Good Self-esteem Comes From Hard Work

One of the pillars that has a huge influence on our behavior is a good self-image. How we feel, based on the image we have of ourselves, determines the goals we choose, the relationships we maintain, and the intensity of our emotions. But how can we achieve a good self-image?

A good self-image comes from working hard on yourself. It’s not a lottery we might ever win. No, it is the fruit of our own personal efforts. If we want to see definitive results, we need to understand that this involves a process and that process takes time.

A good self-image is also one of the pillars that make up the human personality. In 2009, Abraham Maslow said that we need the esteem and respect that arise within ourselves in the form of self-esteem. He also said that we need it from others, in the form of status, recognition or social success.

When we have low self-esteem, we feel inferior, helpless, and discouraged, and we don’t rely on our ability to get things done. We often waste our efforts and look to external comparisons. We focus our thoughts and actions to balance our personality.

Creating a perception of ourselves

Considered a behavior (García, Cermeño, and Fernández, 1991), self-image is the way we create a perception about ourselves. We use it to make judgments about how we think and feel about ourselves, as well as how we can treat ourselves. It has a lot to do with how we deal with our own identity.

To talk about the cognitive component of a good self-image, we must first distinguish between what is meant by self-image and what is meant by self-concept.

Self-concept is defined as the image we have of ourselves in the cognitive, perceptual and affective dimensions. Self-concept would be associated with the representation people have of themselves.

Self-image, on the other hand, is understood as the positive or negative assessment that a person makes regarding his own self-concept. This includes the emotions associated with it and the attitude people have towards themselves.

A good self image comes with time

Having goals to pursue, setting goals, and fighting for those goals is very closely linked to wellness and mental health. Goal setting positively impacts other areas of our lives. It allows us to control important psychological aspects such as attention, self-confidence or motivation.

For example, one of the main reasons or symptoms of depression is the loss of hope and interest in our goals. dr. Ellis argues that problems with our self-image arise from certain ways of thinking. These thoughts can be irrational, illogical, or self-destructive.

For example, sometimes our way of thinking contains illogical thoughts that undermine our self-image. Some of these distinctive and irrational beliefs are:

• The belief that we must be competent and effective in everything.
• Thinking that people should love us and that we should have the approval of all the important people around us.
• The things that happened in the past determine our present and future behavior because they will always have a definite impact and will happen again.
• It is easier to avoid the responsibilities and problems of life rather than face them.

• Bad luck comes from external causes and we can do nothing or almost nothing to prevent or control the pain and suffering that this bad luck causes us.

Changing our self-image is not easy. It is naturally dynamic and sensitive. So it is not at all an easy task to modify it in such a way that it benefits us. It is the result of a series of actions, habits and predispositions and is something that must be acquired through hard work.

Low self-esteem is like driving through life with the handbrake on

What lies before and behind us is no more important than what we carry within ourselves. Nor is it more important than our perception of what we carry with us and how we define ourselves. Our quality of life is influenced by our self-image.

This implies how each person perceives and values ​​themselves. As a result, it also controls their behavior within their family and social circles on an individual level.

Having a positive or negative self-image affects our relationships with others. It reflects in our social lives and in the skills we employ to meet the different challenges in our lives.

We can conclude that low self-esteem makes us feel totally incompetent. We thus enter a negative vicious circle of self-destructive mechanisms.

For example, think about negative feelings, obsessive ideas and misconceptions about how we interpret the thoughts and feelings of others. In short, it makes us less functional and less accurate.