The power of low esteem

Many people struggle with low esteem and it affects every area of their lives.  It affects how they feel about themselves, it affects the way they interact with other people, it affects the way they communicate.  Low esteem is destructive.

1. It makes people feel inferior, that they are worthless, that they have no value.
2. It makes them feel that they don’t measure up to other people; that everyone else is smarter, better looking, has more friends, is better off financially.
3. It makes people feel unloved, unappreciated and unwanted.
4. It destroys relationships.
5. It leads to communication breakdowns.
6. It holds you back from using your abilities and skills.
7. It stops you from reaching your goals.
8. It destroys your dreams.

Having low esteem will cause you to struggle through life believing that there is something wrong with you.   Often we develop this low opinion of ourselves from living in a negative environment, surrounded by people who struggle themselves with low esteem.  Instead of continuing to believe things that are probably not true, we can change the way we feel about ourselves by challenging our beliefs and learning to develop a positive perspective about ourselves and life in general.

We are all valuable, unique individuals despite what others have led us to believe. Do some self-discovery and find our what an awesome person you really are!  Pray and ask God to help you see yourself through His eyes.  You are the apple of His eye and what He thinks is even more important than what you think!

Are you raising the child you want or the child you have?

We are all different.  Everyone is unique and special in their own way.  No two people on this earth are exactly the same and we should celebrate our differences.

When we have children, we often expect them to be like us and when they aren’t, we either try to mold them into a “mini-us” or we constantly battle with them because they don’t act the way we want them to and they drive us crazy.

We should raise our children as they are and not try to change them into the person we want them to be.  They are not us and they never will be.  We can force them into our mold and have them become an unhappy, unfulfilled adult.  Or we can encourage them to use their abilities, guide them through difficult situations to achieve their potential and support them when they fail.

Children are a gift.  Allow them to be themselves.  They are not perfect and neither are we.  Just love them.

What are you investing your time in?

 

 

Everyone invests their time in something, usually in whatever they are interested in the most.  Unfortunately, we don’t always invest our time in the things that are important.  Then when we get older, we realize that we have wasted a lot of time doing things that don’t matter and we have regrets.

Many people go through life trying to achieve success by obtaining power or making lots of money.  Others spend their lives wasting all their time and money pleasing themselves and just having fun.  Then one day they need support from their family and friends and wonder why they are all alone.

I certainly have regrets and wish that I could turn back the clock.  Many hours, days and weeks were wasted doing things that don’t even matter now.

• Time spent working extra hours to make more money instead of going home and spending time with my family
• Time spent working on projects that didn’t pan out and have long been forgotten
• Time spent feeling sorry for myself instead of feeling sorry for other people and helping them out
• Time spent reading books that filled up time and didn’t teach me anything valuable
• Time spent watching TV programs and movies that filled up my mind with total garbage

Think carefully about what you spend your time doing.

• Is it something that has value or something that is wasting your time?
• Is it something that makes you a better person or does it lead you away from the important things in life?
• Is it something that blesses other people or does it only please yourself?
• Is it something that leads you where you want to be or is it leading you down a dead-end street?

Whatever you surround yourself with now will likely be what surrounds you in the future.   Make some positive changes in your life now and invest time in things of value.

Do you live in the past?

Our past consists of situations that have caused us both pain and joy.  However, the painful situations are often the ones we remember the most and many people remain stuck in their pain, unable to enjoy anything good that happens in the present.  We should use our past as a history lesson and not a guidebook.  We can definitely learn something from our past and use our mistakes to make positive changes.  What has happened is over and done with and nothing can take away any unkind words that have been said or cut unhappy circumstances from our lives.  All we can do is make better choices and try our best to overcome any challenges we may face in a different, more positive way.

Don’t hide the past or try to forget the pain that you experienced.  Ignoring things won’t make them better, the pain will still be there and it will surface when you don’t want it to.  Your past does not define who you are but if you are able to work through your pain, you will learn valuable lessons that will make you wiser and stronger.

Don’t stay stuck in the past when you can live in the present and enjoy your life.  Look at your past and ask yourself if you really want to live there forever.  Then make some positive changes in your life and develop a new perspective.  You can change your life if you really want to.