Importance of self-esteem

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. It will be the year of the Rat. For Chinese that believe in Feng Shui, they will try their best to follow the Feng Shui method of ushering the Chinese New Year so as to enhance the best sector for prosperity and wealth. Others make New year resolutions. I am tired of making New Year resolutions which I don't really keep. Some believe that their life is controlled by forces that are beyond them. Are you?

Many of us go through life without any proper planning and leave everything to chance and good fortune. Don't sit around and wait for things to happen instead, make things happened for you! The beginning of the year is a good time to re-examine your life, review past mistakes and plan for the future. You can start making the difference by staring with yourself. According to Richard Ritchie,a lecturer at the Silva Method of Mind Control, "You have to learn how to change your self-image. If you can't love yourself, how can you be expected to see good things in others?" So how do you see yourself?

A good self-image is the corner-stone of a person's success. You may have the talent and intelligence to succeed but if you see yourself as a loser, then no matter what you do, you'll always be one. As clinical psychologist Ms Kana Kanagasingam explained, "Our thoughts are very much associated with our feelings." Low self-esteem can be destructive. It increases feelings of insecurity, paranoia and unhappiness. In extreme cases it can lead to aggression and other negative behaviors like alcoholism.

Other people's negative perception of yourself can also hurt your self-esteem. Don't believe in people's assumption of yourself especially the negative ones which you know are not true. There are ways to increase your self-esteem. First, you have to be honest with yourself. What do you think are your good and bad points? Only if you are consciously aware that there are hang-ups and issues, can you confront them and start thinking of ways to solve the problems.