nearly everyone wishes they had more self-esteem?. What tends to happen around self-esteem is that most people assess themselves through externals and tote up their self-esteem by how well they've done in comparison to some impossible measurement in their heads. How did I do on my appraisal? Do my colleagues like me? Am I getting praised enough? Now adidas stan smith bianche e verdi , there's nothing wrong with looking to externals for verification and affirmation. We do need the acknowledgement of others to bolster our sense of self. However, if self-esteem is based solely on externals and what others think, then you will continually rely on 'them' to make you feel good. You'll need an ever-increasing dose of approbation from others to keep going. Without a firm foundation of your own view of self worth, your self-esteem can be knocked back quite quickly and easily. Then you'll find yourself blaming externals when you feel bad and play the 'if only' game: "If only such and such had happen (or hadn't happened) then I'd feel better and things would be OK." "If only so and so would tell me how I'm doing, then I'd be fine." Of course, this means another self-perpetuating cycle: you make your self-esteem reliant on others which means you give your 'power' away to them. If they don't come up with the goods (which are usually in your head so the other person doesn't really know just what the goods they're supposed to come up with are) then you feel bad and your esteem drops. Your need for outside affirmation grows and you rely more on externals than before which gives your power away and undermines your self-esteem. Get the picture? So. Have we really got you down now? It's really not as bad as all that. To the rescue Never fear, Impact Factory's here. And we have a few hints and tips to help you when things feel really rough. Internal Assessment The only place to start is with you. As we said, outside acknowledgement is good. Inside is better. So, here's an exercise to start the ball rolling. Make a list of all the qualities and skills you already have. We mean everything. At the top of the page put 'I' and then your list, such as: have a warm smile, am a good listener, can ride a bike well, do the washing up without being nagged, like to help my colleagues adidas superstar argento e bianche , can be relied upon, am efficient. This needs to be a long, long list. No negatives; not a one. And notice what your head is doing through all of this. Am a good listener. Well, sometimes I'm a good listener, but there are times when I'm really rushed, and don't have the time I'd like to give to people. Can ride a bike well. Of course, I'm not an expert. I don't race or anything and some of my friends join those charity bike-a-thons. I've never done that. And so on. It's really hard to do these lists without those negative thoughts creeping in. Actually, they don't creep, they storm in; they shove and push their way in and YELL REALLY LOUDLY to drown out the positives. You may not be able to shut them up, but it's interesting; the longer your list is, the quieter those voices get. Try it; you'll see. Having made your list, now go to a couple of people you genuinely trust and ask them what they like about you. Add to your list. No negatives. No 'needs developing' or 'could do better' or 'Yes, buts'. Next make a list of your passions, beliefs and values: things you feel really strongly about; things that turn you on; beliefs and values that are important to you. To this list add things you know you're committed to adidas superstar fiori di loto , like a partner, a house, your family, some volunteer work, parts of your job, hobbies, etc. Finally, add things that motivate and inspire you - music you listen to, walks you take, people you admire, authors you read, food you relish, etc. Gather these lists together and look at them, deciding a few things from each list that sum you up. Then write a Personal Statement about yourself incorporating the most important bits. Read your statement out loud. Read it to other people. Read it each night before you go to bed and first thing when you wake in the morning: this is who I am. You need to know and acknowledge those qualities adidas superstar bianche e leopardate , skills, values and beliefs that you can rely on and that tell the world who you are. If you don't acknowledge these, why should anyone else? Practically Perfect Something we know is tied up with what gets in the way of having high self-esteem is perfectionism. You have to get it right; you have to get it right first time; and you have to be perfect. And you have to be able to do everything as well. Perfectly. Sound silly reading it, doesn't it? At Impact Factory we're of the practically perfect (even occasionally, the good enough) school of though
