Maximizing Your Potential by Building Your Self-Esteem

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Beginning today, don't wait for anyone to make you feel good. Become your own best friend.

Here are three steps to help you get started:

* 1. Look inside yourself to see what gives you the most satisfaction, and then go for it.

* 2. Become familiar with the people and places where you feel respected and valued.

* 3. Learn to encourage yourself. Make it a natural habit. When you don't value yourself as a person, you may not be able to recognize all of your strengths. When you begin to encourage yourself, you'll become more satisfied with your life. As you begin to recognize and value your own strengths and resources, you'll start to give yourself more positive messages.

As you become more satisfied with yourself, you won't feel a need to compare yourself with others. Instead, you will note your own progress and set your own standards. You'll feel like working with people, not against them.

Now, here are ten steps to help you build your self-esteem.

* 1. Adapt the attitude that you are a responsible and dependable person. Others will respect you and come to you willingly.

* 2. Do things for others before they ask you and without waiting for recognition. In other words, do things spontaneously for others because you want to; don't wait until someone says you have to.

* 3. Freely contribute your opinions and suggestions with your family. You'll feel better and your family will benefit.

* 4. Participate in the decision-making process at work, at home, and at civic clubs. When your actions show people that you make and carry out responsible decisions, they will respect you much more for having done so.

* 5. Accept the mistakes you make for what they are: simply human errors. Realize that making mistakes is part of being human. Learn from them and move on.

* 6. Focus on the why of your actions rather than on the what. Look at the effort and energy you put into doing something and the reasons behind it rather than looking so much at what you do.

* 7. Become an expert at looking for the positive potential in yourself and others. By learning to tune in to yourself and others, you'll become an expert on building closer, more trusting relationships.

* 8. Have confidence in your ability to make good judgment. As you start believing in yourself, others will, too.

* 9. Develop the habit of expecting positive things to happen. Even when disappointments set in, expect positive things to happen. You'll soon learn that they will.

* 10. Look at different ways of seeing a situation. Use your creative abilities and look beyond the first right answer. Self-esteem is having the I-CAN attitude in what you say and do.

Remember:When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.

About the Author

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: "... helping you maximize your potential." Reach him at www.maximizingyourpotential.blogspot.com, at eagibbs@ureach.com, or at 502-386-1175.