Self-esteem is what you think of you. Social-esteem is what others think of you. Of the two, self-esteem is more important.
Like health, acquiring self-esteem is an inside job. It can’t be raised by the kind words of others. It can’t be purchased. And it can’t be obtained by more education, more initials after your name, more new patients or even more take-home pay. Those hollow attempts obscure the underlying source of self-esteem: having risen to the challenge of accomplishing something difficult.
The wide, easy, path-of-least-resistance saps self-esteem. We get flabby. We lose our nerve. We become consumed by doubt. We find ourselves trapped in a life of mediocrity.
If you’ve been coasting, resolve this week to take on something difficult. Something that will require high levels of creativity, perseverance, courage or risk.
Then, as you naturally come to think of yourself more highly, others can safely do the same.