Success and how it's related to Self-Esteem

Hey guys...

I recently wrote a post about how I feel mediocre and our friend Thorn Bird wrote a really good reply that made me want to create another post. He told me that unfortunately no matter how successful I am, if I have poor self-esteem, I will never feel good about my life, career, or opportunities.

I think this is a such an important thing for all of us to consider....what do you guys think about success? What is your idea of a successful person? And how does this relate to your self-esteem? He really gave me a lot to think about with his comment....for a while I was thinking there was something wrong with my life and the things I was doing....but I think rather it is my self-concept and poor self-esteem.

Anyone else have any thoughts or similar feelings...?

~Alma

I agree with Thorn Bird about the poor self-esteem. But I find that self-esteem is connected other things as well. I find that depression, anxiety, etc erode self-esteem. I know when I in a stable period of my bipolar illness that my self-esteem rises but when I am in a deep depression my self-esteem goes out the window. So many things cause and errosion of self-esteem. I only named a couple that affect mine.

Trying to post this message but there is an error!

I'll try again - don't know what happened! I don't know if you were referring to me Thorn Bird I am actually a she - not that it matters. Self-esteem comes from within and from the love of our self - which in itself is a paradox for in order to love we first have to have been loved. I think success is different for everyone and I think it is good for you to find something you enjoy and are good at to help boost your self-esteem but I believe the art of this is to love who you are as a person your beliefs and who you stand for and be proud of who you are - everything else will follow

when it comes to self-esteem, you can refer to a quote by abe Lincoln. when I do bad, I feel bad, when I do good, I feel good. your self concept is based on how your think and feel about yourself. it is fluid, meaning it can change very quickly. run over the family dog and your self esteem is going to plummet, but score the winning touch down for your team it will sky rocket. anything you do can impact it. it all depends on how you feel about yourself. if something makes you feel good, your self esteem is going to go up. so you want to seek out things in life that are going to make you feel good so you can feel better about yourself. success is only success if it makes you feel good about yourself. if you are kind and respectful to others, you are going to feel better about yourself. if you take care of your body thru diet and exercise you are going to feel better about yourself. if you take care of your material possessions, manage your money well, you are going to feel better about yourself. if you engage in talents you are proud of, you are going to feel better about yourself. all these things increase self esteem. its all about feeling good. so find those things in life that make you feel good and it will boost your self esteem. take care.

I don't think self esteem fluctuates very much; once you befriend yourself and get the knack of thinking well of yourself, it is harder to think poorly of yourself. I make mistakes but I also take responsibility for myself and my mistakes and know how to "fix" them. I do not associate my "self" and self-esteem with the mistakes I make and problems I have.

I think self-esteem is tied to shame and guilt more than to "worldly" success or lack thereof. I think success is getting to know one's self and working out how to be one's self in most situations.