SELF-ESTEEM What is it?

What you will need  A piece of paper  A writing utensil  An open mind  A willingness to work

The Essentials  If I took away any of the following your experience of life would drastically change: Food Oxygen Water  There is one more element that if taken away your life would drastically change, WHAT IS IT?

SELF-ESTEEM  Other than food, air, and water NOTHING is more important in determining the quality of your experience of life than your self- esteem

We all have labels  We all have labels that we and other put on ourselves For example  I am a teacher  I am a student  I am a husband  I am a hard worker  I am a friend  I am a son and a brother

Your turn  Quickly write down as many labels as you can think of in 90 seconds that describe yourself  Now, put a check mark next to the labels that you feel good about and/or that you feel you do well at

How do I do  I am a teacher  I am a student  I am a husband  I am a hard worker  I am a friend  I am a son and a brother

I AM a STUDENT  We all have a number of self-images such as the ones you have written down  Our self-esteem is how we VALUE those images or labels For example  Do I think I am a good or bad teacher  Do I think I am a good or bad husband  Do I think I am a good or bad friend  My self-esteem is how I VALUE the labels I give to myself or accept from others

Self-esteem is SELF-estem  It is imperative that we understand something very important about self- esteem: It is SELF-esteem  No one else can GIVE it to you!  It is up to each of you to be conscious of what you believe and what you do and how those actions and beliefs impact your self- esteem in either a positive or negative way

Personality  Our self-esteem is the very core of our personality  It affects every aspect of our human behavior How we act How we relate others Our ability to learn Our capacity to grow and change Our choice of friends, mates and careers

Success in LIFE  Research and common sense indicate that a positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life  You can be taught everything there is to know if any subject, but if you do not like and accept yourself and other, it is doubtful that you will do anything worthwhile with that information

Nurture  Nurturing your self-esteem is EQUALLY important to nurturing your knowledge of specific subjects

Remember  It is important to be conscious of your labels and how you value them so you can decide which ones you choose to discard and which ones you choose to keep

Activity  Look over your lists of labels Select one Take a minute to think about how your life is affected by the value you place on that label