Low Self-Esteem
Low Self-Esteem is a common perception amongst people that negatively affects how we accomplish our goals. We sometimes convince ourselves that we are not the right ones by focusing on the littlest mistakes. It causes us to seek answers from people, whereas we have always had the answers. Due to the lack of confidence, self-inflated inferiority has captivated our minds, and we tend to forget our capabilities. Low self-esteem can be defined in many contexts, but on a larger scale, it's described as "the lack of confidence that makes one pity themselves." Most times, low self-esteem starts from a young age introducing shyness, loss of confidence, and affection for oneself.
Causes of Low Self-Esteem
There are so many factors that contribute to low self-esteem. Some include Critical Parenting and Societal Preference.
Critical Parenting, mostly practiced by African parents, is where parents impose their will on their child instead of guiding them to be what they have passion for. Also, there's excessive use of force to inflict the parents' will, which leads them to become insecure and cloud themselves with fear, eventually driving them to lose their confidence. Through their actions, parents make young adults believe their actions, thoughts, and recommendations are less valuable.
Societal Preference is where there are generally accepted professions or dogmas that everyone should be or accept, and if not, you won't be considered successful. Such practices can be found in schools where teachers tend to limit success to a specific primitive kind of teaching. If you find it challenging to adapt to a particular learning pattern, they tend to bully you for either being too smart or a novice. As a result, children aspiring to do better sometimes lose track of their future because of constant degradation from teachers and fellow students, reducing a child's productivity and limiting their participation. Hence, they eventually grow up to have very low self-esteem.
Effects of Low self-Esteem
Some of the effects of low self-esteem are:
❏ It causes anxiety, stress, loneliness, or depression
❏ It causes social withdrawal
❏ High level of insecurity
❏ Low resilience
❏ Drug and alcohol vulnerability
How to overcome low self-Esteem
One could overcome low self-esteem in many ways, but the first step is to admit and accept that you suffer from low self-esteem. Doing so makes it easier to communicate with someone about getting help, be it through therapy, or other means. Through that, you'll be practicing self-affection and learning to accept your wrongs rather than hating yourself for your failures. You will also learn to embrace making mistakes, which will help you develop speedily because you'll discover that your true capacity is not limited, reduced, or altered by others' opinions. Therefore, do not give others the right to determine and define your success, but rise above your limitations today and live!