Definition of Self-Esteem

From TeenHealthCentre.com

Self-esteem
Definition of Self-Esteem
By Teen Health Centre
Oct 29, 2004, 15:24

DEFINITION OF SELF-ESTEEM

Self-esteem is “how much a person likes, accepts, and respects himself overall as a person”.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW SELF-ESTEEM:
A teenager with low self-esteem will:

Demean his own talents
Feel that others don’t value him
Feel powerless
Be easily influenced by others
Express a narrow range of emotions
Avoid situations that provoke anxiety
Become defensive and easily frustrated
Blame others for their own weaknesses

Low self-esteem has been correlated with low life satisfaction, loneliness, anxiety, resentment, irritability and depression.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH SELF-ESTEEM:
A teenager with high self-esteem will:

Act independently
Assume responsibility
Be proud of accomplishments
Approach new challenges with enthusiasm
Exhibit a broad range of emotions
Tolerate frustration well
Feel capable of influencing others

High self-esteem has been correlated with academic success in high school, internal locus of control, high family outcome, positive sense of self-attractiveness.

Quotations:
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of your goal. Henry Ford

It is better to be prepared of an opportunity and not have had one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. Whitney Young Jr.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. Henry Ford

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you stop pedaling. Claude Pepper

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. Hugh Downs

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln

For help with self-esteem contact
the Teen Health Centre at (519) 253-8481
and ask to speak to a counsellor