Importance of self-esteem in achieving life goals is immeasurable. Understanding what self-esteem is and how it has been shaped can help you change.
The simplest way to define self-esteem is “how you see yourself!”. While self-concept is the image we hold of ourselves, self-esteem is a subjective, evaluative response toward the self, it is a feeling as well as a judgement.
Self-esteem is shaped during childhood. Praise and criticism received in formative years are absorbed deep in our psyche and not forgotten easily.
Our self-esteem develops as a result of the:
- verbal and non-verbal feedback from others
- comparison we make between ourselves and others
- as well as our interpretation of our thoughts, feelings and actions
Now, let’s look at the link between self-esteem and weight. We all know how society reacts to overweight people. It starts early in school, teasing, looks, rejection and it is very painful. Eventually, person ends up agreeing with the negative feedback and accepts it as a part of who they are.
It’s a tricky situation! You need to lose weight to improve self-esteem but at the same time your low self-esteem is undermining your weight loss. It might feel hopeless.
So, where do we start? …TO BE CONTINUED
EXERCISES:
- Write down an honest description of yourself.
- Highlight any negative judgements or feelings.
- Create alternative terminology that’s less degrading.
