In order to feel good about who you are, first you have to know who you are. There’s two main reasons you have low self-esteem:
- You have a poor self-image. The negative beliefs you hold about yourself obscure the high values God places on you.
- You don’t know who you are. You don’t know where to look to find your true value, you look in the wrong places, or you don’t look at all.
What is Self-Esteem?
Self-Esteem is the term used to describe how much you feel good about who you are. You can measure self-esteem on a continuum from negative (horrible) to positive (excellent).
Self-esteem has several related terms:
- Self-Acceptance is how well you embrace who God made you to be, including any of your current imperfections.
- Self-Confidence is expressing how good you feel about yourself in all that you do.
- Self-Image is who you think you are.
- Self-Worth is the value you place on who you are.
Overcome a Distorted Self-Image
Negative beliefs come exclusively from negative experiences. When you’ve had many things go wrong, having a high self-esteem is difficult. In order to feel good about yourself, you must develop the skill of sorting through your self-image. What part of what you believe about yourself is really true, and what part is really false?
Look Primarily to God for Self-Worth
God created you, so only He knows your true value. The more you look in other places, the greater your risk of developing a distorted self-image. Instead you must look to God to see yourself in the same positive way He sees you.
When you have the right internal understanding of who you are, your self-esteem will soar, not suffer.
I don’t have any dreams,no aspirations, and I don’t have passion for anything. How can I deal with this? Am just tired of existing.
Not sure what to say Given up all hope really. So many things have gone wrong. How can I change that?
Hi Alison!
Thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear so many things have gone wrong.
If you’re talking about permanent life changes, such as losing a loved one, those take longer to grieve. Everything else is a minor setback, relatively speaking. As long as you can change something about your response to your life situation, hope is alive.
The trick is seeing your negative past as helpful experiences (at least maybe you’ve learned what you don’t want, or you’ve learned what didn’t solve the problem). Realize that negative experiences aren’t a commentary on who God made you to be.
Your past doesn’t have to limit your future. God has given you an identity that He wants you to discover. So, you have a destiny to pursue. He is on your side.