The effects of having low self-esteem are wide and at first glance may be surprising but if we go back to the cognitive model, we can see that what we believe about ourselves dictates most of what we think, feel, and do. Therefore your self-esteem is a major player throughout your life and when you don’t like yourself, or your self-esteem level is on the lower end, then much of what you are thinking, feeling, and doing are likely not serving you.

OVERACHIEVING

So, how does low self-esteem affect you? Some of its consequences may appear to be positive and mistakenly not attributed to low self-esteem, such as the drive for success. There is a large handful of overachievers who work to make themselves feel good and significant. They are afraid of letting others know they aren’t good enough (which is the belief they may hold about themselves) so they work twice as hard to prove otherwise. 

Tying your worth to your to-do list may signify you have low self-esteem.

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While feeling good about yourself isn’t the only road to loving your life and finding happiness, it certainly is one of the most important. Remember, change starts with you and so it is up to you to work on improving your self-esteem so that you can unlock happiness and live the life you want to be living.

But, of course it’s easier said than done and improving the way you feel about yourself takes work, commitment, and consistency. Self-care is at its foundation. Even if you were to spend time going through numerous exercises aimed at helping you improve your self-esteem, if you are neglecting the care of yourself, your self-esteem will continue to suffer. 

Let’s start with reviewing the basis of where to begin when you want to feel good about who you are- taking care of your body. Physical self-care. This often is the easiest place to start because you can feel the effects of physical self-care relatively quickly. Moving your body, fueling it with...

When we refer to “the self,” all sorts of terms may come up, words like self-identity, self-concept, self-image, self-esteem, and self-love. What’s the difference and how can we move towards becoming our best selves?

Self Identity

Let’s start with self-identity- this is who you are. Self-identity is the awareness of and identification with oneself as a separate individual, how you identify and define yourself. You would describe your identity with specific and selective traits, qualities, abilities, and characteristics that represent you. 

An example of a self-identity is perhaps a role that you play, such as mother or doctor, or perhaps a certain trait that encompasses who you are, such as reliable or lazy. You can identify as a particular sexual orientation like as bisexual or pansexual or as a gender like or unlike the one given to you at birth.

A person’s self-identity is not formed from birth but rather it is shaped through life. Family,...