April 20, 2022 –
It is essential to know you never build a strong positive relationship with someone until you have a strong confident, accepting connection with yourself. Self-esteem is important.
How do we develop a strong, positive, accepting relationship with ourselves that enables us to have strong positive relationships with others? Here are three practical guidelines to follow in creating a better self-image.
- Accept yourself. Accepting yourself begins with the thought you are unique, unlike any other person. No two people are precisely alike like fingerprints or snowflakes—you do not have an “identical” twin. You are unique. Often, we prioritize or judge people, including ourselves, according to a counterfeit status code. The guidelines may be wealth, power, education, physical appearance, nationality, occupation, or other outward class signs. Accept yourself.
- Appreciate yourself. People appreciate themselves in direct proportion to their self-esteem. So, self-esteem is how much you value yourself. My experience is that others will value you no higher than you value yourself. You see, in others, what you see in yourself. If you like yourself, you will like others. If you dislike yourself, you will have a dislike for others. Have an awareness of your potential. Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot do—know your potential, and develop your strengths.
- Acknowledge success. Everyone has experienced success in some form, some people more than others. Often, people will downplay their achievements or credit them to luck because of a lack of self-esteem.
Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with yourself, but never complacent. Everyone has room for growth. Relationships are not static; they grow and need cultivation or stagnate and lead to decay.