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Self Esteem and
Success
Where do we begin?
If we are to discuss a subject with any chance of actual
communication, it might be a good idea to define the main
subject. Our subject is Self Esteem and its relationship to
Success. According to the American Psychological Association's
Dictionary of Psychology, Self Esteem is the DEGREE to which the
qualities and characteristics contained in one's SELF CONCEPT
are 'perceived' to be positive. This is a good definition to
begin with but, the question is, 'how is this important to me?'.
Nathaniel Branden describes the importance with precision in his
book, "The Psychology of Self Esteem" :
"There is no value judgment more important to man- no factor
more decisive in his psychological development and motivation-
than the estimate he passes on himself."
The estimate is ordinarily experienced by him, not in the form
of a conscious, verbalized judgment, but in the form of a
feeling, a feeling that can be hard to isolate and identify
because he experiences it constantly: it is part of every other
feeling, it is involved in his every emotional response.
An emotion is the product of an evaluation; it reflects an
appraisal of the beneficial or harmful relationship of some
aspect of reality to oneself. Thus, a man's view of himself is
necessarily implicit in all his value-responses. Any judgment
entailing the issue, "is this for me or against me?"- entails a
VIEW of the "me" involved. His self evaluation is an OMNIPRESENT
FACTOR in man's psychology."
There are several points to this statement that need comment.
The estimate I place on myself is the most important estimate I
can make in regards to motivation. You are not always conscious
of this "feeling". Yet, this feeling is a PART of every other
feeling!
Now wait a minute. How does this have anything to do with
business?
This is the premise of my article. Everything you do, including
conducting your business, is affected by this "feeling" you have
about yourself.
Okay, okay. I can see the relationship, but how can I use this
to get a better understanding and apply it to my life.
The key is to understand how your own PERCEPTION shapes and
creates this "feeling". And our perceptions are many times out
of our control. Could you imagine being effective in business,
but not being confident in yourself? What if your confidence
could be increases along with your self esteem, would this not
be valuable? Let's consider some more definitions that relate to
Self Esteem:
Self Efficacy is defined as an individual's capacity to act
effectively to bring about desired results, especially as they
are perceived by the individual. There is also the concept of
Perceived Self Efficacy, which is an individual's 'subjective
perception' of his or her capability for performance in a given
setting or ability to attain desired results.
Now, in light of the last definition. Do you think I could
achieve goals in business (or life for that matter) without
perceiving that I am capable of performing and believing that I
can attain a desired goal?
This is where I shall leave the reader. At the "conceptual
door", so to speak. I will continue to share what I have learned
about this topic, but the door will not open until the seeker
knocks. I hope I have stimulated some thought on this very
important subject. Time and space will not allow us to exhaust
the subject in one sitting. Self Esteem may be the 'Master Key'
to achieving success in any endeavor.
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