different times in our lives!
We can measure self esteem by thinking about how we can impact or affect our communities, like our families or schools. For example, if you’re an artist you can make an impact by offering to help with creative projects. Every person is valuable in their community because they have talents that nobody else does – by working together, we can make our communities the best they can possibly be. Always remember that you are worth so much.
Sometimes people measure their self esteem by comparing themselves to other people. We can think, ‘if she has a prettier nose and he is better at sports, where does that put me?’. Well, it puts you in a category of your own, a unique place to be. Besides, the one with the prettier nose is probably jealous of your hair and your music skills, or whatever.
Comparing yourself to other people can be harmful because you will never truly ‘measure up’. You’re you, you’re not anybody else. Instead, try to focus on your own strengths, and use them to the best you possibly can.
A great way to gain high self esteem is to get ourselves into places and amongst supportive people that care about us and encourage us when we don’t feel brilliant.. Check out what we’ve got to say about high and low self esteem in our article “High and Low Self Esteem”.
Remember that you are important. Your life counts, and you can make a difference in this world. If you ever need to talk about this or anything else, feel free to get in touch with us. We’re here for you.
