The strength and stability of our self-esteem is tested when someone criticizes or insults us. If we are affected in any way, in other words we react in any way, it is a sign that our self-esteem is delicate. Because most of us are taught to base our self-esteem upon the opinion of others, we experience both a disturbance in our intellect and our power draining away. By remaining in a positive consciousness about our own qualities, we will not lose our inner stability, inner peace, power and ability to respond positively.
Question: Which person's opinion do you think you are most sensitive to for how you feel about yourself?
Reflection: Imagine listening to someone criticizing you, and yet you remain completely calm and in control, stable in the knowledge that you are unique and have found your inner strength and your personal power to be unaffected by others.
Action: With whom, where and when can you practice this today?
If our self-confidence is based only on a set of skills and abilities, we will not have real self-esteem. This is because there will always be a situation where those skills and abilities will have no use, and the ones that are needed in that situation have not yet been developed. The person who has real self-esteem will recognize that while they may not have the skills now, they can and will learn. They are able to use such situations as their personal classroom. High self-esteem has a certain humility built into it. The person with the highest self-esteem is free of the ego of "I know".
Question: What are your key skills and abilities? In what situations do you find yourself out of place, or out of your depth? What do you think you need to learn to be more effective in these situations?
Reflection: Visualize yourself being skillful and confident while maintaining your self-esteem in that situation.
Courtesy: Brahma Kumaris
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