On a personal level, having high self-esteem allows you to feel good about the person you are and allows you to grow into the person you want to become. You feel good about your talents and can look at yourself in the mirror with admiration. On a professional level, high self-esteem affords the same benefits; only this time you are showing your value to your client, manager, boss, or peers.
The bottom line is that high self-esteem contributes to successful action because when action is supported by confidence, you encourage the likelihood for positive results. Approach any situation with low self-esteem and you could be setting yourself up for failure. The first step in creating high self-esteem is first understanding the value you bring to every situation. If you're missing an understanding of who you really are, it's difficult to effectively apply yourself in the situations that come your way.
Through a series of four steps, you will learn how to grasp an understanding of your strengths and talents and how they contribute value to all situations. Lastly, you will understand how to build trust in your ability to deliver future successful results.
1. Identify your strengths and talents
2. Identify your accomplishments
3. Create new accomplishments you can be proud of
4. How to trust yourself to be successful in every situation
Step 1. Identify your strengths
Write down a list of characteristics you feel you bring to the table in your personal and professional life.
Examples:
Personal: loyal, patient, good mother, organizer
Professional: hard worker, team player, good people person (with management and employees)
For added input, ask friends, family members, co-workers or significant others what strengths they see in you. Compare that input to the list you wrote and see if you identify with some of the characteristics that other people say they see in you. If you feel the characteristic suits you, adjust your list accordingly. A great resource for identifying your strengths is a book entitled, Now, Discover Your Strengths. It comes complete with an exercise that provides you with Strength Finder results.
Step 2. Identify your talents
Write down a list of talents you believe you hold. These could be natural or learned talents. Natural talents are those that come naturally without formal training, like being good with numbers, sports or making people laugh (comedian). Learned talents are those that you learned with guidance, training or education; like being an architect, professional athlete, or professor.
Ask friends, family and even co-workers for their feedback.
It will be interesting to see what talents your family says you have, as compared to your co-workers. Chances are you will receive two slightly different sets of feedback, as each environment calls upon different skills. Your family may see a side of you that your coworkers do not and vice versa. This is very typical, as we often where two hats in life - one in our personal life and the other in our professional life.
Step 3. Make a list of all your accomplishments
This means everything, even if you take an accomplishment for granted and don't think it's much to be proud of. Make a list of 50 goals you have accomplished, even those from your childhood.
Examples:
Learned to ride a bike
Went hang gliding or bungee jumping, even though I was afraid of heights
Was a pace setter for a charity by raising a lot of money
Started my own business
Started a neighborhood card club or book club
Started a neighborhood watch program
Received an award for _________
Graduated from high school
Graduated from college
Got my dream job
Competed in a marathon, triathlon, walkathon, etc.
Lost weight and got down to my ideal weight
Bought the car I've always wanted
Bought my 1st home
Wake up early every Saturday morning to work out
Closed that big deal last week!
Look at how much you've accomplished! Think about all the hard work it took to accomplish those goals and that you had what it took to do it. Even if there are two things on your list, you can still be proud of yourself. Each goal called upon your talents and you successfully applied them to accomplish them - and that‘s something to be proud of. Everything completed is an accomplishment, even if you only walk away with knowledge and experience.
Step 4. Learn to Trust Yourself
Low self-esteem leaves too much room for doubt and fear. A successful outcome is rarely possible when action is taken from fear. In order to create successful results, you must have the self-esteem to believe you can do what you need to do in any situation. In addition, low self-esteem creates fear and will stop you from taking future actions that you might be very capable of completing successfully; yet too afraid to try. Success is only possible with high self-esteem and applying it to every situation you face.
With each successful accomplishment, the trust you have in your abilities will grow and increase your future success rates. Having high self-esteem will also bring perspective to temporary setbacks or minor failures. They will not deter you because one failure or temporary setback does not mean you are a failure. High self-esteem leaves little room for fear, making it easier for you to remain confident in every situation.
When you apply your high self-esteem to your business, you have the competitive edge. Potential clients or employers only ever have three questions for any prospect:
• Do you have the talent, knowledge, expertise, and confidence to get the job done?
• Can they trust you to deliver what you've promised?
• Will your talents and ability solve problems and make their life easier, while increasing their profits?
With high self-esteem, you'll know you're the right person for the job because you will have a keen understanding of your talents and the value you bring to the situation. Complement that with the confidence in your ability to deliver what the situation calls for and you have the winning combination. That winning combination will give you the confidence to present yourself effectively to the client and obtain business or get the job. When you can convey your high self-esteem to people, they will want to do business with you and look forward to it – plain and simple. You Rule!
I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live fearlessly.
OPRAH WINFREY
TV Personality
