How Low Self-Esteem Keeps YOU From Achieving Your Fitness (and other) Goals.

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” Lucille Ball

Is There A Low Self-Esteem Epidemic?

There are a lot of injustices in the world today, and there always have been. However, one of the biggest injustices is that we as people constantly underachieve compared to our potential.

In other words, most of us are not living our highest vision for ourselves. There are many reasons for this, but I believe that at the core of this is low self-esteem.

To better understand what I mean by this, let’s define self-esteem. The oxford dictionary defines self-esteem as confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect.

So to have low self-esteem then is to have a lack of confidence in one’s own worth or abilities. It isn’t hard to see that there is a deliberate effort in media and pop culture in general to cause low self-esteem among people.

Why would anyone do this? There are so many reasons, but here are a few:

People with low self-esteem don’t trust themselves, they think other people know better than they do, therefore they are more easily manipulated, they can be made to think things, buy things, and feel certain things. They are willing to work for someone else, and accept pay that is lower than what they could be making, they take less chances, don’t try to change systems, etc.

Even on a surface level, it’s pretty obvious how low self-esteem could affect one’s thoughts, attitude, and actions. Thoughts, attitude, and actions come together to form a personality.

Our thoughts determine our attitudes, and our attitudes determine our actions. You’ve probably heard the saying it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

When you have a positive vibrant personality, you develop great connections. This opens up opportunities that would not be available if you didn’t have positive thoughts, attitude, and actions.

Thoughts become beliefs over time. Have you ever heard of a governor? I know you’re thinking what do politics have to do with this?

You’re absolutely right the answer is nothing lol! However, I’m not talking about that kind of governor. I’m talking about a governor in a car.

Let’s say a car is capable of going 200 miles per hour, but there is a governor on it. The governor will keep the car from going over a set speed, let’s say 80 miles per hour. Now, think of your beliefs the same way.

They act as a governor in our lives. If we have a belief that we’re good but not great at something we will never achieve greatness in that area.

Your beliefs dictate what you do and what you don’t and how you do it. Quantum physics, particularly the “double slit experiment” has shown that what we believe affects matter at the subatomic level.

Michio Kaku’s water experiments showed that our intent affects water tremendously, keep in mind that our bodies are mostly water.

These experiments show us just how powerful our intent is, and the tangible affect it has on the physical world.

This is why it is imperative for us to develop a healthy self-image and general relationship with ourselves.

It’s certainly not your fault if you have low self-esteem, but it’s most certainly your responsibility to do something about it. So what’s the big deal you say?

Why should I do anything about my self-esteem? I’ve gotten by just fine and in fact no one even knows I have low self-esteem.

My friend, I’m glad you asked. Let’s discuss just a few of the effects of low self-esteem. Not fulfilling one’s purpose, not taking necessary risks, not connecting with certain would be friends, lovers, business partners, even would be mentors.

Also, a weakened immune system, lessened motivation, depression, anxiety, and many more. You see? This is why it is SO important for us to develop a healthy relationship with ourselves, but why stop there?

We should develop amazing relationships with ourselves, the quality of our lives depends on it. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but roll with me here.

 

A Simple Approach to Building Self-Esteem.

So, now that we’ve discussed what low self-esteem is, and why we should do something about it, let’s discuss some of the ways we can develop a healthy self-esteem.

One of the simplest and most powerful ways we can increase self-esteem is by setting and achieving goals that are just slightly outside of our comfort levels.

We should also clearly define the date we plan to achieve them by. For example, if we know we can run a mile, but aren’t so sure we can run a mile and a half, we would set a goal to run a mile and a half by a certain date.

We would then create a step by step plan to consistently work towards that goal. We are then almost certain to achieve it, and when we do, we will notice that we feel a little more confident in ourselves.

As we keep setting goals and then accomplishing them, our belief in ourselves will grow, and that will spread into every area of our lives.

As we achieve more and more, our goals will grow, and so will our self-image. We will begin to feel that we have something to offer to people, to the world.

It sounds simple and it is, but it’s not always easy. See, there’s a reason that you haven’t felt as good about yourself as you’d like to.

To put it simply, your beliefs aren’t conducive to having the level of self-esteem you would like to have. So, why not just start thinking different thoughts?

Wouldn’t that work? Well, what I’ve found is that while it is helpful, if it’s not backed with new actions reflecting confidence, and a knowledge of the mind and how it works that only comes from consistent study, it just isn’t effective enough when it comes to changing your beliefs at a subconscious level.

It’s too challenging to consciously make effort to think healthier thoughts, when your actions reflect low self-esteem.

So, in conclusion, it is crucial for our happiness, success, and full expression of who we are to have high self–esteem.

I would even go as far as to say, unless we develop high self-esteem, we can never fulfill our highest callings in our lives. In case you were wondering, YES that includes our health. With all of my love,

 

Adonis

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