Self-Esteem is how you feel about yourself. The more you like who you are, the higher your self-esteem will be. How you feel about yourself affects EVERYTHING YOU DO. Self-esteem starts from what others think about us. As we accept or reject these messages, our self-esteem is formed. If we got positive messages about ourselves as children, chances are we have high self-esteem or If we got negative messages, we probably have low self-esteem. How does self-esteem help us? People with high self-esteem believe in themselves. They tend to think of mistakes or problems as a chance to grow and change and have: A positive attitude Good judgment Good problem-solving skills Healthy, close relationships Confidence in new situations How can low self-esteem hurt us? People with low self-esteem don’t believe in themselves. Mistakes or problems can make them feel like failures and lead to serious problems: A negative attitude Poor judgment Poor problem-solving skills Unhappy relationships Being nervous in new situations Self esteem can be changed! If you received negative messages as a child, you may feel badly about yourself now, but we can change how we feel about ourselves as we learn to judge ourselves more fairly. Listen closely to what you say about yourself. Do you call yourself “not good enough”? Noticing negative thinking is the fist step toward changing it. Notice positive things about yourself. Cheering up a friend or being on time to class are all positive strengths. Work to change things about yourself that you don’t like. If you don’t like your grades, study harder. Take responsibility for what you do. Blaming a teacher or friend for poor grades won’t help you become a better student. If you have bad feelings about yourself a lot of the time, you can get help- see your counselor*** 1995 Karen Ross, ETR Associates A nonprofit organization