Esteem News 

6January2009

New starts in the New Year

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Education.

Yesterday in the news it was reported that Barack Obama’s daughters started their new school.  The pictures showed Obama’s two children going the same path like countless other children did.

The New Year has started and along with it so many new experiences - may it be a new school, a new job or with moving to a new city.

Starting new can be filled with stress and fear.  When meeting new colleagues, new playmates or new neighbors we can help to ease their discomfort by giving esteem toward them.  When we give esteem we show our understanding and we give them the feeling of being welcomed.

Everybody is a stranger at least once in his life.  Knowing this feeling we can acknowledge the situation and give these people a positive experience in their new start.

5January2009

Esteem cheers us up

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Sometimes negative experiences are overwhelming and can pull us down.  Even in moments of sadness or frustration there is always a way to come out of it.

We can’t avoid to be down for a variety of reasons, for ouselves and the people in our lives.  The important thing is that we find our way out of it.

Imagine you get esteem while you’re sad or you don’t feel good.  Somebody shows understanding and empathy toward you and your situation.  You immediately feel better.

Getting esteem makes us feel good and this is the best step toward changing a life situation which made us sad.

When we experience this great cheering force of esteem we can do the same toward others just by giving esteem.

4January2009

Celebrating ourselves with self-esteem

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Celebrations normally means a joyous occasion with others on important days like birthdays and holidays.

Celebration can also mean that we celebrate ourselves.  Celebrating ourselves may sound selfish, but in a healthy way it isn’t self-serving at all.

A high self-esteem expresses itself from a healthy self-love.  We know the sentence of the bible: you shall love your fellow man as yourself.

A healthy self-love strengthens our self-esteem and leads us toward understanding and esteem for others.

As long as we are comfortable with ourselves, as long as we have a good self-knowledge and self-confidence, we can give esteem toward others. 

Making others happy makes us happy and this is the genuine meaning of celebrating ourselves.

3January2009

Esteem and comparison

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture.

On television, in newspapers and magazines we get images of “ideal” women and men.  Each culture has its own ideal of the “perfect” man or woman.  These ideals often force us compare ourselves with them.

Sometimes we can’t avoid comparison with others.  We do it on the basis of appearance, intelligence or some other ideal.  We sometimes find ourselves wishing that we are like them.

Why do we do that?  Because we believe that perfect people get more esteem!  And this is what we all want to get: esteem.

Deeply we know that genuine esteem isn’t given just for appearances or brain power.  When we have to do something in order to get esteem, then this kind of esteem isn’t the true one.

Knowledge of genuine esteem makes us realize that comparisons never work.  Esteem tells us that everybody is unique and incomparable.

2January2009

Esteem for athletes

Posted by Cecilia under: Sports.

Sports are one of the most important leisure time activities.  Many people also like to watch sports in person or on television.

Being active in sports means the fulfillment of a childhood dream for many athletes.  Just doing their sport gives them esteem.

It’s also important for them to get esteem from the people who watch them, the sports fans.

Quarterback Garrett Gilbert of Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas is a young athlete who already demonstrates a great talent for football.

Seeing him display his fabulous talent in the last two football seasons as he led the Lake Travis Football team to consecutive state championships shows that he really loves what he does.  He seems to have high self-esteem because he uses his talent to its fullest extent.

At the same time he gets esteem from the awards and accolades he receives from fans and the media.   This season he is atop Texas’ Fab 55 list of the state’s top recruits, he was chosen the Central Texas Player of the Year and also the Gatorade National Player of the Year - the first Texan to receive the honor.

We can give esteem toward outstanding athletes like Garrett Gilbert by supporting them and supporting the recognition of awards as signs of esteem.

1January2009

Esteem is a gift

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Most human beings desire acknowledgment of an achievement and esteem for themselves.  Esteem is an important motivation for all our actions. 

When we get esteem from somebody we feel well in his company.  If we don’t get esteem from others we try to avoid contact with these persons.

Esteem is like a gift on several levels.  It’s a gift because it’s given magnanimously and without conditions.  It’s a gift because it makes the recipient feel good.  Finally it’s a gift for ourselves because our presence enriches life for everybody.

As good as we feel in the company of esteemful persons they’ll feel the same in our company when we give esteem freely, when we give esteem as a gift.

31December2008

Esteemful wish for the New Year!

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Philosophy.

Soon a new year will begin, and even though it’s just another day on the calendar, we can mentally make a new start.

We, the writers of Esteem News, have one big wish for the year 2009: May a turbulent world be filled with esteem!   
We know that many people will make resolutions for the New Year.  It’s always good to make a new start and to try to make life better for ourselves and the people around us.

We propose to integrate esteem consciously in our lives.  As long as you need a reminder, put a post-it on the refrigerator or mirror that says simply “esteem for today”.

Starting with small actions of esteem such as a cordial smile, an generous “thank-you” or an honest “great job”.

Every big change starts with small steps.

30December2008

Esteem is freeing

Posted by Cecilia under: Philosophy.

Positive thoughts and positive words create an overall positive atmosphere.

We express esteem through positive words and actions otherwise it wouldn’t be genuine esteem.

When we dedicate ourselves toward thinking positively we also free ourselves from anxiety.

Living esteem has an enormous calming effect on us and on the people receiving esteem.  We experience ourselves as being free because nothing causes us to get worked up.

We look at the world and the people around us with understanding, which makes us patient and calm. 

Giving esteem also frees us from being too focused on ourselves.  We want to see other people happy.  Esteem makes us put our awareness on our fellow man and makes us at the same time happy for ourselves too.

29December2008

Giving free-heartedly

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Philosophy.

Giving a gift can be done in one of two ways: we can give it freely or we can give it with expectations of thankfulness or even a gift in return.  Christmas for many people is the tradition of giving gifts with expectations.

In Salina, Kansas bus passengers experienced the kind of gift giving that is free from expectations.   On the Tuesday before Christmas, two teenager aboard a city bus handed out a dozen Christmas cards to fellow passengers.  When passengers opened the cards they found a crisp $20 bill inside.  The two teenagers had gotten off the bus before anybody had the opportunity to thank them.

When people are capable of giving something without expectations of thankfulness, this comes close to how we give esteem.  Esteem is only genuine when we give it freely without conditions and expectations.

28December2008

Learning for self-esteem

Posted by Cecilia under: Art and Culture; Economy; Philosophy.

Self-esteem is the opinion we have about ourselves.  When we are happy with what we’re doing in life then our self-esteem is high.  When we doubt our abilities or doubt that we’re a precious person our self-esteem is low.

Most often people find themselves somewhere between high and low levels of self-esteem.

There is an approach, however, that can keep our self-esteem on the higher level.  That approach is continuous learning.

To make learning a positive experience it’s important that whatever we learn it should be of interest us.  Real learning means we find the subjects that suit our abilities.  Having discovered what we enjoy makes learning immediately more interesting and exciting.

The more we put our attention on subjects we’re interested in, the more we’ll learn almost automatically - and the more we’ll keep our self-esteem high.