A key in our personality: self-esteem

When talking about self-esteem as a fundamental component of personal growth and happiness, it is necessary to explain what it is and who or what it draws on for its construction. Therefore, here we will see the most important aspects of self-esteem that affect personality.

• Related article: "10 keys to increase your self-esteem in 30 days"

The link between personality and self-esteem

We will begin by explaining that self-esteem is the result of the evaluation that we carry out of ourselves when perceiving ourselves in comparison with others and at the same time it is the way in which we interpret how the other values ​​us. These aspects determine "how we feel" about ourselves and our characteristics.

It is important to explain that self-esteem develops while being influenced by self-concept, (which is what we think about ourselves), and temperament, which is the intensity with which we react and manage moods and emotions.

Self-esteem, at the behavioral level, has three areas, which we will describe through the following questions:

• What we feel? physiological area
• What do we think? cognitive area
• What do we do? motor area

Dimensions of self-esteem

In turn, self-esteem has different dimensions, among which are:

1. Familiar

Refers to the responses that the family group returns to the child, the responses by which the child is perceived as part of the family. Let's exemplify this dimension from a negative response, understanding that in another context it can be positive; "Arturo (3 years old), why don't you sit still watching the movie like your sister (8 years old)?" Arturo just wants to move, but in the end he ends up interpreting the following; "I am not capable of staying still like my sister, I am bad because I move and therefore I am the unruly one at home."

2. affective

Continuing along the lines of the previous example, we will say that from this dimension, when valuing himself as unruly, he considers that he is less loved than his sister. The affective dimension responds to how you see yourself and how you define your personality traits.

3. Physical

assumes the assessment of everything that has to do with the body and its skills. If Arturo looks tall, because he is taller than his teammates, he may consider his height as a strength to play basketball.

4. Social

Answer to what if we feel loved by the other, that feeling gives us the idea of ​​belonging to the group and in turn allows us to face different demands of the social environment.

5. academic

It refers to whether or not we feel capable of performing a task. It should be clarified that this feeling is based on our aptitude as good or bad students.

Differences between high and low self esteem

All these dimensions make up the interpretation that will give rise to what we call self-esteem, which can be high or low; the distinction that we will address below.

Why is it important to make a high or low value interpretation of our self-esteem, or that of our children, students and etc? Because when self-esteem is high, the positive evaluation of oneself gives rise to the ability to face different situations in the following ways:

• Thoughts have a positive interpretation, seeing oneself capable of carrying out challenges, tasks, etc.
• The thoughts are optimistic, validating the competence to do what is proposed.
• You have confidence in yourself.
• The activities are carried out independently and from their own initiative.
• By being cooperative, the skills to promote socialization are developed.
• Mistakes and errors are recognized and accepted, being able to find a solution.
• The feeling of pride in their efforts is manifested beyond the results or successes and that is why they do not give up when it comes to pursuing their goals.

All these abilities typical of high self-esteem allow us to face new or tense situations. and overcome them by looking for creative solutions before the problems that may arise.

However, what happens when self esteem is low? Low self-esteem manifests itself with the following typical characteristics of the people who present it:

• Fear of failure or mistake.
• They do not trust their abilities, they value themselves little.
• Thoughts are negative, complaint and criticism.
• They are inhibited and unsociable.
• Faced with new challenges, they get stuck and give up the creative search for a solution.
• Not finding anything that motivates them, they are often sad.

Conclusion

We can consider, as a result of understanding what low self-esteem implies, that Fostering high self-esteem is essential for personal growth as well as for their training. In fact, in children and adolescents, self-esteem directly influences their learning, interpersonal relationships, and self-concept.

According to statistics, in Spain 2% of the child population suffers from depression and this is directly related to self-esteem. Therefore, it is necessary to create a space for training and guidance so that children, adolescents and adults form a secure self-esteem, feeling valuable and capable and this ultimately translates into being a person happy.

Thus, self-esteem overlaps with all areas of well-being and affects the remission or maintenance of possible very common psychological problems. The fact of knowing how to cultivate a good self-concept not only helps to commit to a psychotherapy treatment; In addition, it makes it easier to develop new and exciting ways of living life.