Activities to Build Self-esteem
- Date: 2007-01-25 - Word Count: 1036
Share This!
You possess more personal power than you can possibly imagine. The ability to manifest our own reality is the power of creation itself and our self-esteem is an integral part of how we wield that power.
I have designed some activities to build self-esteem that I would like to share from an excerpt of a series of lessons I am designing on "mental self defense strategies", it is on the topic of "Dream Busters ~ RecognizingResistance".
We have all suffered some forms of conflict or abuse in our lives. But here's what I discovered: it is how we react to that abuse that will strengthen or weaken us. Everyone has dreams, right? How many of us have had a dream kicked to the curb? Can you remember what you wanted to be? Or do you have a dream right now tucked away in the back of your mind?
Have you ever been convinced to walk away from your dream by people who managed to throw enough self doubt at you to win that war of attrition; the constant day in and day out negative input that pushes you to give up your dreams and conform to something you're not! "What are you nuts? You can't dothat!" "Oh there's another hair brained scheme!" "Get Real!
Go get a real job!" "Who do you think you are? You aren't something special, stick to the things you can handle." "What are you stupid or something? Why do you think you can do that?" Lambasting you with negativity and giving you the message "Who are you to become an author, or an inventor, or any number of other things your dreams may lead you to?" The litany goes on and on.
Often the words that sting the most come from the people closest to us, I once heard that negative words were sixteen times more powerful than positive words and especially if they come from people you love. Many of us have heard similar comments from our own families. And remember that "family" is not just relatives but our closest circle of influence, the people that influence you the most in your life on a day-to-day basis.
We must learn how to reinforce our mental immune systems. As you are just opening up to re-affirming and re-discovering your dreams it is important not to leave yourself open to Dream Busting attacks. Often when you are in the early creative process you want to share that with the people closest to you, but too many times you get shot down by those around you and can be stopped before you even begin. We already have to deal with our own internal dream busters, voices from our past that can wreak havoc in our present.
It is amazing how many of us constantly go through life creating speaking and thinking negative affirmations all day long to ourselves, instead of doing activities to build self-esteem, we practice actively breaking it down: "I always do that, I'm so stupid, etc." causing our ill emotional and mental states, yet we often have such an aversion to the idea that positive affirmations will have the same impact (but in the desired direction.) Pessimism and negativity are a much more accepted form of self-talk. Recognizing it can be difficult. Sometimes it takes the form of a mental pause where suddenly you start to doubt yourself, and your dream seems to waver. Perhaps you start to wonder about your own ability.
Become aware of this and catch it at that moment, realize that it is a trigger. Learn to recognize when you are being "infected" by those around you by noticing those moments of self-doubt when they arise. It is here that the use of positive affirmations can be very useful. Often we find that our three biggest enemies are "Me, Myself and I." Basically the limitations that get dumped on us from an early age get internalized so we then have to deal with internal as well as external "Dream Busters." So who and what are they?
Activities to Build Self-esteem:
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 1:
Write down the 3 top Dream Busting phrases that really get to you, that make you contemplate kicking your dream to the curb, it is different for everyone, but usually there is at least one that just sticks in your craws so to speak.
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 2:
Write down the 3 top Dream Busters in your life (people who just don't get it, they could be trying to "help" but only harming, or, as unfortunately can often be the case, they may be malicious and just trying to knock you down). These are usually the source of the phrases you came up with in the first exercise. Who says those things to you, where do they come from? Or if it is internal, where did it come from originally? The point of the exercise is to begin to recognize Dream Busters in all forms so you can build up defenses to counteract their influence in your life.
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 3:
Now finally, take a good hard look at these sources that you have written down and ask yourself, are these people where you want to be? Have they accomplished what you dream about doing? I will tell you now that the answer to that question is most often a resounding no! You can't learn how to swim from a drowning man. Think about this: are these people who really have something to offer, or just people with so much to say and nothing to offer them selves? You are a power unto yourself, and nobody can truly take that away. It is only when we allow other people power over our dreams that we hand over the keys to our future. I will be adding more resources ad additional activities to build self-esteem as I develop my site high-self-esteem.com.
About the Author:
Lyca Shan is a published author, speaker and founder of Firewalker Enterprises as well as www.high-self-esteem.com. She has always known she would write a book and saw this process in part, as therapy "to try to make sense out of the chaos that was her life." She published her autobiography "Firewalker" in 2003 and founded www.high-self-esteem.com in 2005.
I have designed some activities to build self-esteem that I would like to share from an excerpt of a series of lessons I am designing on "mental self defense strategies", it is on the topic of "Dream Busters ~ RecognizingResistance".
We have all suffered some forms of conflict or abuse in our lives. But here's what I discovered: it is how we react to that abuse that will strengthen or weaken us. Everyone has dreams, right? How many of us have had a dream kicked to the curb? Can you remember what you wanted to be? Or do you have a dream right now tucked away in the back of your mind?
Have you ever been convinced to walk away from your dream by people who managed to throw enough self doubt at you to win that war of attrition; the constant day in and day out negative input that pushes you to give up your dreams and conform to something you're not! "What are you nuts? You can't dothat!" "Oh there's another hair brained scheme!" "Get Real!
Go get a real job!" "Who do you think you are? You aren't something special, stick to the things you can handle." "What are you stupid or something? Why do you think you can do that?" Lambasting you with negativity and giving you the message "Who are you to become an author, or an inventor, or any number of other things your dreams may lead you to?" The litany goes on and on.
Often the words that sting the most come from the people closest to us, I once heard that negative words were sixteen times more powerful than positive words and especially if they come from people you love. Many of us have heard similar comments from our own families. And remember that "family" is not just relatives but our closest circle of influence, the people that influence you the most in your life on a day-to-day basis.
We must learn how to reinforce our mental immune systems. As you are just opening up to re-affirming and re-discovering your dreams it is important not to leave yourself open to Dream Busting attacks. Often when you are in the early creative process you want to share that with the people closest to you, but too many times you get shot down by those around you and can be stopped before you even begin. We already have to deal with our own internal dream busters, voices from our past that can wreak havoc in our present.
It is amazing how many of us constantly go through life creating speaking and thinking negative affirmations all day long to ourselves, instead of doing activities to build self-esteem, we practice actively breaking it down: "I always do that, I'm so stupid, etc." causing our ill emotional and mental states, yet we often have such an aversion to the idea that positive affirmations will have the same impact (but in the desired direction.) Pessimism and negativity are a much more accepted form of self-talk. Recognizing it can be difficult. Sometimes it takes the form of a mental pause where suddenly you start to doubt yourself, and your dream seems to waver. Perhaps you start to wonder about your own ability.
Become aware of this and catch it at that moment, realize that it is a trigger. Learn to recognize when you are being "infected" by those around you by noticing those moments of self-doubt when they arise. It is here that the use of positive affirmations can be very useful. Often we find that our three biggest enemies are "Me, Myself and I." Basically the limitations that get dumped on us from an early age get internalized so we then have to deal with internal as well as external "Dream Busters." So who and what are they?
Activities to Build Self-esteem:
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 1:
Write down the 3 top Dream Busting phrases that really get to you, that make you contemplate kicking your dream to the curb, it is different for everyone, but usually there is at least one that just sticks in your craws so to speak.
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 2:
Write down the 3 top Dream Busters in your life (people who just don't get it, they could be trying to "help" but only harming, or, as unfortunately can often be the case, they may be malicious and just trying to knock you down). These are usually the source of the phrases you came up with in the first exercise. Who says those things to you, where do they come from? Or if it is internal, where did it come from originally? The point of the exercise is to begin to recognize Dream Busters in all forms so you can build up defenses to counteract their influence in your life.
Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 3:
Now finally, take a good hard look at these sources that you have written down and ask yourself, are these people where you want to be? Have they accomplished what you dream about doing? I will tell you now that the answer to that question is most often a resounding no! You can't learn how to swim from a drowning man. Think about this: are these people who really have something to offer, or just people with so much to say and nothing to offer them selves? You are a power unto yourself, and nobody can truly take that away. It is only when we allow other people power over our dreams that we hand over the keys to our future. I will be adding more resources ad additional activities to build self-esteem as I develop my site high-self-esteem.com.
About the Author:
Lyca Shan is a published author, speaker and founder of Firewalker Enterprises as well as www.high-self-esteem.com. She has always known she would write a book and saw this process in part, as therapy "to try to make sense out of the chaos that was her life." She published her autobiography "Firewalker" in 2003 and founded www.high-self-esteem.com in 2005.
Related Tags: prosperity, self help, success, personal development, self improvement, motivation, low self-esteem, self-esteem, goals, abundance, achievement, setting goals, personal goals, personal improvement, activities to build self-esteem, high self-esteem
Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- The Resurgence of Fred Perry Clothing
Summer might long be over and Wimbledon may be a distant memory, however the fashion is a year round - Uncovering Men's Tank Tops
I don't know a thing about you, but I'll bet that you have worn a tank top. Tank tops have also been - Make Use of Silk Scarves to Take Good Care of Your Skin
In the event you are new about silk scarves, you could never read about this particular feature of s - Just For Men Scarves - the Preference For Guys in the Vogue Domain
If you are not certain what style of present you could provide for men, maybe you can consider men s - Think Black Friday Shopping is Beyond Your Budget?
Moms who are juggling the bills and still trying to provide the perfect holiday gift to loved ones a - How to Make Conscious Shopping Choices
Many people have heard the phrase "voting with your dollars" and they understand that it means your - Silk Scarves - Unique Present Approach in Xmas Seasons
The most prevalent silk add-on is scarves, and many focus is presented on inspired designing on thes - Benefits of an Aloe Vera Shampoo
A lot of people are not aware of the specific benefits that using an aloe vera shampoo can do to the - How Effective is the Power of Your Subconscious Mind?
Most people are bombarded with this thought whenever they feel weak and wish to affect certain chang - Silk Scarf - the Record For Human Being in the Style History
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the worldwide recognition of silk scarves developed dramatica
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Surf and Turf: the Race Track
Surf and Turf: The Race TrackOne of the favorite places for The G to hang out at, especially in Summ - Are You Looking For Cholesterol Drugs Without Side Effect?
High cholesterol level is probably one of the widely spread complication among Americans. Almost for - Friday the 13th could be a lucky day?
Friday the 13th sounds unlucky ? Traditional superstition ? And a lot of people dislike it and beli - Don't Judge A Man
Our world is full of bad tongues, fault-finders, gossipers, mockers, and insulters but do these grou - When Personalized Gifts Make a Difference
Finding the right gifts for a particular occasion is always a challenging task. Sometimes it is nic - Managing My Resistance: Learning To Flow With What Life Offers
One of the things that interests me most about conflict is the tendency to resist it and the ways in - What Are Horoscopes Based On?
If you do not know much about astrology, you may wonder what are horoscopes based on and how astrolo - 7 Dumbest Relationship Mistakes Smart People Make
We often find ourselves amid the wreckage of a love gone wrong, wringing our hands and asking, "Why - Motivation as the heart of self improvement
You should be able to find several indispensable facts about Motivation in the following paragraphs - Is Complete Abstinence from Use of Paychoactive Substances Necessary for Recovery?
Can a sober alcoholic in recovery who has no history of abuse of marijuana, use marijuana without