Thursday, 19 February 2009
What are the Dangers of Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence?
This may seem to be a pointless question after my last few posts, but self-esteem and self-confidence, like most other qualities must be held in balance.
We have all met the 'over-confident' and those whose ego and self-esteem are so inflated that they are nothing short of a pain (or danger) to be around.
Just as a balanced diet should be exactly that, BALANCED, so confidence and esteem must be balanced with and grounded in reality.
Historically, we have been taught that many bullies, aggressive, violent or anti-social individuals have a problem with low self-esteem and low self-confidence. More recent, controlled research suggests that these characteristics are commonly demonstrated when unearned self-esteem (an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority over others) is challenged or the individuals concerned feel humiliated.
These people have a self-esteem or self-opinion that is over-inflated and has no grounding in reality. As a consequence, it is very frail when challenged.
Why mention this?
Well, I think it is important to understand that seeking increased self-esteem and self-confidence as entities on their own is not a healthy pursuit. Both characteristics need to be grounded in reality and grounded in the context of our character.
Both characteristics are also under our control. We have a RESPONSIBILITY as well as a right to handle the skills we have and the best way to do that is by grounding them into reality.
I saw a scary video the other day of a 10-year-old boy in America addressing a crowd of 20000 people. Great! Good for him! But what is so scary is that he was a clone of the high pressure salesmen and public speakers we fear, and at such a young age is highly susceptible to being manipulated, as well as manipulating others. The content of what he had to say was actually very good, but his delivery bore no relationship to his age or experience. The words he used were of someone at least 20-years his senior ... and that is probably where they came from. This was not a demonstration of healthy self-esteem and self-confidence.
So, I'd like to finish where I started my first entry a few days ago ... which is by relating self-esteem to self-worth.
If we feel that intrinsically we have value (which I differentiate from importance) we are more likely to respond to the needs around us because we are confident that what we bring has value, even if it isn’t necessarily the total solution.
I believe that building and increasing self-esteem in others (and in ourselves) is a frequently overlooked tool for birthing success; in everything we do
We have all met the 'over-confident' and those whose ego and self-esteem are so inflated that they are nothing short of a pain (or danger) to be around.
Just as a balanced diet should be exactly that, BALANCED, so confidence and esteem must be balanced with and grounded in reality.
Historically, we have been taught that many bullies, aggressive, violent or anti-social individuals have a problem with low self-esteem and low self-confidence. More recent, controlled research suggests that these characteristics are commonly demonstrated when unearned self-esteem (an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority over others) is challenged or the individuals concerned feel humiliated.
These people have a self-esteem or self-opinion that is over-inflated and has no grounding in reality. As a consequence, it is very frail when challenged.
Why mention this?
Well, I think it is important to understand that seeking increased self-esteem and self-confidence as entities on their own is not a healthy pursuit. Both characteristics need to be grounded in reality and grounded in the context of our character.
Both characteristics are also under our control. We have a RESPONSIBILITY as well as a right to handle the skills we have and the best way to do that is by grounding them into reality.
I saw a scary video the other day of a 10-year-old boy in America addressing a crowd of 20000 people. Great! Good for him! But what is so scary is that he was a clone of the high pressure salesmen and public speakers we fear, and at such a young age is highly susceptible to being manipulated, as well as manipulating others. The content of what he had to say was actually very good, but his delivery bore no relationship to his age or experience. The words he used were of someone at least 20-years his senior ... and that is probably where they came from. This was not a demonstration of healthy self-esteem and self-confidence.
So, I'd like to finish where I started my first entry a few days ago ... which is by relating self-esteem to self-worth.
If we feel that intrinsically we have value (which I differentiate from importance) we are more likely to respond to the needs around us because we are confident that what we bring has value, even if it isn’t necessarily the total solution.
I believe that building and increasing self-esteem in others (and in ourselves) is a frequently overlooked tool for birthing success; in everything we do
Labels: barriers to self-confidence self-esteem, building self-confidence, building self-esteem, integrity, responsibility, success
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
How Can We Build Self-Esteem & Confidence in Others?
Self-esteem is the foundation on which confidence can build. People who feel valued and know their self-worth are then more able to try new things and be prepared to fail. Unfortunately, failure has become a dirty word in business and we love to make scapegoats of those who have failed. But in so doing we continue to hammer the nails in our own coffin, because unless we are prepared to try something new, to put ideas together that have never been put together before, to experiment with them and see if they work, creativity and innovation die. If we stifle or kill self-esteem, we stifle and kill creativity and our success. The three are intimately associated with one another. The most successful and rapidly expanding businesses today are those where creativity thrives; Innocent Drinks and the Virgin franchise are just two examples.
And where creativity is lost? The businesses die.
As pressures increase to be successful, we often exclude the very things that can save us. One of those things is risk-taking, of which we are sorely afraid. We continue to work harder at what we’ve always done in the hope that ‘this time it will work’. Why should it if it hasn’t worked before? If it has worked before but we’re struggling now, why use the tried and well-trodden path to the cemetery? Risk-taking is the basis of creativity and the foundation for success. But in order to take those risks we need the confidence, and to build confidence we need a foundation of self-esteem.
Simple ways to build self-esteem include basic rewards such as a verbal or written ‘Thank you’, recognition in front of peers, recognition of a team in a company publication, a small gift, anything that says ‘We appreciate your efforts.’
Perhaps we should re-learn the art of celebrating our failures. They don’t have to be big announcements (there are undoubtedly people waiting in the wings to pour on scorn). But by celebrating the failures with those who’ve tried it is possible to learn from the mistakes and to move forward. Punishment achieves nothing apart from a misplaced sense of dispensed justice. We forget that the greatest discoveries affecting our lives today were the end of a line of repeated failures. People like Thomas Edison went through hundreds, even thousands of prototypes before they came up with the end product. Underlying that tenacity and perseverance was undoubtedly high levels of self-esteem and self-confidence which enabled them to face the failures, learn from them and move on. These inventors would undoubtedly have been inspired and encouraged by others and needed to draw on that as onlookers criticised and ‘commented’ on their failures. But it is their self-esteem that is likely to have held them on-course through the storms.
Sometimes we just need to let people have a go and discover for themselves. This is the basis of my workshops. I can show them plenty of what I can do, but in the end it only really works when each person has the opportunity to try for themselves. Having discovered that they can or can’t do something they can move on, either to something new or build on what they’ve started.Sometimes we need to revisit where they’ve been and help them change a wrong perception. For example, they may have tried something once and decided that they can’t do it, when in fact they just need to try it again.
There are many ways we can help, but perhaps the biggest part is through our relationships with others. As we develop and use these we have the opportunity to encourage, correct, draw alongside and help. These things also take time, effort and patience, so it can be useful to weigh-up how much effort and time we can/are prepared to give.
Benefits from the results are potentially huge and long-lasting and the return on investment greater than we can ever perceive.
But we need to take that risk ...
_____________________
If you are interested to learn how we may be able to help you, please either visit our websites:
Waywood Creative: http://www.waywoodcreative.com/
Waywood Training: http://www.waywoodtraining.com/
Or contact me directly on
Tel: +44 (0)1509 553362
Mob: +44 (0)7814 628123
E-mail: stuart@waywoodenterprises.com
______________________________
And where creativity is lost? The businesses die.
As pressures increase to be successful, we often exclude the very things that can save us. One of those things is risk-taking, of which we are sorely afraid. We continue to work harder at what we’ve always done in the hope that ‘this time it will work’. Why should it if it hasn’t worked before? If it has worked before but we’re struggling now, why use the tried and well-trodden path to the cemetery? Risk-taking is the basis of creativity and the foundation for success. But in order to take those risks we need the confidence, and to build confidence we need a foundation of self-esteem.
Simple ways to build self-esteem include basic rewards such as a verbal or written ‘Thank you’, recognition in front of peers, recognition of a team in a company publication, a small gift, anything that says ‘We appreciate your efforts.’
Perhaps we should re-learn the art of celebrating our failures. They don’t have to be big announcements (there are undoubtedly people waiting in the wings to pour on scorn). But by celebrating the failures with those who’ve tried it is possible to learn from the mistakes and to move forward. Punishment achieves nothing apart from a misplaced sense of dispensed justice. We forget that the greatest discoveries affecting our lives today were the end of a line of repeated failures. People like Thomas Edison went through hundreds, even thousands of prototypes before they came up with the end product. Underlying that tenacity and perseverance was undoubtedly high levels of self-esteem and self-confidence which enabled them to face the failures, learn from them and move on. These inventors would undoubtedly have been inspired and encouraged by others and needed to draw on that as onlookers criticised and ‘commented’ on their failures. But it is their self-esteem that is likely to have held them on-course through the storms.
Sometimes we just need to let people have a go and discover for themselves. This is the basis of my workshops. I can show them plenty of what I can do, but in the end it only really works when each person has the opportunity to try for themselves. Having discovered that they can or can’t do something they can move on, either to something new or build on what they’ve started.Sometimes we need to revisit where they’ve been and help them change a wrong perception. For example, they may have tried something once and decided that they can’t do it, when in fact they just need to try it again.
There are many ways we can help, but perhaps the biggest part is through our relationships with others. As we develop and use these we have the opportunity to encourage, correct, draw alongside and help. These things also take time, effort and patience, so it can be useful to weigh-up how much effort and time we can/are prepared to give.
Benefits from the results are potentially huge and long-lasting and the return on investment greater than we can ever perceive.
But we need to take that risk ...
_____________________
If you are interested to learn how we may be able to help you, please either visit our websites:
Waywood Creative: http://www.waywoodcreative.com/
Waywood Training: http://www.waywoodtraining.com/
Or contact me directly on
Tel: +44 (0)1509 553362
Mob: +44 (0)7814 628123
E-mail: stuart@waywoodenterprises.com
______________________________
Labels: applying creativity, barriers to self-confidence self-esteem, building confidence, building self-confidence, business, increase confidence, inventors, relationships, reward failure, risk taking, thomas edison
Sunday, 15 February 2009
What are the Benefits of Building Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence?
In short, many!!
But let’s start by considering what we will avoid.
When we are continually dragged down by low self-esteem and low self-confidence the impact is much wider than our work; it affects our whole life!
Biologically, our bodies set-up defence mechanisms against infection to keep us healthy, but the prolonged stress caused by poor self-image counteracts those mechanisms and renders us more susceptible to infection.
In addition, prolonged secretion of hormones and other natural chemicals which usually help us maintain good health, become imbalanced all over the body.
But let’s start by considering what we will avoid.
When we are continually dragged down by low self-esteem and low self-confidence the impact is much wider than our work; it affects our whole life!
Biologically, our bodies set-up defence mechanisms against infection to keep us healthy, but the prolonged stress caused by poor self-image counteracts those mechanisms and renders us more susceptible to infection.
In addition, prolonged secretion of hormones and other natural chemicals which usually help us maintain good health, become imbalanced all over the body.
- We suffer skin rashes and conditions such as eczema
- Our breathing suffers and we can precipitate asthma
- The lining which protects our stomach from the acid it contains erodes and eventually the acid digests our stomach tissues leading to ulcers
- Other digestive disorders
- Heart conditions
- Increased risk of stroke
- High blood pressure
- ... etc.
The emotional drain can
- Lead to bouts of low mood
- Precipitate full-blown depressive illness
The severe lack of confidence affects everything we do ...
- We become less inclined to try anything new (or even continue doing what we are doing)
- We hide ourselves away as a defence mechanism, trying to avoid the possibility of anything else that may reinforce the low self-image and pain we feel
- We become less inclined to go out, either for exercise or to be sociable.
So the detrimental effects can be catastrophic on a personal and professional level.
Confident people with a good level of self-esteem are less prone to the above list of horrors (although as with all things, over-confidence and inflated levels of self-importance can also be detrimental to our own health and the health of others).
When we are confident, we are more likely to
- Think clearly
- Contribute ideas to discussions and meetings
- Be able to speak candidly about serious issues affecting us or our workplace
- Help each other
- Be more creative and innovative.
Creativity and innovation are clearly more complex entities than simply being a function of our self-confidence or self-esteem. They involve different patterns of thinking and assembly of ideas, but they are much more likely to occur where we can interact with others, openly, candidly, confidently.
In my next post I'll be looking at a few ways in which we can start to build self-esteem in others and how that affects our living and working environments.
Labels: avoiding illness, barriers to self-confidence self-esteem, benefits of self-confidence, business effectiveness, holistic benefits, importance of self-esteem, improving relationships, positive impact
Saturday, 14 February 2009
How Can We Affect Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence in Others?
It is always worth considering what impact we can and do have on the self-esteem and self-confidence of other. If these qualities in us are affected by external input from our parents, peers etc (i.e., others) then we too can have significant impact on the self-esteem and self-confidence in others.
Let’s consider as an example, the boss who wants to add some stretch to the expectations of his staff in order that they can develop and grow in their roles. How can he help them to grow and develop and achieve these goals? I would argue that one way is to reinforce their self-esteem and develop their self-confidence. These promote not only independent thinking and working, but also the security to approach others for assistance if and when needed. But what happens if this boss
When the pinch comes the focus can be turned so strongly onto the objective that we neglect the means of achieving that objective, our staff. Survey after survey shows that the best results, greatest growth and greatest stability arise where people feel valued, rewarded and are given the freedom to try, in other words, where people have a feeling of worth (self-esteem) and the confidence to make a significant and recognised contribution (self-confidence). It’s also interesting that in many cases, reward constitutes little more than acknowledgement and being thanked. It does not necessarily have to be a salary increase or monetary award.
The problem is that in many cases, praise, thanks and acknowledgement have been consigned to the annals of history. The positive side to this is that where there is a cultural change from a praise vacuum to one of acknowledgement, the change in atmosphere, attitude and motivation can be remarkably rapid and greater than could be expected.
So, if encouraging others costs nothing, apart from a bit of pride, self-discipline and effort, but reaps such great rewards, what are the barriers to us starting, now?
The benefits of building self-esteem and self-confidence in others and ourselves are that we are laying the foundations for greater things; creativity and innovation.
More of that next time ...
Let’s consider as an example, the boss who wants to add some stretch to the expectations of his staff in order that they can develop and grow in their roles. How can he help them to grow and develop and achieve these goals? I would argue that one way is to reinforce their self-esteem and develop their self-confidence. These promote not only independent thinking and working, but also the security to approach others for assistance if and when needed. But what happens if this boss
- Sets targets, and then continually reviews them and re-sets them as they are met?
- Sets targets that are simply not achievable?
- Introduces so much stretch in the objectives that they push the individual beyond their elastic limit?
- Continually focuses on targets that are not being met and ignores those that have been achieved or exceeded?
- Provides criticism and objective advice without praise and reward?
When the pinch comes the focus can be turned so strongly onto the objective that we neglect the means of achieving that objective, our staff. Survey after survey shows that the best results, greatest growth and greatest stability arise where people feel valued, rewarded and are given the freedom to try, in other words, where people have a feeling of worth (self-esteem) and the confidence to make a significant and recognised contribution (self-confidence). It’s also interesting that in many cases, reward constitutes little more than acknowledgement and being thanked. It does not necessarily have to be a salary increase or monetary award.
The problem is that in many cases, praise, thanks and acknowledgement have been consigned to the annals of history. The positive side to this is that where there is a cultural change from a praise vacuum to one of acknowledgement, the change in atmosphere, attitude and motivation can be remarkably rapid and greater than could be expected.
So, if encouraging others costs nothing, apart from a bit of pride, self-discipline and effort, but reaps such great rewards, what are the barriers to us starting, now?
- Pride?
- Time?
- Image?
- Effort?
- Expectations?
- Office structure?
- ... other reasons?
The benefits of building self-esteem and self-confidence in others and ourselves are that we are laying the foundations for greater things; creativity and innovation.
More of that next time ...
Labels: barriers to self-confidence self-esteem, building confidence in others, business skills, creativity, encouragement, innovation, management skills, objectives, rewards, self confidence, self esteem, setting goals
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