Your self-esteem is probably the most important part of your personality. It
precedes and predicts your performance in almost everything you do. It is the
energy source or the reactor core of your personality, and how much self-esteem
you have determines your levels of vitality, enthusiasm and personal magnetism.
People with high self-esteem are more positive, more likable and more effective in
every part of their lives.
Everything that you do or say or think will affect your self-esteem. Your job,
therefore, is to keep your self-esteem high and positive on a continuing basis.
Probably the best definition of self-esteem is this: the level to which you respect
and value yourself as an important, worthwhile person. People with high self-esteem
feel terrific about themselves and their lives. When you feel really good about
yourself, you tend to be the very best person you can possibly be.
Your level of self-esteem is really your level of “mental fitness.” It’s a measure of
how healthy, hardy, and resilient you are in dealing with the inevitable ups and
downs of daily life. Your self-esteem determines how much peace of mind and inner
contentment you experience. It is also closely linked to your health and levels of
energy. People with high self-esteem are seldom sick and seem to have an
inexhaustible flow of energy and enthusiasm that progressively moves them toward
their goals.
How much you like and respect yourself also determines the quality of your
relationships with people. The more you like and enjoy yourself, the more you will
like and enjoy others, and the more they will like you. In fact, when your self-esteem
is hurt in any way, the very first thing that is affected is the way you get along with
people.
To perform at your best and to feel terrific about yourself, you should be in a
perpetual state of self-esteem building and maintenance. Just as you take
responsibility for your level of physical fitness, you need to take complete
responsibility for the content and quality of your mind.
