When speaking of self-esteem as a fundamental component of personal growth and happiness, it is necessary to explain what it is and from whom or what is nourished for its construction. Therefore, here we will see the most important aspects of self-esteem that affect the personality .
- Related article: ” 10 keys to increase your self-esteem in 30 days“
The link between personality and self-esteem
We will begin by explaining that self-esteem is the result of the evaluation we make of ourselves by perceiving ourselves compared to others and at the same time it is the way we interpret how the other values us. These aspects determine the “how we feel” about ourselves and our characteristics.
It is important to explain that self-esteem develops while being influenced by self-concept , (which comes to be what we think about ourselves), and temperament, which is the intensity with which we react and manage the states of encouragement and emotions.
Self-esteem, at the behavioral level, has three areas, which we will describe through the following questions:
- What we feel? Physiological area
- What do we think Cognitive area
- What do we do? Motor area
Dimensions of self-esteem
In turn, self-esteem has different dimensions, among which are:
1. Family
It refers to the responses that the family group returns to the child , the responses by which the child is perceived as part of the family. Let us exemplify this dimension from a negative response, understanding that in another context it can be positive; “Arturo (3 years old), why don’t you sit still watching the movie like your sister (8 years old)?” Arturo only wants to move, but in the end he ends up interpreting the following; “I am not able to stay still like my sister, I am bad because I move and therefore I am the unruly at home.”
2. Affective
Continuing along the lines of the previous example, we will say that from this dimension when evaluating himself as unruly, he considers that he is less loved than his sister. The affective dimension responds to how you see yourself and how you define your personality traits .
3. Physics
It involves evaluating everything that has to do with the body and its skills . If Arturo looks tall, because he is taller than his peers, he can consider his height as a strength to play basketball.
4. Social
It responds that if we feel loved by the other, that feeling gives us the idea of belonging to the group and in turn allows us to face different demands of the social environment.
5. Academic
It refers to whether or not we feel capable of performing a task. It should be clarified that this feeling is based on our aptitude as good or bad students.
Differences between high and low self-esteem
All these dimensions make up the interpretation that will give rise to what we call self-esteem, and this may be high or low; the distinction that we will address below.
Why is it important to make a high or low value interpretation of our self-esteem, or that of our children, students, etc.? Because when self-esteem is high, positive self-evaluation gives rise to the ability to face different situations in the following ways:
- Thoughts have a positive interpretation, seeing one capable of carrying out challenges, tasks, etc.
- The thoughts are optimistic, validating the competence to do what is proposed.
- You have confidence in yourself.
- The activities are carried out autonomously and on their own initiative.
- By being cooperative, skills are developed to promote socialization.
- Mistakes AND mistakes are recognized and accepted, being able to find a solution.
- The feeling of pride for their efforts is manifested beyond the results or successes and that is why they do not give up when pursuing their goals.
All these skills of high self-esteem allow us to face new or stressful situations and overcome them looking for creative solutions before problems that may arise.
However, what happens when self-esteem is low? Low self-esteem manifests itself with the following typical characteristics of people who present it:
- Fear of failure or error.
- They do not trust their abilities, they are valued little.
- Thoughts are negative, complaint and criticism.
- They are inhibited and poorly sociable.
- Faced with new challenges, the creative search for a solution is blocked and abandoned.
- Finding nothing to motivate them, they are often sad.
conclusion
We can consider, as a result of the understanding of what low self-esteem implies, that promoting high self-esteem is fundamental for personal growth as well as for training. In fact, in children and adolescents, self-esteem directly influences their learning, interpersonal relationships, and self-concept.
According to statistics, in Spain 2% of the child population suffers from depression and this is directly related to self-esteem. Therefore, it is necessary to create a space for training and guidance so that children, adolescents AND adults build a secure self-esteem, feeling valuable and capable and this ultimately translates into being a happy person.
Thus, self-esteem overlaps with all areas of well-being and affects the remission or maintenance of possible very common psychological problems. Knowing how to cultivate a good self-concept not only helps you commit to a psychotherapy treatment; In addition, it facilitates the development of new and exciting ways of living life.
