Have you ever been caught up in the self-loathing spinning wheel when you allowed everything unfavourable you believed about yourself to come up to the surface, to the point that you saw yourself as the most unworthy or flawed person on the planet? “You are so stupid,” “You are ugly,” “You are a failure,” “You …
I’m a sleeper. There, I said it. It sounds like a guilty pleasure, I know. Like some kind of a closet hedonism I like indulging into. I even feel a bit embarrassed as I write this so openly. But, hey, despite the risk of being annoying, I think it’s worth repeating it again— I like …
No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities. Christian Nestell Bovee Do you think you are a good person? Better than most perhaps? What about smart or intelligent? Or better at your job than most of your co-workers? If so, you are not alone. …
“You are worth it,” “You are enough,” “You are strong,” “You can do it”…. The list goes on and on. Almost every listicle, self-help book or even TV ads lists some version of the above statements—tell yourself you are great, blow kisses to your reflection every morning, hug yourself, we are told. And everything will …
Confidence may be a pretty tricky mindset to embrace every day, as many who struggle with low esteem likely know too well. For one thing, psychologists have discovered that our levels of self-assurance can fluctuate daily and even hourly—this is something that they call state self-esteem. It means that certain events or situations can either …
“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” Albert Camus Not too long ago, I was assigned to lead a fairly large project at work. It involved heavy interactions with various departments, endless meetings, lots of brainstorming exercises, and more importantly—a need for a skillful and charismatic leader, who can build …
Have you had that one childhood friend that you did almost everything together with? If so, you’ve probably often heard your parents compare you to her/him (mine did): “Look at Jane (John)–how come they are doing better in school, at sports, at playing the piano?” or “Why can’t you be more like Jane (John)?” How …
We all, of course, want to be successful. We chase it incessantly, talk, read, write about it, and visualize it. Success feels great, tastes great and can give us an influx of endorphins. It’s a high like no other. So far so good. The culprit, though, is when we mis-interpret what it means to be …
Confidence and self-esteem are often used interchangeably. So often, that we see them as synonyms. Or at least, very close –like the two sides of the same coin. Or like twin brothers. Or Hansel and Gretel—they always seem to go together. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a confusing tale when it comes to these two …
Self-esteem is not easy to build, no doubt about this. What makes it especially challenging is that low sense of worth can come from many sources, which often can be intertwined and work together to undermine our confidence. One of the greatest influencers on our self-esteem is our relationship with others–our parents, friends, peers, spouses …