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Schule > Englisch > Ausarbeitungen, Interpretationen und Zusammenfassungen > Self - esteem

Self – esteem:

What do you understand by self – esteem?
For me self – esteem is to accept yourself as the person you are. This includes the physical appearance, behavioural patterns and one’s achievements. Surveys have shown that the majority of teenage people would classify being self confident as believing in oneself.
Further more having self – esteem provides a fundamental trust in you and your role in society. People who are confident about themselves know that they are worthwhile and therefore deserve respect and happiness. If you are aware of you abilities, you won’t let yourself down that easy, even if someone happens confronts you with a lot of criticism and little respect. In my opinion self – esteem is also an important component of happiness und success. You simply cannot lead a fulfilled and happy life, if you are self – conscious all the time. Moreover for being successful one needs strength, but only with a healthy self – esteem, people are able to make their way and reach what they are aiming. In contrary, if you what to be liked by people who don’t treat you well desperately, you are endangered to let yourself abuse by them, believing that you don’t deserve better anyway.
Where does self – esteem come from?
Today, it is still not clear to experts where self – esteem comes from. Nevertheless, there are many theories about the origin of self – confidence. Most people think that it is built up during early childhood. Additionally the level of you self – esteem also depends on how your parents educate und encourage you. For instance, if children are hit by their parents, their self – esteem often turns out to be very low when they grow older. Whereas a child passes a happy childhood, and doesn’t suffer a lot of pressure and tension in the family, chances are high that it will never come across any confidence problems throughout its life.
Another theory concerning the issue of violence in the family can be that these children tend to develop a more aggressive behaviour than their colleagues. In the teenage years it is usually displayed very clearly if one has high self – esteem or a low self – esteem.
Very often the problems start when students have to go to a new school. They try hard to fit in, in their new surroundings. They just aim to be accepted by their classmates. Unfortunately this sometimes doesn’t work. Other students make fun of them, play tricks on them and laugh at them. This often causes as person’s self – esteem to drop lower and lower.
Another reason for the loss of self – confidence can be bad marks and miss achievements at school.
In general children tend to be very harsh to each other. They keep on teasing each other, if one of them is overweight or has a visible handicap.
Growing older and getting a teenager, usually doesn’t ease the situation. It gets rather serious. A survey done in the USA estimated that only 29 per cent of female high school attendees regard themselves as self – confident.
This is because life changes pretty fast during your teenage years. Therefore you need to adjust do your new life circumstances. And this can take some time. One such change can perhaps be that the friends start to take the position of your family as the group you turn to for support. The major problem for all teenagers is the own physical appearance. Everybody aims to look like the stars and idols in the magazines. This desire can breed self – doubt. All in all, positive news is that self–esteem can be bolstered.
When is self – esteem very fragile?
Psychologists found out that during adolescence a person’s self – esteem tends to be more shaky than usual. Taking a closer look at the teenage age this is surprise. While developing from a child do an adult, we suffer many changes. For example school is the main socialising place, as we spend most of the day at school. Being popular amongst girls and boys and fitting in becomes of great importance. Additionally the other gender is getting more interesting. This is caused by special hormones which get released during puberty for the first time. So people start dating. Many teenagers believe if they looked prettier or more like the people in the media they would be a better person. In their beauty craze they often forget that these are unrealistic images and the majority of people don’t fit them. One’s body image is a key part to self – esteem. But also the own character can be of great importance. Everybody wants to be funny and eloquent to be popular and well liked. However it is no good to worry about a little character flaw. Nobody who doesn’t trust in oneself is able to hold a great conversation, as confidence is one component that makes another person interesting.
Otherwise, being successful doesn’t ensure that this person is truly self – confident. Even people, like actors, who are rich, famous, gifted with great talent brains and good looks, admit that they are haunted by low self – esteem. An interesting example for this theory is Jim Carrey. Even amongst teenagers there are successful people, drawing others like a magnet, who don’t have a model figure or the appearance of a star.
What can you do to improve your self – esteem?
If you happen to have a low opinion on yourself and a negative self – image, you can always boost it. One way to do this can be a hobby. A hobby is an activity you really like to do. It may be knitting, it may be sport. If you manage to achieve something, like delighting somebody with a beautiful self – made scarf, or winning a medal, your self – esteem immediately will be build up. If you work out, you will be in shape and you are going to feel much better about yourself. Hence you will have a positive body image.
Another way to be more self confident is to find a mentor. This is a person who encourages you in your every day life. Everybody should have aims and goals in his/ her life to have the feeling to life for a purpose. As soon as you have reached an aim, you are going to have more respect of yourself and your abilities. Such a goal could be working as a volunteer for an organization which helps people in need.
If you have tried all that and, but your self – esteem is still down, you should seek professional help. The guidance councillor in your school will certainly help you when you are in trouble with yourself and don’t know what to do to ease the situation. A psychologist or psychotherapist can also assist you to find the right way.

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