5 Ways To Build Esteem

While it is great to have a support system of family and friends to encourage you, it is important that you believe in yourself.  You need to feel that you can and will accomplish the things that you want to do.  If you are your worst critic, then you also need to be your biggest cheerleader.  Your esteem is your responsibility.  Build it with care and perform routine maintenance on it.  There are five things that may help you establish a solid self-esteem.

1. Lay a brick of recognition on top of a brick of impact.  Connect them with the mortar of awareness.  Know that you matter and make a difference when you speak.  Remind yourself of the ways that you make things better.
2. Use a humor hammer to keep things in perspective.  Learn to laugh at yourself when the occasion calls for it.  Don't beat yourself up over silly things that will soon be forgotten by others.  
3. Keep enough experience nails in your bag to join your skills to the appropriate needs.  Where you have been, who you have met, and what you know will fill the blank pages of your esteem journal.  The written word connects thought to action.
4. Don't build the foundation of your esteem based on someone else's measurements.  Mold your thoughts and behavior with a shaping saw that will modify your expectations to fit your story.  As you look and listen to others for guidance and inspiration, apply the things that make sense for you and discard what you don't need.
5. Paint the walls of your personality with a pattern of competence and consistency.  There are things that you do well.   Practice and perfect those skills on a regular basis.  They may be used to describe you to others.  What you display reflects how you view yourself, your environment, and those that interact with you.  

In the next Hearts post (in a few weeks), maintenance of esteem will be covered.  For this week, leave a comment and share which of these esteem building tips can help you.

Within Reach

Are your hopes and dreams within reach?  If you answered yes, then don't delay in your pursuit of them.  Move toward what you want with focus and confidence.  If you answered no, then determine what you need to do to reach them.  Put yourself in a position to extend your reach in multiple directions.  You may not always be able to use the most obvious approach.  Consider different routes that will lead you to your desired finish line.

• Reach up to expand your vision.   When you reach up, you tend to look up as well.  You may not be able to fully grasp everything you see at first. However, as you continue to stretch, you will get a better grip on what you will encounter at the next level.

• Reach out to gain information.  Ask questions that will open doors.  Reach out to share information.  Give answers that build bridges that connect you to problem solvers.  Effective communication can establish your foundation and credibility.

• Reach down to find motivation when things don't go according to the plan.   Encouragement can be found beneath failure and disappointment.  Reach down to lift the lesson from the loss.  The floor (bottom) is the launching pad to the ceiling (top).    

Leave a comment and share whether you will reach up, out, or down this week.