Self esteem is a basic psychological need.
– It is an intimate experience; it resides in the core of one’s being. It is what I think and feel about myself. It is not what someone else thinks or feels about me. I can be loved by family and friends but not love myself. I can be admired by my associates and yet regard myself as worthless. ( Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.) –
The practice of living consciously:
- respect for the facts of reality without evasion or denial
- to be present to what we are doing while we are doing it
- seek to understand whatever bears on our interests, values and goals
- be aware both of the world external to self and also the world within
The practice of self-acceptance:
- to be self-accepting means to own and experience, without denying or disowning, the reality of our thoughts, emotions, and actions
- to be respectful and compassionate towards ourselves, even when we do not admire or enjoy some of our feelings or decisions
- to refuse to be in an adversarial or rejecting relationship to ourselves
The practice of self-responsibility:
- to be self-responsible is to recognize that we are the author of our choices and actions
- that we must be the ultimate source of our own fulfillment
- that no one exists to serve us
- that no one is coming to make our life right for us, or make us happy , or to give us self-esteem
The practice of self-assertion:
- to be self-assertive is to honor our wants and needs and look for their appropriate forms of expression in reality
- to treat ourselves with decent respect in our encounters with others
- to be willing to be who we are and allow others to see it
- to stand up for our convictions, values, and feelings
The practice of living purposefully:
- to live purposefully is to take responsibility for identifying or goals
- to perform the actions that will allow us to achieve them
- to keep ourselves on track and moving toward their fulfillment
The practice of living with integrity:
- to live with integrity is to have principles of behavior to which we remain loyal in action
- to have congruence between what we know, what we profess, and what we do
- to keep our promises and honor our commitments -to walk our talk!
Of all the judgement we pass in our life, none is more important than the judgement we pass on ourselves. Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.