Transcript Dianne Volpe July 4, 2007

Self Esteem:
The Story
Dianne Volpe
Self-Esteem-The Story: Once upon a
time…this riddle was humbly asked…
You can’t touch it…
but it affects how you feel.
You can’t see it…
but it is there looking right back at you, when you look
in the mirror.
 You can’t hear it…
but it’s there every time you speak of yourself whether it
be out loud or in your mind.
So exactly what is this self-esteem thing?
Self-Esteem:
is made up of two separate words:
Self and Esteem.
self meaning
yourself.
Esteem (ess-teem, is a word
for thinking that someone or
something is important or of
value to you- whether it be
a person or a thing.
Together they make up the word:
Self-esteem which simply means
how you value yourself and how
I mportant you think you are. It is
how you see yourself and how you
feel about your achievements.
So why is this Self-esteem so important?
 Self-esteem is essential for each and everyone of us.
 Especially for kids, they need to have a healthy self-esteem during their
developmental and educational years.
Good self-esteem is important because it helps each and
everyone of us to hold our heads up and feel proud of
ourselves. It’s the vital ingredient that gives us the
courage to try new things as it empowers us to
believe in ourselves. It allows us to respect ourselves
even when we make mistakes.
The Circles of Good Self-esteem.
It helps you to make
good choices.
Good choices that nourish and
help flourish
your
mind and body,
enabling you to understand the
Importance of YOU.
.
It allows you to value your feelings,
health…your whole-self.
Good self-esteem helps you
to know that every part of
you is important and must
be cared for.
Good self-esteem enables you
to value your safety…making it less
likely for you to follow the crowd who is
partaking in dangerous activities.
So just where does this self-esteem thing
come from?
 Self-esteem develops and evolves throughout your entire life;
as you mature you form images of yourself through all
experiences. The experiences during the beginning
developmental years play a vital role in the shaping your selfesteem; this also includes an array of life-long components that
fit in place like puzzle pieces…some perfectly and some not so
perfect. So make wise choices because it is what makes YOU.
 How you were/are treated by the members of your family,
friends, teachers, coaches, religious authorities, neighbors…all
contribute to the delicate designing of your self-esteem. So
when you have a choice…choose them carefully.
The Highs and Lows: Self-esteem is largely
developed during childhood.
 Healthy Self-Esteem
 Low Self-Esteem
 Childhood experiences that lead to healthy selfesteem include:



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being yelled at, beaten

being criticized

being ignored, ridiculed or teased

being expected to be "perfect" most of the time

experiencing failures in sports or school

People with low self-esteem have an unrealistic
view where they correlate failed experiences
like: losing a game, getting a poor grade, being
dumped by a boy/girl-friend etc.) as if they the
person is a failure (failure of the whole-self..
getting attention/appropriate touch
being listened to
being spoken to respectfully

positive praise

experiencing success in sports or school

 Childhood experiences that lead to low selfesteem include:
having trustworthy friends
So exactly how do you
acquire this self-esteem?
When you were born you didn’t see yourself
in a good or a bad way. So just what is it that
plants the seed of self-esteem?
The people around you help
to develop your
Self-esteem.
ENCOURAGEMENT
NURTURE
 Who are these people in the
beginning of your life and throughout
who assist in the development of your
self-esteem?







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Family
Neighbors
Friends
Teachers
Classmates
Coaches
Teammates
Many others…
Self-esteem a little on the low side: so what’s
the story?
So how do you recognize low self-esteem?
You may know someone- whether it be a child or an adult who
doesn’t think highly of themselves. Someone who puts
themselves down, feels bad all the time, makes negative
comments about themselves and life, thinks they are not good
enough: maybe that someone is you.
So what do you do to help get out of that darkened state and
begin to elevate your self-esteem or help someone else?
Here is the story on boosting your
self-esteem!
 Make a list of all the things you are good at.
 List everything from making people laugh, to drawing, helping others, playing
sports, singing, being a friend, etc.
 Give yourself/others three compliments every day.
 Be specific about exactly what it is that is good about you.
 Do the same in complimenting others.
 Remember “it is what it is” some things cannot be
changed, so just learn to accept them.
 Accept your body, it is the only one you got. Fall in love with you,
your skin color, hair, body shape, how you think, your talents, etc.
Self-esteem: Happily Ever After
 Remember when you hear negative comments in your
head, tell yourself to stop!
Main Ingredients for a Healthy Everlasting Self-esteem.
 By Focusing on the good things you do and all your positive qualities you learn
to accept and love yourself for you.
 Recognize when you need improvement, everybody does, and learn from it.
The End
For further information go to: www.selfesteemawareness.com
Art used in this presentation:
by Dianne Volpe Visual Artist
Sculpture: Wood/metal, Avalon
The Summer of ‘75
Painting: Oil on board, Self Portrait
Tyme Management