Awareness of the source of your own personal esteem, either from within yourself or from someone or something outside of yourself, provides you with a valuable tool to understand your choices, behaviors, and interactions with others. Fortunately for all of us, taking ownership of our self-esteem is possible.
One of my clients, Michael, writes:
“I finally accomplished a goal. I have self-esteem now. Looking back, I made starting junior varsity and the backup varsity basketball team, but I quit because I didn’t think I was good enough. At age twenty-two I had a walk-on tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and didn’t try out because I didn’t think I was good enough.
“Today at age fifty I feel great. Life is great. I have accomplished something for the first time in my life and can do it anytime with the confidence I have now and the man I have become who loves life and myself. There’s nothing I can’t do!
“My life has purpose and I don’t need mind-altering substances to enjoy it. I used to live in a fog, but life is clearer now. I live in the moment not the past or future. I enjoy life thanks to these classes [at Focus One, which teaches the principles in Good With Me in a group setting]. It woke me up! My overall outlook on life is 100 percent better. I love my new life, my freedom. I love the new me. I respect me.”
– Michael Clarke
Just because you didn’t have self-esteem as a child, or even up until this moment, doesn’t mean you can never have it. Discover just how powerful you really are…