Getting Started with Self-Esteem

I began my quest by reading a lot of books and magazine articles about self-esteem. This promoted my self-awareness and kept me focused. My favorite book was Celebrate Yourself, by Dorothy Corkill Briggs.

Reading helped me understand that my low self-esteem was related to my childhood. When I was growing up, I took my mother’s lack of attention as an indication that something was wrong with me. The teasing of my classmates reinforced this negative attitude. Their voices eventually became my inner critic.

To counteract my inner critic now that I was an adult, I began affirming myself (consciously thinking nice things about myself). I told myself that I was a worthy person despite my shortcomings. I also made a list of my attributes and began focusing on them. In effect, I was trying to brainwash myself. It worked a little, but there was still more work to be done.