My Thoughts On Self Esteem

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My Thoughts on Self-esteem Self-esteem is an important part of emotional health. According to Answers.com, self-esteem “encompasses both self confidence and self acceptance. It is the way individuals perceive themselves and their self-value” (Answers.com, 2007). Although esteem means to hold in high regard, one can have both high and low self-esteem. In my opinion, self-esteem represents the confidence one has in doing well in certain tasks or activities, such as school and sports. When one has high self-esteem, one is confident in one’s ability do well in lessons, games, sports, or skills like sculpting. One might feel comfortable at tasks that appear difficult such as completing a jigsaw puzzle that has several hundred pieces. The advantages of self-esteem are that children with high self-esteem handle conflicts easily, resist negative pressures, and have an easier time making new friends. They have an optimistic view of their life, and smile and laugh more often (Answers.com, 2007). Good grades in school, doing well at sports, and making friends may lead to high self-esteem. In addition, “supportive parental behavior, including encouragement and praise for accomplishments… are the most powerful factors in the developing self-esteem in early childhood” (Answers.com, 2007). On the other hand, when one has low self-esteem, one does not have a lot of confidence. So, one does not try very hard at anything. If one has low self-esteem, one's effort at school may decrease. The resulting negative consequences will lead to even lower self-esteem. Children that have low self-esteem do not deal with problems well, are self critical, and might become withdrawn and depressed (Answers.com, 2007). Bad grades, lack of friends, and unsupportive parents might lead to low self-esteem. Self-esteem is important for students to achieve for several reasons. One is that students
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